Sophie babbles a lot, but I consider this to be her first actual word.

I am not biased. I don’t care what any of you say.

Since February 2003, Sudanese-backed Janjaweed militias have murdered roughly 200,000 people in the Darfur region of the Sudan. Over 2.5 million people have fled the country, including 200,000 who have fled to Chad, where many live in refugee camps that fail to provide even the most basic of necessities.

The People’s Republic of China has been one of the regime’s largest backers, supplying Sudan with weapons, technology and expertise that has been used in the Darfur. In addition, China has supplied the money to improve Sudan’s economy in the face of this genocide, including improving Sudan’s oil industry (Sudan’s largest export), and funding capital improvements in Sudan, including a new presidential palace for dictator and war criminal Omar al-Bashir.

Today, the International Olympic Committee has rewarded China by granting them the right to host the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. I encourage you not to stand for this.

Please don’t watch or support the Chinese Olympics.

Well, here’s something to knock me out of a two-month blogging hiatus.

I was let go this morning.

And I’d like to immediately apologize to everyone who had to learn this from the blog instead of in person, including some family members and everyone else, but dems the breaks.

Of course, the first question is likely to be “Why?” and that question has a very long answer. Officially, the line used was “the company is moving in a different direction.” Unfortunately, this was very much the case, and despite my efforts to move in a direction that was, you know, like a web company is supposed to be, no one seemed terribly inclined to move in that direction in any way but name.

In the past month, I’ve been effectively demoted, marginalized, insulted backhandedly, unappreciated, unchallenged and unmotivated. I watch everyone’s pupils turn to little dollar signs at the possibilities, but ignoring the pitfalls and challenges that lie between here and financial bliss. The phrase that comes to mind is “never mistake a clear view for a short distance.”

The mythological tale I’ve always related to best was the story of Cassandra. She was given the gift of prophecy by the god Apollo who was enraptured with her beauty, but when his love for her was unrequited, Apollo cursed her so that no one would ever believe her predictions. Then, if I may quote Wikipedia directly for a bit:

While Cassandra foresaw the destruction of Troy (she warned the Trojans about the Trojan Horse, the death of Agamemnon, and her own demise), she was unable to do anything to forestall these tragedies. Her family believed she was mad, and according to some versions, kept her locked up.

And that’s kind of what I’ve felt like these past few months. I was brought in to get a web company on track, but no one wanted to hear what I had to say. Some processes were put into place to track the effectiveness of projects and identify problems, when we didn’t even have any projects to track yet. Later, processes that hadn’t fully matured were abandoned in the middle of projects.

Early on, I should have been more wary. The warning signs were all there: kowtowing to clients who had nothing to offer, who had “failure project” stamped on their foreheads, massively underestimating time and money required to complete projects. In the end, the first disastrous results I’d tried to avoid fell on my watch and, much like Hoover, the blame fell to me.

In the end, they went from not knowing what they wanted, to wanting something entirely different, to wanting everything without having to work for it. The situation over the past two months or so went from exhausting to irritating to nauseating. Finally, it was just intolerable, and being told I was let go was more a relief than anything, and I think that speaks volumes.

But enough about all that. What happens now?

Well, I’ve already got an offer from a good friend and long term, I think he’s definitely going to be the way to go. I’m definitely on board with what he’s trying to do. But we’re still sorting through the finances and details and we’re meeting next week to talk.

In the immediate, I got a (small) severance and by having this happen today, I have a full month of medical insurance. I’ll also be looking for some freelance gigs or other work to do, and my wife may do some temporary admin work for now as well. We’re also looking to start our online bookstore again and this is a great impetus to do so. There’s also some junk we’ve been meaning to put on Craigslist for ages as well.

And my biggest loss isn’t really the job, but the computer that came with it. I feel lost without my MacBook! I’m going to have to get that situation sorted out next week as well. This old Mac mini feels insanely slow by comparison now!

In the end, I’m reminded why I hate working in corporate: I’m just too independent-minded. It doesn’t fit my personality in the slightest. I get compressed by structure and the benefits I bring to the table don’t fit in a tight structure. Throughout my life, I’ve had people who have “gotten” that and many more who haven’t.

If you need someone who’s “just a designer” or “just a developer” or “just a programmer,” I’ve never been that guy. There are always people who are vastly better than me in each area, but I’ve done all those things; I know how all those things fit together way better than the best person who is “just a designer” or “just a developer” or “just a programmer.”

The bottom line: I’m a web consultant. I can look a client in the eyes and tell them what I can help them become and, unlike most consultants, I can back it up with experience.

Well, this has turned into more of a rant than I expected. If you want to help, prayer is always a great place to start. Beyond that, any known freelance gigs that need a helping hand, I’d be grateful if you drop me a line. I’ll be putting my résumé together again this weekend. Or, drop me an e-mail. You can e-mail me at radicalbender, followed by one of those @ symbols, followed by a gmail.com.

And expect me to start blogging again soon. I’ve let this blog languish for far too long and it’s time to rebuild my presence online.