I have lost my reply to this not once, but twice!

I just got back from the studio, where I spent two hours more than I'd planned... and overheard someone *giving away* someone else's work! There was an unsigned piece, which should go on a shelf full of unsigned pieces, but someone admired it and the person emptying the kiln offered it to them! Is this where my stuff is disappearing to?? I couldn't believe it. The person who took it had second thoughts and put it back where it belonged, but, boy. I also had a broken piece on my shelf - something that I made at least 10 weeks ago and which was apparently just fired this week. I guess if I go back, I need to keep much better track of my pieces.

I haven't been involved in open source projects aside from the occasional slight improvement or bug fix contribution. That would definitely be something worth trying - if it doesn't work out, you can just drop out. I wonder if you would find that your company seems a paragon of efficiency compared to a community driven software project, though

And I don't get your boss. It sounds like he likes you, so why is he making you do work you don't want to do? Is it just that he likes/trusts you too much? Does he understand that one of the advantages of a contractor is that you don't have to make work for them since they don't get paid to do nothing, unlike salaried employees?

I also like your idea about finding a real life group to talk about career struggles. I would like to find that, too. I would actually love to find some accountability partners, a group where we could get together once or twice a week for breakfast and check in with confirmation that we'd worked towards our goals.

It's gorgeous here today and I have the house to myself for the next few days while my boyfriend goes to a family reunion I took a pass on. They are all staying in the same house and A doesn't talk to B and C doesn't talk to D. No thanks!