Americans Don't Vacation

An interesting read: "According to an Expedia.com survey, 35 percent, or an estimated 51.2 million Americans, will not use all of their vacation days this year. In fact, they'll leave an average of three vacation days on the table, which calculates to U.S. employed adults giving back a total of more than 438 million vacation days in 2007 alone."

Rest of article...

Nothing is Stable

Nothing is stable in this wah (work at home) world. You have to work harder than your brick and mortar counterparts while at the same time you definitely have to make sure all of your eggs aren't in one basket. Actually, even if you work outside of the home I hope you'd have a backup source of income...but let's get back on topic.

Though everything is working out fine I am still on the lookout for other opportunities. I can't let my guard down because you never know when your nice, stable, good paying, wahj will cease to exist. I am sensing something coming. I am going to follow my intuition.

If You Are Lazy Then You Are Lazy....

One of the many things that annoy me is how some people think I do nothing because I am home most of the day.

So what! Just because I am at home it doesn't mean I am not working. Sure, maybe if you were in my position you'd be sitting on your butt all day asleep and eating fritos-- but if that's the route you chose you wouldn't be employed too long.


Working at home doesn't make people lazy. If you are lazy then you are lazy. If you are a lazy office worker then you will be a lazy telecommuter. Everyone is not suited to work at home just as everyone is not suited to work in an office.

Surveys and Jobs

I've been putting a little more time into earning income from surveys. I actually plan on taking it seriously this time because it does pay off and heck- why not earn a few hundred dollars per month for giving my opinion and trying free stuff! All it takes is a little time.

On another note I start a new job on Monday. I have to let one of my telecommuting jobs go because it's not paying the bills and I believe the slavery is illegal. So this one should do the trick. I am really excited about it.

Survey Money

I haven't forgotten about the Vonage story...it's just kind of long and I don't feel like typing it.
I am getting back into the GPT sites as a way to earn some extra money. I did it awhile ago but then for some reason I stopped. GPT means Get Paid To.

Basically there are sites that will pay you to take surveys and complete trial offers. It's free, no hype, no scams...the only thing is that it takes time to actually sit and do it. And some people don't like to take the time but I figure I can watch tv and take a few surveys at the same time.

Of course the internet marketer in me has made a website devoted to it. I'll share the link later.

Additional Streams of Income...

I am thinking about trying some alternative income sources.

I'll let you know what that means once I get situated.

Vonage, Vonage, Vonage

I haven't had the service for that long and they are already upsetting me.

Thursday my service was down for about 5 hours. Ok, it happens. Yes it messed up my work schedule but what can you expect from VOIP.

Monday my service is down again. This time I call tech support and they got to my call quickly but I wasn't satisfied with the level of service. Basically they tried to say it was my problem and not theirs which was a lie. I don't like being lied to. I will explain later what happened but just know that I will NOT be recommeding Vonage to anyone.

Looking Down?

I read this interesting thread on a message board about how someone was looked down on for being a telecommuter. She said she was talking to one of her former coworkers and the lady gave her some snippy response about not having a real job.

I wish I could say that's outrageous and unbelievable but I know it's not. This does not surprise me one bit because when people don't know about something they are only left to make assumptions. Assumptions without direct knowledge usually equals ignorance.

But wait...here's the good part of the story. So the snotty lady sends the telecommuter an IM and asks about what's going on with a soap opera. She responds with something like - I am sorry but I am at work but since you are already goofing out online you can look it up yourself.

I love it!

We Watch The Clock Too

Yup, I am sitting here clock-watching like it's nobody's business.
I've been working since about 9:30 this morning and I am tired.

My first job (hereby known as day job) isn't so bad. In fact I like it a lot. It's easy but it's challenging at the same time so my mind is constantly working.

My second job (hereby known as night job) is what has me wishing I could fast forward my life a bit. Don't get me wrong; I could be in a far worse position; it's just that this job is boring.

And of course now someone's dog is barking right outside of my window. Would it be rude if I jumped up and told this lady to move the heck from in front of my space?? What the heck- she is standing directly in front of my window talking while her two dogs are barking like it's barkday.

Crankiness overwhelms me- did I mention I was tired?

Oh well, tomorrow will be better.

Yes, I Telecommute

Definition: Telecommuting and telework are synonyms for the use of telecommunication to work outside the traditional office or workplace, usually at home (SOHO) or in a mobile situation.

I've been telecommuting in some form since 2003. Now that I am done with school, etc. I am attempting to be a full-time telecommuter.

This is met with some resistance from people who don't understand. You know the usual-
Why won't you leave your house?
Why don't you get a real job?
Everyone else goes out and gets a real job, why don't you?

The facts:

According to one study, telecommuting has been growing at 15% a year since 1990 in North America. 80% of Fortune 1000 companies are likely to introduce it within the next two to three years. Although work at the company premises is not likely to disappear, new forms of telecommunication such as voice and picture communication and groupware are likely to make telecommuting more social in the future. SOURCE

My Opinion:
Working a job from home is working a "real job". I don't want to leave my home. I want to work whenever I want to work. And I want to make sure I have time to work on my business, attend networking functions, and travel as I please.

That's my intro. Today is day one of my journey into fulltime telecommuting.