Time != money

I spent the weekend rebuilding a server for a customer. A server that I didn't break.  They're paying me, but for what? Ten or twelve hours of my precious weekend?

I still went swimming twice.


I taught my after school programs today and the kids are borderline savage.  Most of them are in fourth and fifth grade so that shouldn't be too big of a surprise.

I went swimming afterwards and saw two turtles swimming together.  There was a lot of cloudiness in the water which caught the light in an enchanting way.


Now I'm home and working on a laptop for an acquaintance, recovering pictures.  In the last 6 weeks I've probably worked on four or five laptops.  I don't accept money when working on personal gear. Money brings with it expectation and I don't want any expectations.  The $25 or $50 they can't afford to pay me is not worth the obligation, expectation and guilt that comes when their shitty laptop dies in 6 months or their kid installs shitty adware and I get blamed.


 So I work for free, or if they insist then I accept food which is what I would've spent that $25 or $50 on anyway.  But this way they get to share a piece of their life, they're expertise with me in exchange for mine. Usually I prefer not to get anything in return, because it means I generate good will. I produce Aloha and that is much more valuable than anything else.  I make the ties to my community much stronger.

My time is spent working on computers.  The value of those few scant hours is immeasurable in community building.