Three. This will be my third blog post of 2021. I often wonder if I have the wherewithal to be a small business owner. Well, I own a small business. Successful small business owner. Specific enough?
It's December 17. Stuff has happened. I haven't written much about it. The neatandkeen Instagram has really been the place to keep tabs on me this year, but here's some stuff.
I made some bootleg CD things for some friends. This was a fun project. However, not profitable. A good test of skills I guess.
In May, despite working crazy hours at work, I remodeled my kitchen. Being clever, if we don't count the fact that I ended up replacing my broken dishwasher, this was maybe under $300. The fan was $80. Painted the walls and cabinets. Cut up a bunch of thin plywood and stapled it to the ceiling.
At the end of July I finally got around to doing some screen printing. This was a test run for an image of my sister listening to music. She helped me with the photo shoot for this while she was expecting her fourth child, who is now...more than a year old. And since these tests I have done...nothing with it. The paper for a print run is prepared. I'm just too scared, too busy, too full of excuses to get it done.
So. My full time job had been kind of awful all of 2021. Working third shift, I'd be forced to work 10-hour shifts Monday through Friday, then almost always, forced to work another 8-hours on Saturday. And even sometimes we would get forced to work a Sunday (usually to make up for the fact that they gave us Memorial Day or Labor Day off). By October, I had made so much money in overtime, that I'd beat my 2020 earnings. I had the opportunity to go part-time, so that's what I did. I'd hoped to get more freelance gigs, but after a quick flurry of jobs, there were suddenly none. Here's a thing I did for my sister. Sixteen pretend passports for a world traveler's class she was teaching.
One of my personal goals with my time off was to record an album of original music, once and for all. I did not get very far. I did get this little nook in the basement cleaned up for my drum kit. Have I mentioned that I don't play drums?
At the beginning of 2021 I started buying and playing vinyl records in earnest. This fall I came up with these card catalogs for records. I like the idea of keeping track of what I listen to and how often. I may pair this with a journal in which I keep track of albums, films, etc and who enjoyed these things with me. I have thoughts on this, some of which you can read about in Instagram posts. A few people have told me it's a neat idea, but I have not really tried to market it and sell it to others. Yes, you could accomplish the same thing with a lined index card. This looks neat.
This is a thing I'm...experimenting with.
Other Stuff
In November I passed the FINRA Securities Industry Essential exam, which is a co-requisite for obtaining Series 7 license as a registered financial advisor. And you're saying, "But John, you're some kind of artist and musician with a small business, what's that about?" I've long had an interest in helping others with financial concerns. Most people haven't been given the tools they need to make good decisions with their money. It's an avenue I'm exploring.
Maybe it's work stuff, personal stuff, or just the world we live it, but I've had a really difficult time focusing on things I used to enjoy. Most notably, I haven't been able to chill out and draw anything. Songwriting has also been very difficult, but that was never a primary activity for me. Going to part-time was supposed to enable me to do all sorts of projects. However, since time is more abundant it has become less valuable and I wind up wasting more of it.
Pursuing a Series 7 license opens a door for me outside of working in the warehouse I've known for the past six and a half years. In the meantime, I'll likely go back to being a full-time warehouse operator in January.
The title for this recap comes from an episode of Rick and Morty. It's not my new favorite thing, but it often makes me laugh. So I'm going to conclude this blog post in an unconventional way: with some of my favorite Rick and Morty clips. I'm not sure you even need to be familiar with the show to enjoy them. Without further ado, here's some Rick and Morty. Catch Rick and Morty on Comedy Central and HBO Max. (Waits for check in the mail)
"I'm Dying In A Vat In The Garage!"
This has been a theme for me this year. I may steal it and use it in other work. There's like...seven people worldwide who are using it as a hashtag in Instagram posts. We know what's up.
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