freelance inspiration motivation: alone freelance golden retriever home
by Barb
home alone
When I started freelancing, one of the hardest things for me to get used to (besides the lack of a regular paycheck!) was no one to chat with around the water cooler. Those who know me know I am a very social creature, so I used to spend lots of time on the phone. Keep in mind this was before email, twitter (more on that later) and cell phones. Actually, I think my phone might have been plugged into the wall! (Prehistoric, I know!).
The solution came to me in an 85 lb., red, shaggy, 4-footed friend. He was a 2 year old golden retriever named Clyde. Clyde was perfectly content to listen to me rattle on about nothing. This started what would turn out to be a life-long love of dogs, especially Golden Retrievers.
Yesterday on Oprah, the show featured a program called Puppies Behind Bars. The idea here is that inmates receive a puppy that they raise and train to become service dogs. The dog is then given to a wounded soldier returning from Iraq. Incredible story - men serving time for murder talking about these dogs with tears in their eyes. Check it out here: http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090416-tows-glenn-close-puppies/2.
I thought I might make it past my 2nd second post without talking about my dogs, but after yesterday’s show, I felt inspired to write about them. They really are a huge part of why I have stayed in this freelance life for so long. How about you? Is there a special pet that shares your life?
Woof!
Two posts in two days…! Very proud of you, Barb. This is great!
We lost our Golden in Oct and to this day miss him like mad. Dedicated a blog post and playlist to him in fact. Blogging is cathartic-you’ll love it.
So you can now officially call yourself a blogger. Congrats!
Joy
hi barb
Love the new blog, Clyde looks like the perfect co-worker. I know Scout, my 40 lb. german shorthair pointer, wishes I would stay home and work. Don’t worry, your not missing any good Memorial Day beach weather—it’s been low 70’s and overcast this week. Business is still slow here at Morvil, but we have had a chance to update the website. Check it out at http://www.morvil.com.
david
For those of us who work at home, our dogs ARE our coworkers, the best kind. Good post, Barb!
Barb - glad to see you have started a blog - the online water cooler! I understand perfectly, although I have several distractions - Loki the cat, Winston, the dog, as well as summer tenants Fitzi and Ronnie the ferrets and Cocoa and Lime the parakeets, then there’s Froggie the frog, Fang the tarantula. It’s hard to get work done - someone always needs to eat, go for a walk, or otherwise have attention. But it ensures that you never sit at the computer too long without a stretch break, doesn’t it? I write about some of my animal companions in my typepad blog - http://ellienowels.typepad.com/elliesblog/
Bow wow.
Grrrrr.
Bow wow. Bow wow.