I miss art and working, but I have music!
It seems like forever since I posted. Looks like it has been over a month. The holidays were crazy, which was only part of it. The night before my birthday I was on the phone for a long time. While I was on the phone I was holding it crooked on my shoulder. This is something I shouldn't do.
See, when I was in high school I was in a car accident and cracked a vertebrae in my neck. As you get older these sorts of injuries don't tend to get better. In fact, the tend to become more noticeable and sensitive. True to that thought, holding the phone against my shoulder falls under the "bad idea" category.
After being on the phone for about an hour or so I realized my neck had started to hurt. I got a few sharp jabs of pain, and went, "Ow, man! I better put you on speaker," which I did. It was already too late by then, apparently, because later that night I woke up with amazing pains in my lower neck and shooting down my left arm. My birthday was spent in bed or on the couch trying to find a position I could lie or sit in that didn't cause some kind of pain or other.
I was basically out of commission for several weeks. I finally went to a chiropractor and he got me headed in the right direction, but it has been slow. All kinds of weird things make it hurt, like for a while raising my arms up to the keyboard caused excruciating pain in a matter of a minute or two. I just sat around a lot and took Aleve and had a heating pad on me. It has not all been fun. I have not been able to work or make any art at all, and I don't have health insurance. Not fun.
However, I have been interviewing for other jobs, and I have one starting the last week of the month. It doesn't pay much, but it's something. I keep looking for something more suitable with better pay and a slightly better location (this one is downtown with pay parking as the only option - that or the bus!). I haven't tried any art yet, but might soon. I have a new commission from a dentist's office, which is very awesome, but I had planned to have The Big One that I've been working on for a year finished by the holidays. Obviously, that all had to be pushed back. I did sell one of my copper sculptures over the holidays, and that has been awesome as well. I only have two of the copper pieces left. I still have one steel one available. I will be happy when I can get back to work. Money is uncomfortable to think about now. I don't like living like this. I just have to keep working at it until I can find something else. I've applied dozens of places and am waiting to see what else turns up. Did you know that 35% of new hires start looking for another job within two weeks of starting? I'm ahead of the curve - I started looking two weeks before the first day!
Oh, I got some cool music for Christmas. Jimmie Vaughan Plays Blues, Ballads and Favorites, and also Big Wreck The Pleasure and the Greed. I've been wanting the Vaughan album for a year, but haven't had money to spend. Big Wreck is a bit of a departure for me, but I've liked them since LJ friend Six Demon Bag posted a video of their song Ladylike I don't know how long ago - four or five years? I have another Big Wreck album that I might like a little more, but this one still has some favorites on it for me, and it's growing on me even more.
See, when I was in high school I was in a car accident and cracked a vertebrae in my neck. As you get older these sorts of injuries don't tend to get better. In fact, the tend to become more noticeable and sensitive. True to that thought, holding the phone against my shoulder falls under the "bad idea" category.
After being on the phone for about an hour or so I realized my neck had started to hurt. I got a few sharp jabs of pain, and went, "Ow, man! I better put you on speaker," which I did. It was already too late by then, apparently, because later that night I woke up with amazing pains in my lower neck and shooting down my left arm. My birthday was spent in bed or on the couch trying to find a position I could lie or sit in that didn't cause some kind of pain or other.
I was basically out of commission for several weeks. I finally went to a chiropractor and he got me headed in the right direction, but it has been slow. All kinds of weird things make it hurt, like for a while raising my arms up to the keyboard caused excruciating pain in a matter of a minute or two. I just sat around a lot and took Aleve and had a heating pad on me. It has not all been fun. I have not been able to work or make any art at all, and I don't have health insurance. Not fun.
However, I have been interviewing for other jobs, and I have one starting the last week of the month. It doesn't pay much, but it's something. I keep looking for something more suitable with better pay and a slightly better location (this one is downtown with pay parking as the only option - that or the bus!). I haven't tried any art yet, but might soon. I have a new commission from a dentist's office, which is very awesome, but I had planned to have The Big One that I've been working on for a year finished by the holidays. Obviously, that all had to be pushed back. I did sell one of my copper sculptures over the holidays, and that has been awesome as well. I only have two of the copper pieces left. I still have one steel one available. I will be happy when I can get back to work. Money is uncomfortable to think about now. I don't like living like this. I just have to keep working at it until I can find something else. I've applied dozens of places and am waiting to see what else turns up. Did you know that 35% of new hires start looking for another job within two weeks of starting? I'm ahead of the curve - I started looking two weeks before the first day!
Oh, I got some cool music for Christmas. Jimmie Vaughan Plays Blues, Ballads and Favorites, and also Big Wreck The Pleasure and the Greed. I've been wanting the Vaughan album for a year, but haven't had money to spend. Big Wreck is a bit of a departure for me, but I've liked them since LJ friend Six Demon Bag posted a video of their song Ladylike I don't know how long ago - four or five years? I have another Big Wreck album that I might like a little more, but this one still has some favorites on it for me, and it's growing on me even more.