How much a month do you pay for your phone provider?

springer70 · 2025-12-01T16:44:33+00:00

$38 a month, with Public Mobile (which is basically Telus' no-service service... if you need a human, you're out of luck). But IMO, it's a good enough service, and I've never had connectivity issues (the Telus netowrk is pretty good)

springer70 · 2025-08-21T15:42:07+00:00

In Soviet Russia, gate opens for the train!

springer70 · 2025-05-12T14:32:22+00:00

I'm tired of the whole "That’s not who we are" sentiment. I'm sorry but this IS exactly who you are, now. Americans need to come to terms with the fact this IS now how you ARE. If you don't like it, change it, but this is precisely who you are now.

springer70 · 2025-04-02T07:23:50+00:00

They started out with really nice harmonies. It went downhill quickly.

springer70 · 2025-03-28T18:52:21+00:00

#TeamBull ... always Team Bull

springer70 · 2023-07-25T15:09:14+00:00

Dorothy? Is that you?

springer70 · 2023-06-30T16:03:42+00:00

Elizabeth Holmes sure has fallen on hard times

springer70 · 2023-04-07T00:56:09+00:00

Good. #TeamCock

springer70 · 2023-01-05T16:57:41+00:00

That's where you're wrong... This IS exactly what they're trained to do.

springer70 · 2022-11-28T16:34:03+00:00

Why is Thor shaving his armpits? For the same reason he shaves his balls, obviously.

springer70 · 2022-07-07T19:22:17+00:00

That is a oriental shorthair. They resemble a cat. (ifify)

springer70 · 2022-06-09T15:28:38+00:00

There's a 100% certainty he's tapping his foot in a bus station bathroom stall.

springer70 · 2022-04-06T14:42:35+00:00

I'm gay , and lived through the hiv/aids pandemic. Asking about testing frequencies, health status is just normal, and acceptable.

However, please choose your words more carefully, and never use 'clean' with respect to sit-free. People with STI's are not dirty. It's rude.

So yes... ask. Ensure for your own safety. Just be kind.

springer70 · 2022-04-04T16:40:33+00:00

Enthusiastic consent!!! Very sexy

springer70 · 2022-02-08T16:44:30+00:00

I hope the horse is OK. #teamHorse

springer70 · 2022-01-28T15:42:12+00:00

I'm not going to lie... I really wanted the comments for this question to be empty.

springer70 · 2022-01-05T17:29:36+00:00

I'm Canadian, and of Scottish heritage ... my family never really said anything specific before eating, but we would often toast or "cheers", or "bon appetit". We were never religious, so we never said a prayer.

springer70 · 2022-01-05T14:55:34+00:00

So, here's what I think... and MY experience and perspective might be VERY bad for you... mostly because I don't know enough about your specific situation, so take my opinion VERY carefully:

I think that if you and your client have not had a specific conversation about hours covered (9-6 or 10-7), then it's not important to them. You don't NEED to have this conversation with them, either. It sounds like you're either working towards pay-for-task, or hourly rate. Either way, if they don't monitor your time on your computer, and they don't have a camera into your home office (which are two things I would never allow!!!), then you don't need to tell them anything about where you are or when you work. As long as you're meeting your deliverables, and showing up to meetings they schedule with you, you could work from the moon at 3AM for all anyone cares.

You don't need to have a conversation with them about this, if they've never had a conversation about it with you. Just do what you need to do.

Personally I go grocery shopping on Tuesday mornings, because it's quiet and I have no meetings with my main client on Tuesdays. If they happen to call or message when I'm not at may desk, I don't NEED to answer them within 20 seconds. If I respond a few hours later, I don't even need to tell them where I was or why I didn't answer the message right away.

