Freelancer Fridee

Okay, so let’s get a few things straight. As the host, I shall not always be late to Freelancer Fridee. However, as a freelancer, when a client needs you to do a last minute job for them at 4pm on the afternoon of Freelancer Fridee, I have to take the work. Especially when it’s a new client.

Another thing that needs clarification is that Freelancer Fridee is not strictly for Freelancers. It’s a social and networking opportunity for freelancers, self-employed people and small business operators or people who work in small business. We also encourage friends of freelancers to come along. So the beauty of Freelancer Fridee is small business people get to learn from people who work in larger corporate environments and vice versa.

The other thing that needs to be straightened out is that Freelancer Fridee is a social and networking opportunity. So if you want to come along, socialise and booze on without thinking about work you can. On the other hand if you want to come along and chat about the challenges and perils of being a freelancer or bounce some ideas around, you’ll be sure to find some other monkeys who are keen to chat.

So let’s wrap up episode #2.

Even though a little late I was the first one in the door at the beautiful and somewhat quaint Palace Hotel in South Melbourne. I perched myself by the fire place in a comfy loung chair and began to read the Emerald Hill Times, or whatever that bloody awful local paper is called. Thankfully, not far behind me was the lovely Abbe Holmes. We chatted about the concept of Freelancer Fridee and Abbe suggested a family sports day at some point. So the Freelancer Fridee Family Fun Day was born. Happening sometime early in 2009, the FF Family Fun Day will be a kid friendly great day in the park with Bocce, BBQ’s, Cricket, Three Legged Races and other assorted bits of fun. All suggestions welcome.

Not long after I ordered my second Sapporo Beer, which I must say I was quite impressed with having never had one before, Nina Nicols arrived and of course already knew Abbe from around the traps. Wayne Aistrope and his lovely lady Tracey appeared soon after and we quickly rearranged some furniture so we could all sit on the big comfy couches and have a good chin wag. Tracey announced she had just given notice to her employer to much cheering and was looking forward to some part time work and a change in lifestyle. Another freelancer in the wings?

Adrian Mulraney texted me to say that he couldn’t make it due to his lovely partners birthday but he’ll definitely be at the next one.

The couches were quickly rearranged again to accommodate Paul Gildea from Monkeesee and the lovely Heather Everard from Tribal Media Makers. Good to see people who have heard about each other but never met finally hooking up and chewing the fat about all sorts of stuff.

Tony Lazzaro from Big Ears Audio turned up and was duly welcomed to episode #2 of Freelancer Fridee. As was Margaret, a friend of Nina’s and a friend of Freelancer Fridee. To round out our rather intimate evening we welcomed Kate Scholem from Theta Magic, Atlanta Frith as well as Lisa Wood from the Belong Group.

As the fireplace was stoked and another log thrown on, the girls wondered aloud about the absence of the marshmallows. The very friendly Palace Hotel Melbourne hospitality staff promptly ducked across the road to the seven eleven and before we knew it we were toasting marshmallows in the open fire place. Yum!

And so we chatted until the wee hours about life and work and education and social justice and healing and music and art and the film Kingpin starring Bill Murray, Woody Harrelson and Randy Quaid. Business cards and numbers were exchanged along with ideas and passions.

And then episode #2 came to an end.