New client

Picked up another client last week. Will be working on a project spanning the next couple of months, writing travel overviews for TravBuddy.

It's nice when your hobbies can turn into paying gigs. I love the 21st century. It's been a real pleasure being able to make money writing about video games, something my parents used to always claim were rotting my brain. I've seen the video game industry transition from just a closet-hobby for nerds back in the 80s into a multi-billion dollar industry that is now considered the norm. Every household has a console of some kind, be it a Wii, PS3, X-Box 360, or otherwise. And similarly is traveling. Travel writers have existed for years, but it's nice to be able to transition into that market myself. I've done some travel work in the past (over 800 articles for various clients), but that was through a third party. This time I'm working direct.

Traveling across Europe, and other places, was always something of a dream when I was a kid, but my hard work and diligence in my late teens and early 20s paid off, and I've pretty much been able to take at least 2 trips every year since I was nineteen years old. My first trip was to London back in 1999, and I spent two weeks in and around the city, as well as going up to Oxford, to Stonehenge, and various other places around the nearby countryside, not to mention living it up because I was able to drink legally in the UK vs the US, the only country in the world with a 21 year old drinking limit.

In any case, the last three years have seen those trips increase to 4-6 trips a year, due to our blessing of having Evy's family, whose business is doing exceptionally well. As a result, we get to tag along on several vacations a year, which the family pays for in their entirety, outside of spending money. Which allows Evy and I the chance to save up for our own unique little side trips that we take on our own time, which bumps us up over the 4 trips per year part.

This year we've only taken three vacations so far (not counting several weekend hiking trips), but the fourth is just around the corner. We'll be heading to Nessebar the first week of September for a much-needed seaside holiday. Our last one of the year, because we are wanting to save up for three big trips next year on our own dime....back to Rome for round 4, Paris for round 2, and we are going to head to China for a 3 week backpack trip in the fall. Not to mention I think we are buying a car sometime in the Spring, but that's to be determined when we get to that point and dependent upon how much money we want to spend on something we'll only drive once a month, at most. Living downtown in a city has its advantages, because public transportation is 5 seconds out of the front door and you can take a cab anywhere lengthy.

In any case...new client, new project. I can't go into too many details due to the NDA, but suffice to say that it's another fun project I'm glad I get a chance to work on. I'm continually thankful for the opportunities I've come across as a result of getting into bed with this new career. She has been a most excellent mistress!

Kudos again to Evy, for letting me take this opportunity in the first place last year.