Transcribing

I have finally transcribe for money. I lowered my fee to 8 dollars to raise the possibility of someone to hire me. I should have asked for more.

I thought I could do transcribe an hour worth of recording in 3 hours. I was so wrong. You have to account, distractions (people dying on tv shows), environment (nieces banging whatever metal object they can) and your will to work. It took me 1 day to complete an hour of audio. That is pathetic.

I don't even have time to expound this post.

Free Software

We live in freedom. Or those who read this does. With freedom comes free things, the best of them are softwares. Free softwares. I just read PC Mag's top 167 free software for 2010 and am currently getting used to them.

First on the list was the universal printer driver from Xerox. I move a lot these days and I don't want to insert my USB in different computers (it now has a virus - poor thing) so I want to print directly from my buddy (laptop).

Then there was express scribe. I want to be a transcriptionist so I need this small great program. I'm still looking at voice recognition software out there but I guess this would do for now.

Third was Google Desktop. It functions similarly as its online counterpart, but searches only my buddy or its activity. I now know where I've hidden my porn just by searching for it. Easy, fun and reliable.

Then there was Last Pass. Though I only have two passwords for the moment or deviations from them, I installed it for the auto fill features.

I'm keeping some distance to the google calendar and another software that keeps a record of your contacts. I'll post some more softwares if I install more.

Getting a day job to pay the bills

I haven’t made it big yet. I haven’t made it digital. And if I want to continue eating I needed a day job. So I asked a relative for a favor and got me a part time job at a catering service. Since I am staying and eating in their house, I think I will not get paid but I will still get fed.

The great part of this setup is that I have around 7 hours each day to blog, freelance and build up my digital portfolio. Currently I am writing for my other blog, which is less personal and more academic in nature. I am also transcribing random posts from youtube so I can finally get a transcription job.

I’m still trying to adjust my body clock to my new schedule. I have to wake up at 6 am leave the house by 8 and immediately go to the market. It takes 2 hours to get all the things done before I can get some free time which is around 10 am. Then by 1 pm after people have eaten we go back to the market to buy ingredients. That would take another 2 hours, followed by another 4 hours free time. By 6 pm I leave the canteen and go back home which gives me 2 hours of personal surfing, some job searching before I go to sleep.

I also have to memorize so many things. First there are the store owners. Second are the people who I have to watch over. Third are the locations of the shops. Memorizing has never been my best feature. I almost flunked my high school chemistry when I forgot what the periodic table was. Now I only remember maybe 15 elements and not in order. I estimate that I’ll memorize all of the stuff I need by the end of the year, when I am about to leave the job.

The pangs of having enough

When people change things in their lives they develop stress. This is from all forms of changes, a new car, a new device, a new address, or worst a new girlfriend - you will eventually feel some knot in your back. Most of the stress we encounter allows us to challenge ourselves but the ones we let get under our skin ruins our day. I am infected with the latter type of stress and it has hindered me from writing more.

I like my new address, I like the routine (eat-sleep-eat), but for some reason I’m not writing as much as I thought I hoped. And this is what I hoped to earn a living from. I guess hypochondria strikes again. Thus the next lines come from a mind deprived of inspiration.

I believe that right now I am performing less because my basic needs are met. I am fed on time, anytime, I don’t do dishes, I don’t do laundry, I don’t even cook my food. Everything comes so easy my complaints come from not being with my buddy (laptop) 8 hours a day which I used to.

I don’t have stress from not having, but from knowing I could have more. I have spent the last few days filling my day with movies I have failed to watch before. It’s great but it feels so pointless. I realized that what made watching movies was getting so stressed from my previous job, similar to finding a well in a desert.

When I went away from home, I swore that I would change my habits to be the better me. That is not happening. This has been the cause of my stress. So what I did was read my previous blog about how much money I would need before I retire.

Maybe when I get my key for success I would post it here. But right now, you (meaning nobody) will be reading about my failures.

And tomorrow I might go out in the real world and try to get me a job.