If throwing as many shoes as possible up onto a telephone wire was an Olympic sport, Israel might have walked away with a medal...pic taken in Jerusalem last week.
I dunno. The world seems to be in a crisis, and we're poised for the mother of all recessions, at least according to Sky News/BBC etc etc. But are things really that bad?
Don't know about you, but I seem to be in the midst of a boom. The school seems recession proof and is pulling in record numbers of students (one of my adult students absolutely loves the phrase "credit crunch"). I've got freelance gigs coming out of my ears, with a couple of startups wanting me to go over their Business Plans and write some stuff for their websites, as well as the long-term freelance gig that has just ordered another 80 hours work. And that's on top of Open Spacey, who seem fine and look like they want to take on more people and are very keen for me to be 100%, as always.
Maybe I'm in recession proof zones, but I have this feeling that the media is the main reason for this credit crunch, whipping this up into a frenzy. Or I could be just about to fall completely on my arse and end up homeless within a month...?
Just this weekend I was at a BBQ/party for MP, the old git, and the item that was on everybody's agenda was the planned Depeche Mode gig. No credit crunch, no defaulting loans, no mortgage issues and definitely no stock market woes.
So, has the credit crunch been crunching your numbers?
Received an interesting email this week. It was from my ex-boss at Corridor Land, wishing me a Happy New Year. She then went on to ask if I wanted to return to Corridor Land as a freelancer, maybe 2, 3 days per week. I had to smile. Then shiver, as the goosebumps went shimmy shammy down my spine. Apparently the writer that took over from me saw the light. Or perhaps was made to see the light, which seems more feasible, seeing as some of us know what a twat he is...
And I'm actually considering the offer. Trust me, if it was as a salaried employee it wouldn't even cross my mind, but as a freelancer I don't have a problem. I have also laid down some ground rules, which I'm still awaiting a response on...without those in place, they can go jump.
Received a phone call this morning. Guess who it was? Nah, you'll never guess. It was my corner shop guy, the shop just across from my school. I have a tab there and always pay up each month. It's usually a miniscule amount, though this month reached the mighty sum of 99 shekels. So, of course, he called, just to check I was coming in to settle up.
Now, I'm not sure whether he's taking the piss or is in fact a master businessman. Because to chase me up for 99 shekels (about $30, give or take a shekel), when he knows I always pay up on time and in full, seems a little off. I just thought about the 5 bills I wrote up for 12,000 shekels, money owing to me from the last few weeks of freelancing and I kinda smirked. Though smirked uneasily when I realised that he probably is spot on, at least he's demanding his money on time and chasing it up, whereas I usually end up waiting an extra month or 2...
