Having a job really cuts into your hunting time. Years ago, I was the outdoors editor at the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, and if you have to have a job, that’s a good one to have. I got paid to go hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and just about anything else I wanted to do. The only problem was that it didn’t pay enough to feed a family, so I had to give it up and go get a grown-up job.
I thought a gig with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department would be just as good. I would still be writing about hunting and fishing, so I figured they’d give me time to get out in the field and “research” those activities from time to time. The pay was a lot better, but it turned out to be a real job, which meant not much time to go chase elk, pheasants, or other critters.
After several years at Game and Fish, I again moved on to another new day job. I got hired at Laramie County Community College almost nine years ago, and that turned out to be a pretty good balance of real job pay and fun job time off. The actual work wasn’t as fun as the work I did as the outdoors editor or at Game and Fish, but working at a college meant a lot more vacation and holiday time off. But since I was working so much during the working days, I didn’t get much done on the honey-do list at home, so I wound up wasting most of those holidays doing chores around the house.
But as of December 23, I’ll be officially self-employed. And since a big part of that self employment is this blog, my boss insists I spend more time hunting and fishing in order to give you, the reader, a better post to read.
Unfortunately, I have a few things I need to get done at the day job before I leave it, so I can’t start immediately. But I hope to get the loose ends tied up quicker than expected, so I can take some terminal vacation time. I’ll let you know how it goes.
