I'm in Florida right now enjoying a 10 day vacation. We are staying at my parent's condo on the beach. It's 30 minutes from Daytona. A few days back, I caught a 26 1/2 inch Red Fish off the beach. We went out late afternoon and were not getting any bites but my dad and I were enjoying our father and son time together. Along came a huge strike and I excitedly ran to the pole which was in a sand fishing pole holder. The fish did not come easily. There was a lot of back and forth. It was very strong and took a long time and technique to reel in. When we finally brought the fish in, we realized that our line was partially snapped. We also noticed it had a hook in it already from a previous escape. Reminds me that opportunities are just like that. They come out of nowhere sometimes when you are not expecting them. When they come, they take some amount of luck and technique to land.
In that vein, I start a 3 month contract when I return. It's my third paying gig since I went solo last May. I'll get some time to focus on the design phases of systems building - process analysis. In the mean time, I will prepare for the larger opportunities that seem to present themselves if only you watch for them and prepared and lucky when they come in.
A few projects I continue to work on:
1. www.joyandcaregivingfoundation.org - The school that my mom's foundation supports is named after me and I plan to improve the website little by little. I've seen a lot of good examples and am now just building up the design discipline to work on the front end aspects. I also want to add Google Checkout / Pay pal acceptance of donations.
2. SpaFloridian.Com
My mom's spa is doing well in Florida. It should have a better web face. I currently just tweaked a commissioned site that was made years back. It's time for a face lift.
3. LockAndKeyId.Com / RestorationThrowdown.com
This is the benificiary of my first attempts at cascading style sheets and design with Gimp and nVu. We're looking into building a car enthusiast community. In 2007, we have 2 programmers, a business sponsor,. and an intern to push these ideas forward.
4. A few other sites...
Talking to my Uncle in Orlando about improving his real eastate business page. Another friend wants to put out a BI consulting startup page. I'll work on his and my own. Also have a page to build for my kids- We're thinking of PhillyPinas.Com. A site for family and friends to keep up with the Garcia Girls as their coming to be known.
A little of effort in business, web design, and web analytics. Hopefully just enough to tip my ideas in something that can sustain itself and grow. I'm hoping to continue the momentum by getting more help by funding a small team of programmers from the Philippines. I'll spend the summer trying to pick 1 or 2 and train them. When I get back, I'll post a help wanted on the Manila version of Craigslist and start taking resumes. I'll meet with 4 or 5 of the best ones in my in-laws area and hopefully pick 1 or 2 to work full time from my in-laws home office (used to be Melissa's dental clinic).
Wish me luck. 2007 should be exciting.
