Nice Day, Interesting Opportunity

Today, I met another BFF (yes, I have more than one, what can I say? I am lucky) and her younger daughter for lunch. The daughter is going to University in Germany and she is fluent in both English and German. Pretty smart kid.

We had a nice time chatting away and it was a very good day.

I called my friend who owns the consulting company and asked her if there is any opportunity in the near future. She said, things were not looking good and she did not think there would be business coming our way any time soon. Bummer! I am ready to work since spending my days doing nothing does not make any sense at my age. Also bringing some extra income would not hurt, would it?

Tonight, I decided to call another friend who was very sick last week. Thankfully, she is feeling better yet, still needing lots of rest. I have found out that she is very upset and overwhelmed over having to break her business partnership. She is buying the business from her partner. She had asked me in the past whether I would be interested in working with them and knowing that her partner was a difficult person, I had bowed out.

She sounded like she would be drowning under her workload to the point that she was going to reject  new work. I decided to offer her my help. I told her that, I would help her initially without expecting anything in return to decide whether this job will be suitable for me. If I decide that, it is something I would like to do and can do, we would then sit down to figure out how I will be paid. I also told her that, I would have to spend more time in Ankara but, she assured me most of the work can be done remotely.

She thanked me several times and said our phone call must have had some divine intervention. Lol!

So, we shall see how this will work out. I need work, I need flexibility and time for myself. If we can make this work, I will be happy.

Work... Out of the blue

I was thinking that there were no work prospects for the summer. However, I have been called to a meeting today. There is a customer meeting on Friday and one of the projects which we thought was buried, came alive. I will help out a new colleague for the Friday meeting but, will not be involved with that project.

The zombie project is only two hours away from Izmir so, I will be working from my sister's home. I may have to go to the customer site once or twice a week. Nice!

I have been told there was another project somewhere on the Black Sea coast but, I have already planned to be in Izmir for some time so, I bowed out of that one. I will support them offline if and when they need help. No direct flights from Izmir to that city and to be honest, it is not something I would like. Family owned businesses are OK when there is one senir person calling the shots but when there are too many egos involved, thank you very much! Don't need the stress.

We will see how much extra money I will be able to bring in before I leave for my big vacation in October. I have the money earmarked for it but every little extra is nice.

I have a very solid budget yet, unanticipated expenses pop here and there all the time. In August for instance, I will have some repairs done for a water damage in my bedroom. After the fix, the whole room will be painted. I knew the repairs would have to be done but, did not have any idea regarding the cost. My estimate was a little over half of what it will be.

As I type this, I am enjoying a nice, cool breeze after a hot day. It is almost midnight so, I better go. Hope everyone is having a good day.

New Budget

Now that I know my new salary, I can work on my new budget.

The theme of this year is "Save! Save! Save!"

I do not know if I will like to work with the new folks so, while I can earn a good deal of money, the logical thing is to stash it.

This year;
- My planned vacations will be kept modest.

- I will not be making any major purchases for my home with the exception of fixing some water damage on my two walls. There is a very small budget for home improvement and that's it. I spoke to an architect friend and she thinks she can help me in identifying the true problem so that she can suggest a proper contractor who will do a good job.

- I will most likely need to buy a couple of pairs of pants in the summer. Other than those, I will not need any major wardrobe improvement. Small amount set aside just in case.

- I will give up the studio when the rental contract is up which is in August. I have decided that I am not comfortable there. It is very noisy at night and most likely adds to my insomnia problem. I miss my home and I want to sleep in my own bed. I will have to get up earlier and most likely hit a good deal of traffic in the morning but, we shall see. After August, I can assume it is all temporary. Can I?

Today I had coffee with my friend who is a co-owner of the consultancy company I used to work for. It looks like there is always an open door for me over there. The pay is not good but for a part-time thing, I can get by. Anyway, that is Plan B.

New Project

I haven't been working for the last 6 weeks. We had some problems with our Project Manager and the Customer expressed their dissatisfaction with his contribution. We got real upset because my other team-mate and I had been doing real well and had started enjoying the project.

When the Project Manager got back to us regarding what has happened, I told him that we had lost a lot of reputation with the Customer and that it was none of my fault and I would have to withdraw from the project. After all, why go somewhere you are clearly not wanted? My team-mate did the same and actually more. He pretty much burnt the bridges with the Project Manager and I do not think they will be working ever again.

Long story short, there is a new project which will require me working 2-3 days a week. I hope this one will be successful. Although, I missed the income, I was glad I could spend some time with sis, mom and BIL. I also was able to rest because all that driving and long hours at work five days a week was draining me. I like to work part time.

Anyway, tomorrow is my first day on the new project so, wish me luck!

The Meeting? Meh...

We went to the stressful meeting only to find out that these people do not know exactly what they want, and that they want to negotiate our already good price. The project is very big and very risky. I am not even sure we should win it anymore.

Well, I guess we just have to hope for the best.

Counting the days...

I will be attending an extensive training for two weeks in the UK next week.

Visa- Check!
Airline Ticket- Check!
Hotel Reservations- Check!
Preparations- Ummmm... No, not yet. Today I have received two giant folders via FedEx and I must study.

I have to make a list to pack so that I do not forget anything. The giant folders and my laptop are already very heavy. There is a 20 kg. limit on my luggage so I guess I will take these in my carry-on. Oh boy!...

I am excited. I love to travel and my recent jobs in the last three years had no travel at all. I miss working for a multinational. If I am going to work freelance from now on, I guess travel will be mostly in-country.

I graduated college when I was 21, that was 22 years ago... I have attended several trainings and actually took a course for a semester at Bloomfield College, NJ, when I was working in the US. I would have never thought I would feel so competitive for this upcoming training. I gotta go and study!

Testing the Waters for a Freelance Life

For the last few years, I had been contemplating about a second move in my career. I am 43 and would like to work at least until 60. However after 45-47, I think one should be able to work in a different pace. For me, this may be possible by doing consulting work and training.

To be honest, I am scared. I think, I still need to have a full-time job till I am 47-48 so that I can continue saving money. Right now, I am living on my savings while looking for a new job. I hope, my job quest will end latest by the end of the year but there are no opportunities at the moment. (Gotta think positive, think positive!)

Meanwhile, as I have mentioned in my previous post, there is an opportunity to become a certified trainer late October, early November. Until then my friend, his partners and I will be trying to find clients for our business. Although, we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel yet, I am glad that I have something to do and feel like I am working. You can read only so many blogs and books while at home. I hate not having a job not just because of the negative cash flow but rather the inactivity and laziness.

OK. I need to go now and work on a list of possible clients and do some research on freelance life. Any suggestions are welcome (although since this is a new blog and that I have not advertised it's existence, I am not sure how many readers there may be out there in the blogosphere).