Yikes!! More Job Searches...

It turns out that 20 hours a week doesn't cut it for the various levels of support I'm receiving. I need at least 30 hours a week with benefits. So, I have to keep looking. Even though the position I'm working is likely to move toward full-time, I can't really live on $180/wk. So, add that to the mix.

It turns out that the alarm I've been hearing in the wall since I moved into the house may actually be in the attic. My roommate is also hearing it, and there is a bathroom between our bedrooms. If so, that means that the watch or clock or whatever will be a lot easier to find and remove!!! YEA!!!!!

My sleep is so messed up at this point, that removing that alarm will only be a beginning to getting a full night's sleep. But by removing it, I should get back to normal in a month or so. I'm so exhausted at this point, I can barely function.

It's Amazing!

It's now been a little over 6 months since I had regular work. No steady income to speak of - certainly not enough to pay the bills! I was thinking about school. It's just too expensive to pursue. And I was thinking about SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance), which I may still pursue. My voice keeps going out, and my joints hurt regardless of sitting or standing. And yes, some depression has creeped in, too.

My current status:
My car now needs $200 worth of work on the front end - Right Away!..
The car payments start up again this month, after re-financing the loan...
I need to make a trip to Virginia and see my family. My uncle is elderly, and I need to see him...
I have a roommate, helping with the house payment...
I have Food Stamps, so we have plenty of food...
Food Stamps wants me to apply for work (which I've been doing all along) so I now see how much effort I really put into it...
Small jobs keep coming to me, at just the right time...

Seeing how many jobs I apply for has been an eye opener. I apply to many more than that, since I also have the agencies looking for me. There are some jobs I don't write down, because of whatever reason: for Food Stamps, you have to get a name, phone number and address, and pretty much a lot of stuff that online applications don't give you. I have the option of applying online, as long as I can show the "successful application" page and print it. And those kiosks in stores? You don't have the option to print from those... So, I keep applying. I've done the required number already, and I'm not stopping.

Yep! Small jobs have been saving the day! A cat sitting weekend here, a website research project there; a Presentation update here, some office organization there; a care-taking overnight here, well you get the idea...

There isn't enough coming in to pay back the loans my family and friends gave me a couple of months ago. Only a job, or enough of the small jobs, will pull me out of this. But somehow, I've managed.

I know that God is running the show. If I ever had doubts before, I don't now. Prayer works! In the midst of all this, I've even been able to make a small donation to my church. A very small donation, to be sure, but at least I could send them something! I figured my friends and family would forgive that small delay...

The work on the car is covered by a job that I'm in the midst of right now. There may be enough to pay off the smallest of my medical bills and put some on another - and still leave me enough to drive to my family's place.

I've wanted to have the ladies over one evening since I moved into the house, so I set aside Sept 4th for that purpose. I've planned the menu, and I'll have to get some items for the Antipasto Salad, but I have everything else in the house for the planned menu. I've invited 20 women, expecting about 1/2 - 3/4 to show. There is seating for about 16. I'll pull out the Yahtzee! and some cards. So, even broke, on Food Stamps, and in restricted circumstances, we can have a nice evening.

That will take care of next weekend, pretty effectively, and keep me from driving to Virginia on a holiday weekend. So, I won't be leaving anytime soon to go visit my family. At least a 2-week delay, I figure. I'll have to get the funds from this job, take the car in, and then see where I am. I have to have the money for the car loan put aside before I go, too. At least a good portion of it. If the small Presentation jobs I've line up work out, then perhaps the following weekend?

Well, don't stop praying...

Finally got a Roommate!

Yea! He's the one I was hoping for. He will only be here for a couple of months (unless his plans change) so the room will be available again before Christmas. But even so, that gives me breathing room. I can find out how this will work, and work on the blips.

Other news, I'm being recommended for a job that isn't even posted yet. That is a good thing. If the one I'm praying so hard for is not offered to me, maybe this one will pan out...

I picked up a pidgeon. I need that connection to the program.

Kitties are doing well, and God has been good to us so far. Keeping the faith, in any case.

