Free Sparky Rose

Hi everyone (if anyone is actually left!).  Yeah…it’s been a while since I’ve posted but I’ve only had regular and routine computer access for about five months.  All this probation stuff is a lot of work too…but I’ll dispense with the excuses…fact is that I just wasn’t sure where I should begin seeing as so much has happened and so much has changed.  So, in honor of The Dude winning the Oscar for best actor this year, I’m just going to say “Fuck it.”

Time for a reboot and start fresh.  Details of what’s transpired will either come out in the wash of this ongoing blog or will come out in my forthcoming book, tentatively titled “Conviction.”  Yes, at long last I’m actually going through the motions of putting together a book detailing the ins and outs of becoming a pot rockstar and, ultimately, a convicted felon.  My guess is that it’ll be a year out or so before it’s published, largely dependent on whether or not I get signed on with a publisher or I decide to self publish.  Watch this space (yeah…I know…you’ve watched long enough) for new exciting details about the book which is probably what I’ll be blogging about here more than anything.  My professional blog is located at www.sparkyrose.com/blog if you’re interested.

So that’s really the reboot part of this post.  I’m back blogging here and I’m just starting from now and not catching you up on the past so much…anything you’ve missed will just come up in conversation such as “Where in the hell are you?”… For the record, I now live in sunny Los Angeles.  I’m staying down here as long as I can afford it.  No further comment.

The rant part of this post begins here.  While I’ll never win any awards for my humility, I’m not quite as cocky as I once was but I’m not a sap either.  I’ve got some skills and I’m pretty smart.  So far those talents have not secured me a full time job (I’m sure that felon tag isn’t helping matters) or as much contract work as I’d like (economy not helping either) but what it has attracted is attention.  Lots of it.  And that’s where this rant begins.

I can’t begin to tell you how much lip service I get every day for projects or companies that desperately want and need my help.  We’re talking across the spectrum.  Writing business plans, designing web sites, developing brands and collateral systems, motion graphics for video, it goes on and on.  Everyone wants me on their team and everyone keeps calling to let me know.  I always give people the same story.  Your idea sounds good (and that’s not bullshit, they’ve all sounded really good actually) and I’m totally in to working on it.  I’d be happy to give you a pretty sweet deal on the cost (given my situation and the economy) but I can’t work for free.  It should be said that no one has asked me to work for free.  No one has asked me for a discounted rate.  Everyone is super bullish and talks about how great it’s all going to be.  The conversation usually ends with something like “Ok great, I’ll call you next week and we’ll kick this off.”  Brilliant.

You can probably see the train wreck coming but I’m still going to write it out.  The call never comes.  I touch base a week or two later and it’s the same story….”Hey I’ve been real busy but we’re definitely on!  I’ll buzz you next week.”  They don’t.  Which normally would be fine.  Projects die on the vine all the time.  Here’s the problem I have.

They keep fucking calling.  No, not new projects.  The same old ones that are dead on the vine.  They get in touch with questions like “Hey, what’s up?” or “What’s going on?”  You’re asking me?  Did I call you asking to work on your project?  No….I didn’t.  Now you’re asking me what’s going on?  I usually say “Same old shit.  What’s up with you?”  The answer is invariably the same…”Been super busy man, but I still wanna do that project.  Can we talk next week?  I’ll be ready to go.”  I don’t think I need to tell you where it goes from here, but if you’re a bit slow on the uptake or haven’t had your morning shot of caffeine….Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

And it never fucking ends.  Even when I implore them to just say “Hey, you know?  It’s not happening.”  or at the least “You know?  I really want to do it but I have absolutely no idea when it is going to kick off.”  It pains me that people go through so much effort to keep me on their “team” not realizing how damaging it is for me.  I’m trying to plan my life here.  I’m trying to make sure I have time for all of the commitments (hard or soft) that I make to people.  I’m also trying to distribute my time evenly between doing actual project work, looking for more project work/jobs, and working on long term projects (like, say, a book) that aren’t going to pay right now but might down the road.  When people tell me a project is kicking off, I factor that in to what I’m doing, and when it doesn’t happen, then I’ve got to scramble like a maniac to fill that gap.  It’s not only stressful as hell, it’s dangerous to my freedom.  Probation has very strict guidelines with respect to maintaining employment and a permanent address and if I don’t meet them or if I run out of money, I’m headed back into custody.

So please….people….just be straight with a brother, ok?  I won’t think less of you if your project doesn’t kick off.  And if I get a job or can’t work on your project when you’re ready, that’s the fucking breaks, man.  That’s called life.  Don’t string some poor bastard along to make yourself feel better, ok?

Thanks for listening kids.  Obviously, I need to go find some work right now to cover for a project that’s, obviously, not going to happen.  Till next time.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 8th, 2010 at 10:09 am and is filed under Sparky Rose. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.