Keep the dust dry and let it settle before the mortar goes in.

Totally agree with what you said about undervaluing our work, @grant.kevin asked what made you finally see your worth and for me it was a buddy who straight up told me I was hurting the whole trade by charging cheap prices. I realized being the cheap guy just gets you the worst clients who complain about everything. Raising my rates actually got me better jobs and more respect from everyone I work with.

Oh sure, I call my past work library my "lazy genius folder" because it makes me look way more organized than I actually am. Nothing beats the feeling of finding a template you forgot existed and realizing future you saved past you from doing the same work twice. My computer is a mess but somehow my template folder is the one corner of my digital life that actually makes sense.

Got a buddy in Tucson who drove his Tacoma on a Swiss cheese frame for two years before a bump split it in half.

Oh man, I actually read a thing recently from a UX researcher saying pure black text on white can cause something called "ghosting" where your eyes keep seeing the afterimage. I switched my own reading setup to a really dark navy and it helped with that strain a lot. The whole debate feels like it depends more on your screen brightness and room lighting than people want to admit.