The Work Category Archive

Welcome to the Work archives. The posts are listed in chronological order. Click the post title to read more.

May 13th, 2010

Cube free is the way to be: 12 months without a real job

It’s 10:53 p.m. and I have just forced myself to stop working, but that’s only because I’m going to go to bed as soon as The Hold Steady stop singing on The Colbert Report. Today as I was preparing lunch to go with my daily “Roseanne” reruns I got excited because I had new peppercorns [...]

May 3rd, 2010

It keeps me from beating myself up

When she was in high school my best friend Jodi Hanson had a huge crush on Freedom Williams (thirty-two double plus bonus points if you remember him before you read the next sentences). This might have been the summer between her sophomore and junior years because I remember coming to visit from Wisconsin, entering her [...]

March 21st, 2010

Probably the nicest thing I do all year that makes me want to kill people

I have survived my second Overnight Website Challenge. It is a Herculean task and you should be impressed. Be impressed damnit, I’m running on six hours of sleep after being awake for twenty-eight and a half hours in a row. It makes me sensitive. This year’s webchallenge was about 74% better than last year’s event. [...]

March 7th, 2010

Using the universe to exact my revenge

Around the turn of the century (I’ve decided to call the time period between 1999-2001 the turn of the century), I worked in customer service. The job was thankless but I met a bunch of great people — BFK, Al, the cutest girl on Earth™, and Michelle. We had a lot of fun. But it [...]

January 19th, 2010

Way back in aught-six

It’s 11:16 and I’m just finishing up work for the day. This is not a complaint. I just want to record it somewhere for posterity because it’s been a very long time since I’ve been so busy working. In fact, I think it might have been the launch of Paint Shop Pro 11 back in [...]

January 5th, 2010

Deserving of your attention

In case you missed it, yesterday MinnPost named I Will Dare was one of 10 Minnesota blogs worthy of your attention in 2010. Can I get a hell yeah? Getting this kind of recognition is pretty awesome. That’s probably a weird thing to say. Or maybe it’s immodest. I don’t care. It’s awesome. I work [...]

September 1st, 2009

Unproductive rambling about productivity

There is something to be said for stretching out in the La-Z-Grrl in your underpants to watch Sex in the City reruns after a long, productive day. It’s even more noteworthy, because dude, long, productive day! Can you believe it? I can’t. Do you ever start and then completely forget where you were going? Somehow [...]

August 11th, 2009

Saying it outloud

After Sunday’s OxPod recording, my friend Tony made a crack about how I’m the busiest unemployed person he’s ever heard of. He’s right. Between being Super Aunt Jodi’s daycare service, class at The Loft, and, well, working freelance, this summer’s bout of unemployment has been the exact opposite of last summer’s bout. In fact, I [...]

May 17th, 2009

I’m like Brian Johnson at the end of The Breakfast Club giving myself a congratulatory punch in the arm

If you ever find your self esteem lagging, I highly recommend losing your job as a means to boost it. Sure the impending financial calamity might be a high price to pay, but you’ll sure feel good about yourself on the way to the poorhouse. While I fully expected my friends and family to be [...]

May 15th, 2009

And now this happens 2: Unemployment Boogaloo

Because I like irony or poetic justice or just bits of weird symmetry in my life, the marketing department at The Nerdery went to the very same Mexican restaurant today, on my last day, that we went to on my first day. It kind of happened by accident because none of us can make lunch [...]

March 1st, 2009

Still in recovery

There’s a reason you don’t hear about a lot of 30somethings pulling all nighters. It’s because we are old and need our sleep. Yesterday was the Web Challenge and it was a test of endurance. I’ve never been so cranky and annoyed for such good causes in my life. After about 18 hours of continuous [...]

January 7th, 2009

I hate meek

I’m having a tough time with the balance. I know it will come, but for the time being all this blah-blah-blogging is kind of sucking the life out of me. Or maybe it’s the winter doldrums striking early. Or maybe I just have nothing to say. All I know is that I’m having a tough [...]

January 5th, 2009

Quotes from the day

“Look how important Lulu (a record by Trip Shakespeare) is to me. I’ve scrawled it on the back of my hand like I’m in 4th grade and don’t want to forget my math homework.” “Did you write that blog post about how much I like muffins yet?” “Do you want to read the latest issue [...]

January 1st, 2009

A few memories of Holy Roller Bob

Ever since reading Kevin Brockmeier’s A Brief History of the Dead whenever I learn about the death of someone I have cared about I immediately want to sit and scribble down every memory I have about them. Because by committing those memories to paper and pixels I can ensure that they are not forgotten and [...]

December 2nd, 2008

It is a real job, really

“You work from home on Wednesdays?” the TTHM asked, unable to control his shock and awe. “Yeah,” I said. “THAT’S NOT A JOB!” He shouted into his phone. “Yes it is,” I said. “I have to follow people on Twitter and read blogs, post stuff.” “I hope they pay you in stickers and not real [...]