The first post is always the hardest, so forgive me if this is a bit rambling.
In short, I'm an amateur web developer trying to become a professional. I'm self-taught (aren't we all?), and certainly not a natural at it. I'm the guy who has to read, then re-read, then re-re-read code, then try it myself, inevitably cursing the person/people who wrote the example code before seeing that, no it really was my mistake after all. And even after all that, I'm still barely confident in what I know. Yeah, I'm that guy.
I'm also, technically, a company. That's right, I have my LLC, even though it's really just me. Saying I'm the CEO of a company is a hell of a lot more impressive than the reality of the situation. It's also easier to put on business cards.
I'm sort of caught between a rock and a hard place at the moment. I can't really work an 8 hr/day, 40/hr (or more) a week job due to my physical disability. There's a whole bunch of logistical stuff that comes along with it (like, say, eating and going to the bathroom), and there are also issues with pressure sores. So, my best bet is with freelancing. And therein lies the rub.
Freelancing is all about reputation. I have none. Most of the work I have done is small, and most of it lies behind the scenes. PHP stuff here, JavaScript stuff there, but nothing to hang my hat on, and certainly nothing to brag about. So, I've come up with a foolproof plan. I think.
I'm going to make two ASP.NET MVC sites. I'm already halfway or so done with the first (hence my oh-so-clever title), which is written in MVC 2, and its sister site will immediately follow and be written in MVC 3. These sites will be content-driven, with the content coming from myself and one other person who wishes to be anonymous (yes, she exists. no, she's not one of the voices in my head. or a sock puppet).
With this plan, I'm hedging my bets. I'm creating tangible projects to showcase in my portfolio, which will greatly enhance my ability to get some real work my way. I'm also hoping I can make some money, even if it's just towards hosting costs, from them. Finally, I'm forcing myself to learn things I should know.
So, where does this blog fit into the whole thing? I've found that writing my first MVC 2 site hasn't been nearly as easy as the various resources I've found on the subject led me to believe. A lot of things are either ignored or glossed over, even in the books I've read/own. I hope that charting my own successes and failures will help others who have stumbled into the same gaps. At the very least, this blog may provide some anthropological interest.
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