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I’m on a bit of a downer today, after the Lakers dealt my Spurs a heartbreaking loss last night.  So that may be part of the reason this post is happening.  It’s a bit of a rant, but it’s also something that’s plaguing me.  This is going to hit on a few different, yet intertwined areas, before you reach the end.

Being without a steady job, I have a lot of time to think.  Having a lot of time to think, gives me a lot of time to network and explore new ideas more thoroughly.  Much of this networking has led me to new goals, like revitalizing my hometown and the area around it.  Many of those ideas have led me into discussions with a variety of people, to do a variety of things.  With a little more time on my hands, I’ve begun doing a lot of volunteer things, as well as more odd jobs than I would typically do.  Being a geek, and being heavily into all things on the web, I’ve discussed doing several different projects with people, most of which would have resulted in a little bit of cash for me.  However, to do these projects, I need these people to be actively active, as opposed to actively inactive.  I hope that people in the Small Town, USA you’re from aren’t like this.

Change…Or Not One of the things I see a lot in my area is people seeing the need for a change, whether doing something differently, or adding something to make something better (that’s a lot of somethings).  It’s beginning to drive me crazy though, as these people talk with me, acknowledge a change is needed, then fail to follow up with any change.

Local Organization Several months ago, one of the organizations in town acquired a new laptop and projector, so that they could complete the new training they needed, which was no longer available without a computer.  The lady in charge had never had a computer before, much less a projector, and asked if I could teach her everything she needed to know.  She told me she was busy with something the next few days, but would call the following week.  That was in February.

Church Our Church, or at least some of the people in it, see the need to change the way we reach out.  My generation doesn’t respond the same way young adults did 30 years ago.  I said I could build a website, which would help a lot when done correctly, and was told our Deacon’s (usually resistant to technological advances) were supportive of it.  I told them some of the things (information for the site) I would need to do it, and haven’t been given anything since.

On a side note, it is very difficult for me to talk to people in Church about any kind of tech advancement.  We have a very old sound system, which badly needs an overhaul, and a lot of people unwilling to spend the money to do it.  Our entire A/V setup is filled with stop-gap solutions, and trying to keep it all working right is an exercise in patience.  After dealing with all of this for many, many months, people are frustrated with me venting my frustrations, and now simply get angry with me.

Town Web Site Nearly 6 weeks ago, I pitched a ground up redesign of an area town’s web site.  The people at the meeting saw the need for a change, even gave me really good suggestions for other things to do in addition to what I brought up.  However, despite a small minority worrying about the (discounted) cost of the project, prospects were looking good, and they told me they’d be in touch.  Yesterday, one of the people at that meeting asked if anybody had gotten back to me on it yet.  That’s the only thing I’ve heard since the meeting.

Local Business An area business has been thinking about entering the land of digital, as they realize doing what they do, the way they’ve been doing it, isn’t going to last.  We were going to set up a time to sit down and discuss it, but graduation was that week, so they were going to contact me last week.  Still nothing.

Job Hunt Over the course of my job hunt, for a steady job, I’ve had numerous interviews, and they do the usual ‘we’ll let you know’ bit.  It drives me batty to email and/or call to get an update on things, only to get a notice, 6 weeks later, that they hired someone else.  More recently, I was discussing a potential job that I would absolutely love, and it even fits my schedule just wonderfully.  I’m sure Memorial Day weekend didn’t help our communication process, but it would be nice to have my last email replied to, even if it’s just to let me know they’re swamped this week.  [update:  In the time it took me to write and post this, my email was replied to, prospects looking up!]

Is It Me? Maybe it’s a rural America thing, being somewhat isolated from ‘the latest thing.’  But maybe it’s me, being the kind of guy who wants to do stuff and do it now.  I understand people like to plan things out, but I can do an awful lot of ground work on a web site while you figure things out, just give me the go ahead.  My past reputation of being a little pushy when people don’t get back to me within a few days probably doesn’t help, but is it so hard to send a 2 line email?  It’s really starting to burn me out, having so many potential things going on and nothing happening.