The houseguest.

Being a freelancer (especially long-term) is somewhat akin to being someone’s houseguest. You”re not entirely considered one of the family but how much you’re involved in the inner workings of the household is up to your hosts.

One of the things I liked very much early on about my current gig is the feeling of inclusiveness I was getting. While it’s changed a little bit, I am always surprised by the amorphous rules that apply. There are some things I’m in the loop on and others I’m not.

It can be a blessing in many ways because by not being included, I avoid some of the office drama inherent in any work situation. I am never quite clear of the players or the sides and truthfully it’s fine with me although there occasionally seems to be some kind of buzz going on and I sometimes find it hard not to internalize it rather than just shut myself off to it.

However, one of the things I do get included in is the sporadic office survey. Every once in a while one of these things is generated (via email) and sent out to the employees who are a bit of a focus group. I can’t get into specifics but, the question on one recently was about blogging - if you blogged, how much and the like. It was a bit of a skills assessment. Fine with me because I’ve been trying to figure out a way to make this pay for some time now and if I could, believe me I’d do it!