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Miscellany.
Sep. 29th, 2004 10:00 pmHaven't made an entry for a bit, so I'll catch up.
My parents have been on the East Coast since last Thursday, visiting with my little brother for Firstie Parent's Weekend (for those who don't speak Academy lingo, "firstie" = "fourth year Academy student"). This has left me to fend for myself. Pluses: No one to care what I do, so long as the house is still intact when they return; I get to use Dad's car so long as I keep it fueled (instead of my piece of junk). Minuses: No home-cooked meals. Oh well. One batch of pasta is enough to last me for days, so between that, soup, and sandwiches, I'm in good shape. Anyway, they'll be back Sunday night, so party at my place Saturday! You're all invited! ^^
Used part of this time to catch up on some Naruto. They just finished the second chuunin test. Yes, I'm THAT far behind.
This girl is a genius.
By this time tomorrow I will be a free man. I gave my boss nearly a month to get things in order and/or find a replacement, and true to form, he dragged his knuckles and assigned me a lot of pointless stuff, and is now paying the price: the big stuff isn't finished and won't be by the time I walk out the office door at 6pm tomorrow. Which is to my benefit, because he's brought up the idea of almost-rehiring me as a contractor. The idea has appeal. I'd have a lot more control over when I came in (assuming I have to at all; a lot of the big stuff can be done from home), and I could probably get $20 an hour out of him. Still probably won't earn as much overall, but I'll be working a LOT less, which will give me time to hunt for a more permanent job in the meantime. (Yes, I still haven't found a new job. Another good reason to accept.) And no benefits, of course, but I didn't have those to begin with, so...
Okay, opinions for those in the know about the tech market: here's my intended offer to him. Let me know if you think it's reasonable.
- I can refuse any assignment when it is offered. I cannot be told I must come to the office at a given time unless I have already agreed to.
- Web design projects: He gives me a deadline and the project requirements. I estimate how long it will take and base my fee off $25 an hour, more if it will require more than six hours a day to meet the deadline.
- Writing projects: He gives me a deadline and the project requirements. I estimate how long it will take to write three drafts and base my fee off $20 an hour, notifying him that each draft he asks for beyond the third will lead to a re-estimation of time, cost, deadline, and whether I'm willing to do it. (I know too much about how he works.)
- Showing up at the office for tech support/explaining something: $20 an hour, rounded to the nearest half-hour. Plus $20 just for showing up (hey, it'll take a hour just to get to the office and back!) so make it good.
- Answering questions over the phone about where file X is: no charge. However, if this is while I have an outstanding project, repeat or long calls will lead to re-estimates of the deadline.
- Per the agreement made as part of my resignation, he will get eight hours from me on a single day (Saturday, if I already have a new job at this point) to help train a replacement when he finds one. No charge.
My parents have been on the East Coast since last Thursday, visiting with my little brother for Firstie Parent's Weekend (for those who don't speak Academy lingo, "firstie" = "fourth year Academy student"). This has left me to fend for myself. Pluses: No one to care what I do, so long as the house is still intact when they return; I get to use Dad's car so long as I keep it fueled (instead of my piece of junk). Minuses: No home-cooked meals. Oh well. One batch of pasta is enough to last me for days, so between that, soup, and sandwiches, I'm in good shape. Anyway, they'll be back Sunday night, so party at my place Saturday! You're all invited! ^^
Used part of this time to catch up on some Naruto. They just finished the second chuunin test. Yes, I'm THAT far behind.
This girl is a genius.
By this time tomorrow I will be a free man. I gave my boss nearly a month to get things in order and/or find a replacement, and true to form, he dragged his knuckles and assigned me a lot of pointless stuff, and is now paying the price: the big stuff isn't finished and won't be by the time I walk out the office door at 6pm tomorrow. Which is to my benefit, because he's brought up the idea of almost-rehiring me as a contractor. The idea has appeal. I'd have a lot more control over when I came in (assuming I have to at all; a lot of the big stuff can be done from home), and I could probably get $20 an hour out of him. Still probably won't earn as much overall, but I'll be working a LOT less, which will give me time to hunt for a more permanent job in the meantime. (Yes, I still haven't found a new job. Another good reason to accept.) And no benefits, of course, but I didn't have those to begin with, so...
Okay, opinions for those in the know about the tech market: here's my intended offer to him. Let me know if you think it's reasonable.
- I can refuse any assignment when it is offered. I cannot be told I must come to the office at a given time unless I have already agreed to.
- Web design projects: He gives me a deadline and the project requirements. I estimate how long it will take and base my fee off $25 an hour, more if it will require more than six hours a day to meet the deadline.
- Writing projects: He gives me a deadline and the project requirements. I estimate how long it will take to write three drafts and base my fee off $20 an hour, notifying him that each draft he asks for beyond the third will lead to a re-estimation of time, cost, deadline, and whether I'm willing to do it. (I know too much about how he works.)
- Showing up at the office for tech support/explaining something: $20 an hour, rounded to the nearest half-hour. Plus $20 just for showing up (hey, it'll take a hour just to get to the office and back!) so make it good.
- Answering questions over the phone about where file X is: no charge. However, if this is while I have an outstanding project, repeat or long calls will lead to re-estimates of the deadline.
- Per the agreement made as part of my resignation, he will get eight hours from me on a single day (Saturday, if I already have a new job at this point) to help train a replacement when he finds one. No charge.
