This has become a joke

So I’m starting my third week at work and my admin account is still fubarred.  Still doesn’t work properly.  That’s one thing.  I setup my late 2013 MacBook Pro yesterday, installed the new operating system and signed up for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC.  I upgraded my Apple online storage back to 2TB.  I have about 6TB of photos on an external drive that I want to back up onto the Apple storage plan.  I doubt I’ll be able to put all of that photography on there.  I want to keep using just my 2018 Apple iPad Pro.

I am really not in a good mood today.  I created a Facebook account temporarily today.  Creeped my ex.  Learned my dog had died back in November 2018.  It was a golden lab we got back in 2009.  It was only 9 years old.  Most labs, if you take care of them live to 12-14 years old.  So Stella, died fairly young which pissed me off.  She died about 3-4 years too young.

In all honesty, I missed the dog more than I miss my ex wife.  I need to get the F out of Ontario.  Honestly.

This is hilarious

So I took another contract in I.T with the government.  Third day here and still no pass.  I have accounts and an email address.  My admin account is unusable as I can’t install/uninstall drivers, software, updates etc.  I have found the last 4 of 6 contracts to be a total sh!t show.  Third day here on the current contract and my boss took the day off.  Emailed him already and told him about my admin account and not having a building pass.  I can do the job if I have the tools.  No tools, no job.  I just can’t believe how disorganized everything is. 

My last I.T contract

Took on my last IT contract in Ottawa.  Haven’t started yet because Procurement is completely inept.  I’ve found over the last 4 years that working for the Canadian government is becoming a nightmare.  So much red tape.  So much BS in stopping you from where you want to go and what you want to do.  I’ve basically reached my braking point.

I’m starting my YouTube channel and getting to do more photography which I should’ve been doing anyways.  Yesterday I had some regrets in selling my Sony a7ii full frame camera and lens combo along with my Canon Vixia HF G40.  Today I’m realizing that I only need the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I’m hoping Apple holds its release date of Apple iPadOS to September 30th which is in a few weeks.  I hope the OS update includes drivers for the Sony RX100 Mark VII since the current version of iOS does not recognize the photos or the file system.  I have two external hard drives attached to the 2018 iPad Pro which are currently inaccessible.  IPadOS will change that of course.

In March of 2020, our lease is up on the apartment and it’ll be time to move.  I’m moving out west regardless if my girlfriend comes or not.  I just can’t stand Ottawa anymore.  I can’t stand the weather here anymore. The summers are hot and the winters are cold.  The humidity sucks here in the summer.  The bugs don’t help either.  Calgary doesn’t have that which is fantastic.  Hopefully I’ll be able to support us or myself on photography and YouTube.  I hope.  

It’s happening again

So I’ve been looking for another job for the past few weeks.  Could not find anything at all.  Now I’m getting multiple calls for contracts.  Today I got three calls asking if I was available.  Of course I am.  The one job from SSC sounds interesting.  They’d fly me out to the maritimes for a week or so and out to Vancouver.  If I get his job, I’ll of course be bringing you Sony RX100 Mark VII and my 2018 iPad Pro.  

I just hope that Apple will release the new iPadOS by then.  I don’t like using my Windows 10 laptop.  It’s not bad but it’s just the form factor that I do not like.  I used my Canon Vixia HF R800 this morning to do a sort of introductory and RX100 Mark VII review.  I can actually import the HF R800 footage onto my iPad Pro and work on it in LumaTouch.  I just have to go home and upload the video.  I have 20 megabit upload at home which is about 10 times faster than the Timmies WIFI.  I did not know that the Canon Vixia HF R800 footage would import onto the iPad Pro.  Learn new things every day.  Now I have to learn how to use LumaFusion on the iPad Pro.  Too bad I can’t import the Sony RX100 Mark VII footage onto the iPad Pro yet.

I hope, I hope I get one job so I can pay off my credit card debt by March of 2020.  I don’t want to be in Ottawa anymore.  I totally miss being out in Calgary and the mountains.  It’s such a different lifestyle out there then it is here in boring Ontario.  

