Randoms 3

Things click when you listen to podcasts sometimes. In this episode there was some talk about photography (and as you may or may not know, I’m a photographer who doesn’t share my photos online. Anyway, a realisation about how I mentally frame things and what my favourite lens is reminded me of a realisation I had in a job interview a year or two ago.

 

Basically I’m still trying to work out how I want to set up Virtual Anthropologist – it would be very easy (well, nothing freelance is easy but you know what I mean) to go into stuff like editing. Only I don’t like detail work. It is not me. It is sooo not me. The job I liked the most was one where I had my main research to do, but was free to choose sources (which might sound odd but other research jobs I’ve had we had to only work with certain sources which sounds like bad research but it was funded to do a specific “thing” so it made sense), but apart from my research caseload, I was involved in the more strategic side of the company. Future planning. Working to create MoUs with stakeholders. I like that work.

 

I also liked the part of the podcast where being being weird was encouraged. I had a mostly positive phone call the other day but an off hand comment from the call is bothering me. Or not bothering, but I can’t place it in its appropriate context yet. I’m wondering if it’s simply that the person I was talking to has a very traditional (for lack of a better word) background and I do not. But their judgement was put on me, and I only reaslied it later. How about I judge you for being traditional? Not that I wanted to get into a judging war, it was just frustrating that they were seeing me as the deficit in an area that I think shows a massive strength.

 

Also, this came up in my Facebook memories this morning:

 

 

Anyway, it’s nice to listen to a podcast episode that resonates with you and gives you food for thought. I’m still in that transitional phase right now where I can’t listen to teaching so while interviews are not always my favourite format of podcasts, they’re working for me right now.

 

(The irony of all of this is that my day job is detail oriented 98% of the time and not strategic, but hey, a day job serves the purpose of stable income and I welcome that. I don’t want to create my next step from a place of scarcity and desperation because I know that doesn’t work for me.)

 

A random FYI to people (specifically to the driver of a maroon sedan this morning): putting your indicator on does not magically make the lane next to you empty. You actually have to check your mirrors and (gasp) blind spot.

 

Today is one of those days where I have a lot to do outside of work and it’s making me slightly anxious. Or not even anxious yet, but last time it didn’t go how it was supposed to. It wasn’t horrendous, but it was a big unknown, I guess? A not smooth, previously unknown that is being repeated as a slightly known not smooth process. I think it will be ok. Though if anyone has any power over the weather, if a storm could just not happen while I have to drive around areas that have flooded me in before (and that leave me now slightly paranoid), that would be great.

 

And that’s my Thursday morning brain dump, people!