This is where I used to drink with colleagues from Ofsted, after work.
I sometimes think my computers have become extra limbs. They are so much a part of my life that I find it difficult to function without them, and it is nearly impossible to both seek work and then do the work once it comes in without them. That is why the last few days have been like hell.
The power supply on my MacBook died on Wednesday, shortly after I finished uploading that day’s nobmouse video. Since then I have been vlogging unedited, which is a difficult process but not without its own sense of fun. It’s as close as I get to “going live” and I’m enjoying it, although I’m also looking forward to getting back the ability to use an autocue.
Yes, that’s right, my more complex videos are done with the benefit of scripts. That’s how I can bring you those in-depth “Applying the law to Batman” videos, as well as some of my faster-spoken rants. I use the autocue to make sure I don’t accidentally flub a legal definition and thus give out the wrong information, and also because when I’m reading off a screen I don’t have a stammer; whereas when I’m unedited and talking direct to the camera without a script, I do.
It’s not as bad as it once was but it’s there. See if you can spot it in today’s video (I know I can).
To keep myself occupied when I’m not either writing or trying to find writing work, I have been playing around with the Discworld MUD, a text-based multiplayer online roleplaying game that has been around for about twenty years. I’ve been playing it since 1998 with a variety of characters (I’ve tried every guild and found a couple that I really enjoy, so now I mostly stick to those) and I still love it. There’s always something new to see and do because there is a large team of programmers who design new parts to the world, and new quests to engage in. It’s a lot of fun, as I mentioned in today’s video for Your Pants Official.
Jennifer is working all the hours she can, which worries me because she gets exhausted when she does this and has ended up in hospital with exhaustion before. I try to warn her but she does not listen. I’m unfortunately the same (I once collapsed on the train on the way to work, discharged myself from hospital and then went to work), so it’s not like I can tell her off for working too hard without sounding like a giant hypocrite. Still, it worries me and I wish there was something I could do to help her feel like she didn’t have to work all the time.
The one way to do that would be to get a regular income again, but since the freelancing work has dried up, that means going back into the regular workforce. I’m looking for work but, as usual, potential employers aren’t even sending a “thanks but no thanks” message. I don’t like rejection any more than the next person but being ignored, as is happening now, is actually even worse.
But I’ll persevere anyway. What other choice do I have?
