I just finished my final shift at the large department store where I've worked for the last three years. It feels really good to know that the next time I go there, it'll be as a regular customer.
The job was decent, as retail jobs go. I was a cashier/clerk in the home electronic department for the last year and a half, and I was good at my job and got along with all of my coworkers and the customers. Everyone was sorry to see me go, and it was made abundantly clear that the door is open if I ever want to return.
I really don't, though. I'm a much more creative person than retail jobs really need, and I hope eventually to be my own boss in charge of my own hours and my earning potential and such. So I'll be moving forward as a freelancer, writing guides and other content for people who are prepared to pay me for such things. The list is short for now, but hopefully it'll grow.
What that means for HonestGamers is that I'll continue to heavily invest throughout June, as I've been having some promising results following previous investment, but after that I won't have as much income to spend on the site. However, the site remains one of my true priorities and you can be sure that I'll be spending a lot of time and energy here, even if I won't have the luxury of investing a lot of money (though I won't stop investing entirely, you can be sure).
You'll probably see more reviews posted by yours truly, more activity from me in the queues, more posts on the forums and possibly on my site blog... stuff like that. Some of that has already begun occurring over the last few weeks, and it should continue. I also will likely be able to more quickly address issues that may happen to arise, including site code tweaks and SEO efforts and such, and I'll be able to jump on opportunities that impact the site more quickly. However, it's important to remember that I'll still need to find work to support myself. As I mentioned, I will continue to write occasional content for other outlets when the right opportunities arise. I'll spend some of my time working on fiction and hopefully more time relaxing, as well. It's been years since I've allowed myself an actual vacation. Maybe I'll take one soon.
I look forward to this new phase of my life, and I look forward to finally being able to put more of my own time into the site. While I've been active on the site for years (often spending around 40 hours a week around my day jobs and freelance work, and sometimes much more than that), I've had frequent interruptions that prevented me from being as productive as I would have liked. I've never had as much time to pour into the site as I'll have in the weeks and months to come--assuming that everything goes well--and I hope that everyone will benefit from that.
It's important to remember, though, that HonestGamers exists today because I've seldom had to handle things alone. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes and people like EmP and Leroux and Zig and Masters and Overdrive and Woodhouse and Sho don't always get the credit that they deserve. There hasn't been a time during most of the last decade where I haven't had at least one staff person helping out (and plenty of users to boot), and if that continues I'm confident that we're ready to really go places. Please continue enjoying your time here on the site, continue contributing and keep letting people know about the community that we've built here at HonestGamers.
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fleinn - May 29, 2011 (10:31 AM) Was it something like this? :p Take this job and Shove it. (Dead Kennedys) |
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Halon - May 29, 2011 (10:32 AM) Best of luck with your future endeavors! |
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Masters - May 30, 2011 (07:41 AM) While the time to yourself to devote to your true loves will be nice, the lack of income won't be. Here's hoping it works out. |
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Panzerdrako - May 30, 2011 (08:32 AM) why today is labour day there and no may 1rst (like in Chile?) |
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wolfqueen001 - May 30, 2011 (10:51 AM) Today's actually Memorial Day in the U.S., which is given to commemorate all the soldiers who fought and/or died in all our wars. Unlike the rest of the world (as it is with many things about our country), we have Labor Day in early September / late August (depending on the calendar). Anyway, I echo Masters' ssentiments on this, Jason. I hope your decision makes you happier and everything else, but I do worry that your sudden lack of income may prove problematic in the future. (From what I understand, freelancing can only go so far, but maybe you can make it work.) |
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