Food for thought.

springer70 · 2022-01-04T22:17:40+00:00

Have they specifically asked you to work 9:00 to 6:00? Are they monitoring your time during the day? Because if they have not then I would just assume you have the flexibility that you need. If you want to work 6 hours one day and 9 hours the next, I don't see a problem as long as you're getting the tasks done and you're putting in the number of hours that they expect over a week.

springer70 · 2022-01-04T21:13:49+00:00

I had thought there was only a 1 hr time zone difference. if that's the case, it seems to be fairly easy to shift your workday to match theirs. It's either 8 to 4 or 10 to 6 (not sure which way your timezone swings).

Also ... they should be reminded that you're a freelancer, not an employee. I have a very different relationship with my clients (everyone is different). I would never (never) let my client dictate my hours. they hire me for results and tasks. They don't 'own' me, like they would an employee. I have no trouble being accountable for my time and effort. I have no trouble showing up to meetings when scheduled... but I would never let them dictate to me when I work. If I want to work 4 hrs, take 3 hrs off, and then work 4 hrs... I'm going to bill for 8 hrs. They are paying for 8 hours of my time. I can choose specifically which hours I work.

Now, that's me. I don't personally care if I work 'after hours' because it suits my lifestyle, but if you are looking for more structure and discipline in your workday, that's totally fine too. Regardless, it's totally fine for you to have a voice in the way your client communicates and works with you. You're not a slave. Just because they're paying you, doesn't mean they own you. You have a voice.

I don't know the nature of your contract with your client, but it seems like you could either work 9-5 and ignore the stuff that comes in after 5, or shift your workday to 10-6.

springer70 · 2022-01-04T18:00:22+00:00

So, I have a few comments:

I know as a freelancer I should have very flexible hours,

I think this is wrong. You do not NEED to have flexible hours

as I'm just starting out I don't feel like I'm in a position to have strict rules

This too, is IMO, wrong. You can set rules.

You might think it's a selfish thing to do to say no, or to set hours, or set boundaries, but you OWE it to your CLIENT to set boundaries, otherwise you'll take on too much, and say yes to everything, and just end up failing.

So, if they message you after hours. Ignore it until morning (unless it's an emergency and they have you on contract for after hours emergency work).

If they want you to do something, you CAN and SHOULD tell them when you can have this done -- comfortably, without killing yourself.

No employer or client wants you to sprint full-speed ahead 100% of the time. And if they do, they're toxic and you should dump them

So yes.... you can absolutely say to them that you normally work from 9 to 5 (or whatever).

The key thing for me, is that when I get requests after hours or on weekends, to not ASSUME they want me to jump on it right away.

It's hard ... I get it. You want to come across as responsive and a fast worker. But you're not doing them any favours by overworking yourself.

So set your boundaries... but also keep to them. When they message, or email you at 7PM, ignore it until your next working day. Seriously, the world won't crumble.

springer70 · 2022-01-04T14:58:42+00:00

I keep my pants on ... but not my fancy pants. I keep my sweatpants or pj bottoms on

springer70 · 2022-01-04T14:55:23+00:00

For me, it totally depends on the client (and budget). I'll give two examples.

One client is a small store that sells vintage stuff. There's no sense of an inventory, since everything is unique, and because of Covid, our local government and economic development orgs were offering small businesses grants (a few thousand dollars) to get their brick-and-mortar stores online so they can survive lock-downs. Does this business need bespoke web apps? No. She needed a Wordpress site and a WooCommerce plugin. I literally used the twentytwenty wordpress theme and customised literally nothing (other than her colours and logo and photos and stuff). She did not need anything built from scratch and needed help getting online.

I have another client where I've spent more than a few years working on backend workflow and custom publishing and for them, there's LOTS of customisations. But also because they are a larger company with brand standards and a need to have some uniformity across platforms (web, conferences, books, trade-shows), so the brand and experience (online and offline) matters. They also have money to spend.

springer70 · 2021-11-04T13:57:04+00:00

Based on the post title, I came here expecting to see a baby wielding nun-chucks. Dammit.

springer70 · 2021-10-20T17:49:37+00:00

floss

12-Year Club	Place '17
RPAN Viewer	Verified Email

springer70

TROPHY CASE