Monterey!

Jellies!

 We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium yesterday to try out my new camera.  A lot of "tips for freelancers" articles advise having a routine -- similar to what you'd have if you worked a real job.  They're very adamant about how you should work like you're in an office (e.g. wake up at 8 a.m., take a shower, get dressed in work clothes, only eat lunch on your lunch break, etc.), even though you're at home.

Okay, am I the only one who didn't know that sand dollars are like...hairy?

 That's BS.  If you want to work in an office, go work in an office.  Office jobs are much easier to get, they come with benefits such as  health and dental insurance, and your employer pays your taxes.  If you're so into waking up early and dressing in real clothes, you're in luck, because that actually makes you fairly employable.  But if you're like me -- not a morning person at all -- then the extra effort (and taxes) of freelancing is totally worth it.

I love cuttlefish.  They were all mating in the tank.  Except this one.

So my advice to freelancers is:
- Wake up whenever you want
- Go to bed whenever you feel like it
- Your business hours do not have to be the same every day -- but you do have to have some
- Under no circumstances should you get dressed (or at least, in work clothes) to sit in your house and type away at the computer
- Go out to lunch with friends (probably friends who have office jobs) when you have the chance
- Take lots of trips, but not non-working "vacations"
- Occasionally go to the aquarium, or a museum, or a movie in the middle of the day because you feel like it.  And because you can.

Ron in front of the kelp tank

The cheapest sneakers...ever

On Saturday, the boy and I dropped by the Palo Alto Neiman Marcus so he could return some jeans.  We had some time to kill (we were heading up to the city), so we took a look at the women's shoe section, naturally.

Sam Edelman Holden Sneakers

 He was browsing through the sale rack when he saw a pair of sneakers that he thought were kind of neat (for me), so he picked them up.  He tossed me a size 8.5, which what I normally wear in an open-toed sandal -- not a sneaker.

"Look for a 9 or a 9.5," I said as I slipped out of my six-inch heels to try the sneakers on.

He looked through the remaining sneakers until he found a 9, and then he laughed.

"Look...these are mislabeled.  It's supposed to be $150, but they actually say $1.50!"  He said, holding the sneaker up.  A sales guy nearby looked over curiously.  He handed the shoe to the sales guy and jokingly asked, "Will you guys honor the lowest marked price?"

The sales guy looked at the shoe and then shrugged, "Let me ask."

Originally $150, on sale for $100

We sat around for awhile as the sales guy puttered around the back, presumably asking his manager whether the store would sell us the sneaker for $1.50.  About 15 minutes later, he came out with the shoe in hand.

"Uh...my manager says sure.  We'll honor the lowest marked price."

So our total was $1.68, including tax.

Yes, that really happened.  The moral of the story is...it never hurts to ask?

$1.68 with tax

New to my repertoire: Men's Health

If  you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or any of the other places around the web where I sporadically post, you probably already know that I recently added Men's Health to my list of publications.

Here's how that started: Back in January, I went to an "influencers" dinner by Harman.  It was at a steakhouse, I cover as much audio as PCWorld, Macworld, and TechHive cover (which is not a lot, unless it's targeted -- for example, this article I wrote on workout headphones).  I also cover car tech, which is in some part audio.  Anyway, at the dinner I sat across from Eric, the Men's Health tech editor.  Now, as freelancers go I'm pretty easy on the hustle, but that doesn't mean I don't give out my business cards like it's my job.  Mostly because it is my job, but also because I really love my business cards.

After the dinner, we got to talking (over email), and I started pitching him article ideas once he sorted out his budget.  Pretty straightforward.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how freelancers get jobs (seriously).

I, as you might imagine, am thrilled to be writing for Men's Health -- not just because it's a new magazine that pays money (although that's a plus), but because I love, love, love fitness magazines.  Because I love fitness!  For those of you who don't remember (or who don't know), fitness sort of runs in my blood: both my parents are P.E. teachers (my mom is a lifelong P.E. teacher; my dad started out in math and chemistry and later thought P.E. looked more interesting), coaches, and athletes.  My dad played college football, my mom ran 5 miles a day until her knees busted out (don't run!!! It's bad for you!!!).  They're also both certified lifeguard instructors, so you can imagine how much fun it was when they made me and my brothers take a lifeguarding class co-taught by them.

Crazy P.E.-teaching parents aside, sports and fitness is a pretty big thing in my family.  My little brother, Timmy Jacobsson, just qualified for the Asia Regionals in the CrossFit Games.  That's right -- he beat out thousands of people in the CrossFit open to secure a spot in the top 48 (in Asia).  And not just any spot -- he's #16, which is awesome.  In fact, in the last workout (there are six) he came in first place, like a champion.  As you can probably tell, I'm super proud of him, not only because he's got a definite shot at going to the games in July (and this is his first year entering), but because just five years ago he was 300 pounds and diabetic.  Now he's 180-ish and...not diabetic.  Yeah, apparently you can get rid of diabetes (technically he's controlling it with diet and exercise, but he doesn't even have to take blood tests anymore, so for all intents and purposes it's gone).

Okay, enough about my life and my crazy fitness-obsessed family.  Men's Health...is what we were talking about.  It's been about a month now, and you can go check out some of my work on the TechLust blog.  My latest piece is up now, actually: Use Gaming for Daily Motivation