8 Random Business Bits About Me

Sandie at GeekedOff has tagged me for 8 random facts. They’re (mostly) business relevant:

8 Random Business Bits About Me

I hate maintenance
I love projects, though! I’m slightly successful with keeping BBB updated because I’ve psyched myself into seeing each post or series as a project. I go tharn when I think of composing posts day after day after day after day after…<shudder> I’ll be so very golden when I can write the week’s posts in a day or two. Other dreaded maintenance tasks: laundry, flossing, housecleaning, eating breakfast, exercise.
I’m a sucker for business ebooks
I’ve always loved to read, so instant access to any book is way tempting. Even moreso if the PDF has color pictures and a groovy layout, and promises to make my dreams come true: an empty Inbox, a clean house, a second car and a happy worklife. I would be unrecognizable if I actually did everything I read in my mighty collection of MMO and productivity ebooks. Dan is worried he’ll be marked as an enabler if he gives me a much-coveted Kindle for my birthday.
I don’t like sarcasm.
The quickest, most permanent way to turn me off of a relationship, business or otherwise, is an overuse/abuse of sarcasm. Same for people who vent bitter snarkiness, then wave a dismissive hand with a smile and a “Oh, I’m just kidding.” Talking with those folks isn’t worth the effort of guessing if they actually meant what they just said.
I’m a mystery/thriller audiobook junkie
If I had means, I would own every mystery/thriller narrated by George Guidall, Richard Ferrone, Michael Beck, Simon Prebble, Martin Jarvis, Scott Brick, and Frank Muller. How this pertains to me and business: If I didn’t have bills to pay, I’d gleefully accept Audible.com gift certificates from my clients.
I love baskets, bowls, and glassware
I whimper at the windows of Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel. I hustle through entire sections of IKEA with both hands blinding my peripheral vision. My usually indulgent fella has forbidden me to bring home any more baskets. He drew the line when he realized we had baskets full of ——wait for it——baskets. I’m an accumulator. It’s how I’m built. This blog is the product of my accumulations.
I love structure but hate rules
I’ll invent limitations to brace myself against if a project doesn’t have enough structure. I’m not the best at anything, but I’m at my best with a box to think outside of. Unreasonable boundaries typically yield creative and clever results. However, some rules rankle: You must eat lunch between 11 and 1. You must not take more than 30 minutes. The first 30 minutes worked after your normal clock-out do not count as overtime. Grrr…
I’m not fit to work in an office
I deleted anymore from the end of that because I don’t think I was ever suited to an office life. The at-home workstyle is perfect for me. I’m free to avoid crowds at the grocery store and rush hour traffic. I can close up shop to meet Dan in DC for dinner or my friend Chris in Baltimore for lunch. I’m free to turn the music up really loud when I’m drawing and also to turn it off so I can write in complete silence.
And I’m free to work when I’m at my best (early afternoon through dinner, then near midnight into the wee hours), and to actually do my best without “making other people look bad” (Yup, I’ve had coworkers turn rabid on me for this…supervisors, too!).
I enjoy solitude but don’t always like being alone
Working on Mondays is always tough because the apartment is sooooo quiet after a weekend of hanging out with Dan and my loud, nutty family. I have a list of nearby coffee and sandwich shops with free wi-fi for days like that. It’s good be around people, even if I don’t know or talk to any of them.
I would wither without Twitter’s incessant chatter. Twhirl is always open (though often minimized), even on days when there’s no time to join the many threads of conversaton. It’s fun to “eavesdrop” when I’m eating my lunch, or need to rest my brain for a minute or two.
I love balance, but I don’t like even numbers ;)

The rules (shamelessly stolen from Sandie’s Brett’s Rudy’s blog) are:

Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’ve been tagged, and to read your blog.

I’m trying to avoid tagging folks who’ve already been tagged, so I don’t have 8 (another sign I need to get out more!)—

Becky McCray [Small Biz Survival]

Chris Guillebeau [The Art of Non-conformity]

Chris Pommier [Words & Tricks] — Chris’ 8 Random Things

Jeremy Davis [Jeremy Adam Davis]

Sterling Okura [Bizlift] — Sterling’s 8 Random Business Bits