I Love My Job, Pt. 2

Just sent a client home with a new Linux laptop. Have I mentioned recently how much I dearly love my job? When I get to sit down with a client and introduce them to desktop Linux, and get to see them get excited when they get a new concept like virtual desktops, or hear “wow, that’s fuckin’ cool” when I show them the wealth of programs that they have at their disposal through apt… that’s pretty cool. It’s a rush, and I get to do it a few times in a good week. What typically follows in my presentation, however, is sometimes a letdown. After the demo and the walkthrough, I always try to explain the freedom aspect of Free Software, and often people just don’t get it or aren’t interested.

But days like today, maybe it’s because I’m especially on my game, or because this particular client is already predisposed to the ideas and philosophies of freedom from other beliefs in other areas of her life, but days like this, when I tell someone about the history of the GNU project, what the Debian Social Contract and the Ubuntu philosophy mean not only in generalities but to them as people, what the GPL is, where this amazing stuff comes from, how this isn’t just a computer, it’s a revolution being born, how freedom works, and how even they, non-techie Jane User, can not only benefit from these ideas but indeed play a valuable role and contribute to this legacy of freedom, and I get to see their eyes light up when they get it… that’s the best part of my job.

I can’t tell you, dear readers, how lucky I feel that I get to do this for money. I set people free, man. I give people power over their own lives that they couldn’t even have imagined before. I show people a better way. I set people free.

Good work if you can get it.

-pd-

Coffee time

Hangin’ at Second Moon, getting a little work done, feeling generally like a very lucky man. I’m doing some backup work for one of my favorite customers, chatting up my absolute favorite barrista on the planet (hi Nicole!), smoking cigarettes, watching the cold cold world roll by out the window (three above right now, according to my weather widget; I think I’ll hang out here for a while). A very relaxing Thursday, and probably the greatest way to make a living in the fucking world.

That’s all I got right now. Nothing profound, no soapbox manifesto, just generally feeling pretty contented with my lot in life. If any of my clients happen to be reading this post, thank you. You guys are the greatest clientèle I could ask for; I’m not kissing ass when I say I thoroughly enjoy the privilege of working with each and every one of you. And on top of all that, you keep me in, not just a job, but my dream job, and for that I thank you.

I hope everyone else is having this good a day.

-pd-