Sleep??? Work???

What sleep??? What work???

I've been doing all the same things I've done for years to promote a good night's sleep, but it ain't happenin'....

I might sleep 2 hours (last night) or 4 (the night before) or, if I'm really lucky, 6 hours (Sunday night).

I wake up in the middle of the night - either to relieve myself or just to turn over, and can never get back to sleep. Last night, it was a dream that woke me. A dream about my mom. OK, really it was a memory. I heard her singing.

My mom could SING! She really had a nice voice. There were other things she didn't have - like a famous name or a great head-shot. But she had the voice.

I e-mailed a friend of mine to see if there was any way to track down a tape of mom's voice, and it seemed to be a dead end.

But, of course, it was 5am before I got done and went back to bed. I'd spent the time sifting through the job ads, because one of my worries is that projection I have of me: homeless, jobless, and on the streets. Hey - it's happened before, so it isn't that far-fetched! And that kind of worry can keep a body awake no matter what.

Well, I went back to bed, and was nearly defeated by cold feet. Finally, I got to sleep, only to be woken by the alarm. I re-set it for another hour, and then got up. I have stuff to do today - like follow up on those job leads.

Besides, I arranged to get a word processor today. Free, of course! If it works as well as I hope, maybe I can access the files of my dad's sermons, or at least write some more of my stories down.

I picked up a typewriter about a week ago. I need to get a new ribbon for it, but that's all. It works fine. If I can find some ink for the ribbon that's on it already, that will be a "greener" solution. The unit can also use one of those red/black ribbons, if I can find one.

I've been waiting for the plumber since Monday. I have sewer gasses coming from both toilets, and Habitat referred me to a plumber last week who said he'd come by on Monday, but he hasn't shown up. I've called him to follow up, and reported the non-response and no-show to Habitat.

Well, I have to get moving so I can get to the employment office. The temp services don't have anything, so maybe one of the 5 I found there will work out.

Applications...

Ok, my friend said I should apply at University of Tennessee, and get into their "temp pool." I downloaded the application, filled it out and attached my resume and transcripts. For a university, the transcripts are always needed.

So, I'm getting ready to take it over and drop it off, and I see that I didn't add any position announcement numbers. These are a way for the university to track an opening and get it filled. I had all of them on the screen, so I started skimming....

Boy. Oh. Boy! I found 6. And one wanted event planning experience - which I'd already listed!!! Man! Maybe this will work out, after all.

In the middle of all this paperwork, I got a call from another agency where I'd put in my resume. They called to ask if they can put in my resume for a job they have.

Like YEAH!

So, I have an appointment in the morning to be "tested" again. Yeah, I'll blow them away on Windows, Word, Excel, Math, Spelling, and typing speed. I always do.

Parking downtown was a complete bust. The lot I used to use for free parking is now only accessible by a long ramp. The elevator has been co-opted and the museum that used to be there is no longer. Too hot for that. I only stayed downtown for a few minutes, so it worked out.

If I have to spend a day downtown, I'm not sure where I'll park. Most of the lots seem to be $7 for a whole day, so that might be my only option. Still, not as expensive as some other places, I guess.

I got my other chores done, too. A good day all around....

Prayers DO work! They really do!

Work -

It's been a complete bust, looking for work. There is nothing out there. I'm now signed up with another agency, where I'd submitted my resume, and they called. That's good, right?

I have a large task today - go downtown for a few hours.

I need to get my meds - so that is an important stop...
My books are due at the library, and not all of them were read, so some have to be renewed...
I'm applying at the UT HR dept, for their temp pool...

I should be downtown for about 3-4 hours. I need to find parking that is close to a shuttle stop, and won't take all my cash. I need to carry all my stuff (books, work-search file, purse) and not be bogged down by too much stuff. I need to wear good shoes, so I can walk comfortably.

I can get my meds on the way back home. The biggest issue is to remember my checkbook, for those. So, take that out now and get it into my purse...

So, off I go! Wish me luck... I need it right now.