November has been a bad month

Typically I'd make payout by now on Shutterstock.  But I've only sold 55 photos this month and no footage clips.  I've sold one clip this month on Pond5 for a hair under $130.  But that's it.  I've only made $31.50 on Shutterstock so far this month.  If I miss payout, it'll be the second time this year I haven't made a payout of $35.  I haven't sold anything on Storyblocks in months.  Probably April of this year.  They've increased their prices and payouts and maybe that drove customers away.  Plus I've Googled Storyblocks online and there are some not so good reviews out there.

I've been asked to join OnePixel but they sell all their photos for $1.  So I would probably get maybe $0.25 to $0.30 a shot which is insulting.  At least on Shutterstock I have the chance to make $120 per shot and video.  On Pond5 I get to set my prices and I've been pretty consistent at $199 per clip and photo.  I've sold a few videos at that price and higher depending on the licensing deal.

I've been so busy these past few weeks that I haven't even had a chance to touch my camera or camcorder let alone open up my Affinity Photo book.  That has to change.  I have to set my priorities again.  I usually get home now between 7pm and 8pm.  Before I even sit down it's past 8:30pm and I'm just exhausted from the day.  I have to reprioritize my goals.  I have to go to the gym and I have to study.  

I was looking at some classes for the winter session at Algonquin College.  They have nothing computer related and if they do, they want an exorbitant amount of money for the course.  Plus I don't think I want anything to do with the I.T. industry after my contract is done here with CMHC.  

Like I've said before, I'll be making a few life changes over the next few months as far as relationships and careers go.  I have to make myself happy first.  I can't be making everybody be happy and me ending up being miserable.  I have to move out west to Calgary.  I can't stand living in Ottawa anymore.  When I woke up this morning and got ready to go to work it was minus twenty degrees celsius outside.  One of my goals is to end up being in the United States.  I want to start a Youtube photography channel and do that full time.  I've been stuck in a basement since April of this year imaging and deploying computers.  I don't get to see the sunshine.  I don't have any windows.  It's depressing.

Google doesn't pay that well with the blogger thing.  I've made less then ten dollars doing this.  I know my blog isn't the biggest or the best.  But I am trying.  I'm fighting for success.

So today I forgot...

...my wallet at home.  All my ID's are in my wallet along with my bank cards, credit cards etc.  I'm all in a panic that I don't have any money today.  Or anything.  Than I look at my phone beside me.  And I think to myself.  I do have access to cash.  My Apple iPhone 8 Plus is going to be my valet today.  Who needs cards when you have your phone?????  Today I am also seriously starting to study Affinity Photo.  I know photography has to be my go to career now.  I have to pave my own way.  I cannot do the I.T. thing anymore.  I can't work only contracts.  Hire a photographer!!!!  Today!!!!!

I absolutely hate...

...moving.  We just spend the last week moving.  Boxing up our stuff.  Getting a storage unit.  Moving into a storage unit and moving the rest of our stuff that we actually need and use to our new place.  And we'll have to do this again in March.  To boot, I think we'll be moving cross country in March to Calgary, Alberta.  I moved myself to Calgary last year for a 4 month contract.  It wasn't that bad but I did get stuck in North Dakota for two days because of a 2cm snow storm with 95kh/h winds.  Visibility was non existent.

Monday is becoming exciting.  I get a new coworker tomorrow.  That means I can offload some work on a newbie finally in months.  I haven't had a chance at all to do any photography or shoot any footage.

It's Monday morning and I've done one deployment so far.  I'm trying to update the TPM settings on these Toshiba Portege Z30-B machines and it's nothing but a frustrating pain in the rear end.  From now until March 31, 2019, I am studying Affinity Photo after work.  I really, really need to switch career paths.  I am frustrated with the I.T industry.  Nothing ever works right and I feel like I'm way behind in everything.  One person tells me to do one thing and the next one tells me to do another.

I have to do what I want to do with my life.  Do whatever it takes to get my life to where I want it to be.  I have to make myself happy and not someone else.  This is probably going to be my last I.T. contract as far as I'm concerned.