The hymn Finlandia, also known as "This Is My Song".
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 5:38 PM on May 24, 2012

Tips for you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 5:35 PM on May 24, 2012

can I do this?

Yes.

taking 6 years to finish a BS degree that I don't even know if I can complete just feels embarrassing

I know that, from your perspective right now, it feels embarrassing. But think about it this way: when future employers look at your resume, you can just put the end date on there -- "graduated 201x" -- and they won't know or care about how long you took to get there.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 5:32 PM on May 24, 2012

Do you have a mentor, or someone else you trust to check in with you for 15 minutes a week? That kind of regular one-on-one appointment helps you set your goals for what's really important (not just urgent, but important) for you to focus on and get done.

Have a private accountability blog that you only share with that mentor or a few trusted friends, and every day, take 10 minutes to post:

* what you did the previous day
* what you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 8:34 AM on May 17, 2012

I greatly appreciate all your answers.

The more I thought about buying a smartphone the more my sentimental side rose up in protest against buying an Android device, and I used to have a Nokia N900 so I'm somewhat familiar with that ecology and (as I realized) sentimentally attached to the Maemo legacy. So I got a Nokia N9. Maybe I'll regret it and get a WebOS or Android device if it doesn't work out for me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 8:02 AM on May 17, 2012

Tact filter?
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 6:13 AM on May 17, 2012

By any chance, are you doing Hacker School?
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 1:23 PM on May 14, 2012

Alexandra Erin is doing online fiction - writes a lot of ongoing serial fiction, and gets enough donors and merch-buyers to make a living.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 10:35 PM on May 13, 2012 marked best answer

I'm at the Wikimedia Foundation (hiring), and I came into it from a few years working and volunteering in open source software. I'm the community manager on the engineering side. I help volunteers learn and grow, I contribute to freely-licensed software that anyone can reuse and contribute to, I help nurture the development community that makes the software platform for Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects, and thus I'm helping empower people all over the world with information.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 10:20 PM on May 13, 2012

I meant to move Eyebeam into the not-hiring-right-now list, whoops.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 10:32 PM on May 13, 2012

Have you ever managed other people? You can get experience in management in volunteer projects and those skills do transfer (not 100%, but substantially) to the workplace.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 7:12 AM on February 2, 2012 marked best answer

Tally Hall. "Good Day", "Turn the Lights Off", "Cannibal" and "Never Meant to Know".
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 7:44 AM on December 24, 2011

Check out oDesk and similar sites to get small international gigs.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 11:55 AM on October 5, 2011

"And Then We Shot The Ox"
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 6:31 AM on September 27, 2011

Previously: "What single book is the best introduction to your field (or specialization within your field) for laypeople?" I've read & enjoyed several books from that thread.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 6:52 AM on September 24, 2011

The protagonists of Pat Barker's Regeneration, Tamora Pierce's Protector of the Small quartet, Cat Rambo's "Magnificent Pigs", Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed, and Rita Mae Brown's Rubyfruit Jungle.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 4:22 PM on September 22, 2011

For future reference: your insurance card may have on it a phone number for a 24-hour advice nurse. If so, keep that in mind for the next time you're dithering on whether to go to the emergency room, or otherwise trying to figure out how urgent your medical need is. The advice nurse is trained in helping stressed-out people make that very decision.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 12:39 PM on September 18, 2011

I especially like David Edgar's play "Continental Divide" (actually two plays, "Daughters of the Revolution" and "Mothers Against").
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 6:28 PM on September 17, 2011

Kim Stanley Robinson wrote a political scifi trilogy that I haven't read but that sounds good and plausible:

Forty Signs Of Rain
Fifty Degrees Below
Sixty Days And Counting
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 12:35 PM on September 18, 2011

Can you move somewhere where EMTs make enough money to live on?
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 2:13 PM on September 13, 2011

When I run across an interesting article, sometimes I send a link to a few old colleagues or acquaintances that it reminds me of. "This reminded me of you because [legitimate reason]" never goes awry.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 6:27 AM on September 13, 2011

I was often into guys who hadn't dated at all. I would say straight out, "I'm attracted to you!" and sometimes I got rejected and sometimes it led someplace more interesting. Rejection is not death, and embarrassment is not death.

Some additional experiences.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 6:09 PM on August 28, 2011

Dessa, "Children's Work"?
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 6:16 PM on August 12, 2011

wz: have you already run into the beginner's guide How To Read A Financial Report by John A. Tracy? Or are you past that level?
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 6:39 AM on July 20, 2011

Jacques Pepin's The Apprentice, Ben Franklin's autobiography, Lee Iacocca's autobiography, In Code: A Mathematical Journey by Sarah Flannery, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves by Adam Hochschild, Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown, the She's Such A Geek... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 9:11 AM on July 18, 2011

Tina Fey's Bossypants.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 9:03 PM on July 18, 2011

Another account from an OWL educator.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 9:13 AM on July 18, 2011

Tell us more about what you positively like and want, what you lose yourself in doing, not just what you want to avoid.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 12:38 PM on July 17, 2011

Brainwane, sadly I don't really lose myself in doing anything that could conceivably be construed as a job (does reading or walking through the woods count?) Although your advice to look for positives rather than negatives is sound.

