Happy New Year!!!

Why haven't I said that before now? I guess because I felt like everything was on hold. I had been out of work for a year and I just felt like life couldn't move forward until I had a job or something of the sort. I am glad to say that 2010 may now proceed. I have gotten not one, but three jobs, sort of.

It all started when my counselor asked if I would consider cleaning someone's house. Now that was not the job that I was hoping to get but I had reached a point where I felt that I could not be too proud to clean someone's toilet. I had not earned a cent in a year and I had run out of savings. So I said "Sure, why not?" and was given a number. I arranged to go to the woman's house, explained my situation and was told that I would be paid "handsomely" (isn't that a funny way to say "well") to clean her nearly immaculate little house. Well, I did and I was. In fact, she said that she thought I was working too hard but I explained that I only knew one way to clean a house and that was well. (Just because I don't do it at home, doesn't mean I don't know how to). So I clean her house twice a month. I've done worse work.

The second job is to work part time as an assistant to a friend of mine. She works for a textbook publisher. I do mostly data entry and research. It's only about five hours per week but it is a little something and although it reduces my unemployment insurance payment, it makes me feel like I am earning my money.

The third job is working as a contractor for my old boss at IBM, of all places. Well, I'm not really as surprised as everyone else. I knew that there was a good chance that I could contract for them. My old boss had told me about it in the first place. It's also not really what I want to do, but it will tide me over until something better comes along, maybe right here in Tucson. And if not in Tucson, at least somewhere where I would like to live in California.

So, when it rains it pours, as they say. Now I can get back to some sort of "normal" life and we can stop talking about moving imminently. It's not that I don't want to move, it's just that I want to move when I want to move, not when I have to move.

Thanks again for all your support. You have all really helped me get through this last year, especially thanks to the folks at Pima Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.... You guys are Absolutely Awesome!!!