Part-Time Life
I just started another contract with my old company, barely a week after they rather abruptly told me they would not be renewing it. So I am back to the part-time routine, but this time I need to do some things in a better way. For the past month and a half I have spent most of the time working from home, and the rest of the time learning some interesting technologies I had not touched before, hoping that this would help me prepare for a life of future of part-time grind work, part-time sweet, fun, rewarding game development. But I still have to perfect this and find the right balance. And some things have changed around the house. My 5 year old little angel is now going to school, which starts at the ungodly hour of 8am in the morning. That means that we now have to get up at 6am every weekday, which is not, by any means, something I have ever experienced before in my life. To make things more interesting, we also have a new addition to the family: Bluebell the cat. She is the pet that I promised to get for my five year old when daddy got a job, but since that ain't happening anytime soon, well... That little critter may be cute, but she is more than a handful. Instinctively realizing that I am the only non-cat person in the household, she makes sure to spend most of her time in my vicinity. And by vicinity I mean that the freaking thing is hanging out on my lap (and laptop) while I work, under my feet when I walk and on my head when I sleep, or rather when I try to sleep. Yes, she sleeps ON me. And her sandpaper tongue and purring wake me up at least once every morning before 5am. My wife believes that underneath my outward disdain for the little monster lies a soft spot in my heart for it. Baby, do not fool yourself: the answer is no, no, no.

My schedule right now:

6:00am	Get my butt off the bed, throw some water on my face
6:15am	Prepare breakfast
6:30am	Get the girls up
6:45am	Breakfast
7:15am	Clean the kitchen
7:45am	Shower and transform into a human being
8:15am	Work
12:15pm	Lunchtime
12:45pm	Clean the kitchen... again
1:15pm	Work
5:15pm	Start dinnertime routine
6:00pm	Clean the kitchen, prepare bath
6:30pm	Give the girls a bath, blow lots of bubbles
7:00pm	Book reading time
7:30pm	Put the girls to bed
7:45pm	Workout! Interleaved with cleaning the kitchen
8:20pm	Game development! :)
10:00pm	Get ready for bedtime :(
10:30pm	Lights out

If you look closely, you will notice the absence of any downtime or fun activities. Also absent is any time spent with my wife. Oops. I am only working up to 24 hours a week, which means sometimes those work hours during the day can be put to better use. Still, how on earth will I make this work? And how will I find a long-term part-time position? I need to solve this puzzle or it will be game over soon.