As you try to think of the activities you enjoy, do not limit yourself to the things you can currently imagine as job-related. One of your problems right now is a lack of knowledge and imagination regarding labor in general, the industry you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 3:31 PM on July 17, 2011

A big reason I press the point: Relevant career Venn diagram. If you love something, and then discover (via us or other advisors or research) that there's a way to get paid for it, then you'll be passionate and motivated and supported enough to work at it enough to get good at it, and then you'll be set.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 3:40 PM on July 17, 2011

Indognito, yes, you need to allow your curiosity to win over your cynicism for just long enough to make a list of activities that suit you, and then post it so the people advising you have that information. Sounds like you have two:

* reading
* walking in the woods

Got three more?
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 7:52 PM on July 17, 2011

For cheap travel options, consider WWOOF.

Previous question regarding doing marketing volunteer work that would look good on a resume.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 12:29 PM on July 12, 2011

Do you have any other allies in the firm?
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 12:27 PM on July 12, 2011

A few ideas on how to get past the cross-cultural problems, seconding a few commenters above:

Yes, go there and physically meet them. Try to socialise with them, eat with them, and help them see that you're a real person who wants real conversation, not just some voice on the phone who wants the next CMM or ISO-9002 checkbox.

Yes, break the question down a different way. Since they're so fixated on requirements, maybe ask, "and what... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 9:03 AM on July 9, 2011

Nthing "figure out/get your comparative advantage." Random example: Are you one of the few people who knows English and Italian and basic programming and finance and can give a good presentation?

The conventional wisdom says: find what you have a passion for and what can eventually be lucrative, because your passion will help you through the local minima to a skill level that the market will find lucrative.

You're a finance gal --... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 8:26 AM on July 6, 2011

Many suggestions above are good. I also suggest he look for a WikiProject about the general topic that entry fits into, and join it -- editors who care about related things will be able to give your friend tips, help protect good edits against misguided reversions, and so on.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 4:13 PM on July 5, 2011

Omidyar, Dreamwidth (more), and all the for-profit software consulting firms that contribute to open source software.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 3:06 PM on July 2, 2011

Po Bronson's "Is the Revolution Over?" "An anthropological expedition to late 90s Silicon Valley reveals that it takes more than some engineers, VCs, headhunters and electronics stores to make a miracle." June 1998, Wired.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 5:54 AM on June 29, 2011

Are you necessarily a Windows person, or are you open to Linux? Audacity and video editing apps are available for Linux. And if you order a Linux laptop from a Linux-only manufacturer like ZaReason, it's cheaper because you don't have to pay for a Windows software license.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 3:14 PM on June 20, 2011

Thurber's "The Catbird Seat."
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 1:02 PM on June 9, 2011

Boston is one of the most open source software-meetupy places in the US. Django, WordPress, Linux, jQuery, CouchDB, and so on.

If you hit OpenHatch and contribute to an open source software project for a few months (testing, documentation, & coding) in your spare time, you'll be in a better position in terms of your resume and networking. Open source volunteering is part of how I got my last two jobs.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 8:06 AM on June 9, 2011

(P.S. I majored in political science.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 8:06 AM on June 9, 2011

Random Idealist.org job search for nonprofit jobs in the US that mention "Arabic" in the job description.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 7:53 AM on June 9, 2011

I usually wear black slip-on shoes (loafers?), a pair of black slacks, a blue long-sleeved button-up shirt. I'm a woman though. But I think your plan sounds fine too.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 11:04 AM on June 8, 2011

Get your boss and HR in the same room and explain that no one is handling the Emily situation and that it's the biggest risk in the project. If your boss doesn't put her on a performance improvement plan within two weeks, start looking for a new job.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 11:48 AM on June 7, 2011

You are not the only person who has been fired, or laid off, and you won't be the only person to succeed after suddenly parting ways with an employer. This will be a snapshot in the montage of your life. The hero's journey has to pass through the dark forest.

It sounds as though you've generally succeeded at other jobs. Succeed at something you care about -- craft something, write something, set a small goal and accomplish it -- and you will remember what it feels like to succeed.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 3:49 PM on June 2, 2011

This may sound silly, but: have business cards with you. Or, if you don't have business cards, get personal cards made up via Vistaprint or a local copy shop -- just your name, email, phone number, and maybe a little logo if you like. Then you'll have an easy way to give your contact information to the stranger whom you want to turn into a friend, when you run into one in a shop or a restaurant or at your kid's school. That little bit of friction reduction can help.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 8:47 AM on June 2, 2011

Dog-Eared Summer by Brite Futures.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 5:21 AM on May 24, 2011

What helped?

Working in open source software, where a bug report is a contribution -- reporting relevant defects well is a welcomed skill.

From Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture" - the insight that it's when people notice a problem and don't criticize that you should be unhappy, because that might mean they've given up on you.

Having other fairly objective measures tell me that I'm doing all... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 5:21 AM on May 24, 2011

Or get a telecommuting job that you can do from anywhere, one that pays well enough, *then* move to Asheville.
posted to Ask Metafilter by brainwane at 5:15 AM on May 24, 2011