So, I got a new job today...
... with the Census Bureau. It's a short-term gig, but it's pretty important to me.
This is a long and introspective post that I've written entirely for myself. You're more than welcome to read it, just be prepared for me writing about silly personal struggles! :P
Way back before I started LARPing, I was burning out on my chosen path in life. I was a musician and in school, but even in the area I was in I was able to pay my bills solely through music. I was burning out, though, because I had zero free time and my "friends" were showing their true colors once they didn't need my help getting gigs. I was at a loss about what else I would do with myself, though, when I realized that there was some good that I could do. My parents had a horrible situation where they lived that they couldn't free themselves from, and their health was deteriorating. If I dropped out of school and worked two jobs, I could pay for an apartment for them and cover all their expenses, giving them an opportunity to move on with their lives and get back on their feet. I called them up and offered to do that, knowing that if something didn't change soon my father would likely have a heart attack or some other such thing.
My mother wanted to take me up on that offer but my father wouldn't. My call did spark some change, though, and their lives started improving. My father; especially, was changing in a wonderful way. It felt like they had gotten through the worst of things and that they were on the upswing, but my father had a heart attack and died.
Eventually I did burn out of music entirely, and I found myself entirely without direction, without any particular dreams or goals. That shitty situation "back home" had changed with my father's death - the house of cards had collapsed. I decided to help my mother while I figured out who I was and what I would do with my life. This was in 2005/6, and here I am in 2010, still helping my mother. I do have goals and dreams, though, and I've even started performing again, but what meaningful change has there been, and if I do have goals, what am I doing to pursue them?
In 2009 I had had enough. My life could remain on hold no longer - I *had* to get back to myself. I had failed to secure my mother's health or financial security, though it was due to no fault of my own that I could see, but I could bear to do no more. I resigned myself to moving on and mourning my mother while she was still alive, much like I had done my father when he refused my help. Such was the way of things, though, and I was looking forward to putting my needs first. I lined up a job in the Northeast and was figuring out the logistics of a move, but then something entirely unexpected happened - we won a contest.
My mother had taken to making natural body-care products. The things she made were actually really, really good, and I thought they could be the basis for a decent income. She had been taking business classes at the local community college, and the college offered a contest in conjunction with the shopping center that particular branch was located in. Whosoever submitted the best business plan would get a store rent-free for a year. I wrote a business plan for my mother, and it won. This was a really huge opportunity, and I found myself sticking around longer. I promised myself that I would remain just long enough to get things set up and secure at the store.
There's a bit of a problem, though - I don't get paid. I knew that I would have no time for a job in addition to everything else I'd be doing, so I left my job and my apartment, and moved back in with my mother. My costs are very, very low now but my savings are getting bled dry, and I there wasn't an easy solution. I was going to sell my saxophones to get the money I needed for the eventual move and reestablishing, but that was going to be a bitter, bitter pill to swallow. As things turned out, though, I got wind of the US Census Bureau. They're hiring people all across the country for tasks related to the 2010 census, and the pay is actually pretty decent. I took their hiring test and did absurdly well on it, but they wouldn't be hiring for some time.
Well, lately I've been extricating myself from the store. The situation is really, really frustrating despite our success, and I simply can't take much more of it. This week I've been working on the specific tasks that I need to do before I feel I can go, and it just so turns out that today the Bureau finally got back to me. Training begins next week and the actual work shortly thereafter, and should last about eight weeks.
Things have moved slower than I had hoped, but I'm glad things have been moving forward. In nine or ten weeks I should be entirely unnecessary for the store and out of it, and have the money for a move. Could it be that things are finally coming together? Could it be that after *years* of saying that I intend to move, it'll FINALLY happen? I sure hope so, and I don't see any reason why it shouldn't.
This is a long and introspective post that I've written entirely for myself. You're more than welcome to read it, just be prepared for me writing about silly personal struggles! :P
Way back before I started LARPing, I was burning out on my chosen path in life. I was a musician and in school, but even in the area I was in I was able to pay my bills solely through music. I was burning out, though, because I had zero free time and my "friends" were showing their true colors once they didn't need my help getting gigs. I was at a loss about what else I would do with myself, though, when I realized that there was some good that I could do. My parents had a horrible situation where they lived that they couldn't free themselves from, and their health was deteriorating. If I dropped out of school and worked two jobs, I could pay for an apartment for them and cover all their expenses, giving them an opportunity to move on with their lives and get back on their feet. I called them up and offered to do that, knowing that if something didn't change soon my father would likely have a heart attack or some other such thing.
My mother wanted to take me up on that offer but my father wouldn't. My call did spark some change, though, and their lives started improving. My father; especially, was changing in a wonderful way. It felt like they had gotten through the worst of things and that they were on the upswing, but my father had a heart attack and died.
Eventually I did burn out of music entirely, and I found myself entirely without direction, without any particular dreams or goals. That shitty situation "back home" had changed with my father's death - the house of cards had collapsed. I decided to help my mother while I figured out who I was and what I would do with my life. This was in 2005/6, and here I am in 2010, still helping my mother. I do have goals and dreams, though, and I've even started performing again, but what meaningful change has there been, and if I do have goals, what am I doing to pursue them?
In 2009 I had had enough. My life could remain on hold no longer - I *had* to get back to myself. I had failed to secure my mother's health or financial security, though it was due to no fault of my own that I could see, but I could bear to do no more. I resigned myself to moving on and mourning my mother while she was still alive, much like I had done my father when he refused my help. Such was the way of things, though, and I was looking forward to putting my needs first. I lined up a job in the Northeast and was figuring out the logistics of a move, but then something entirely unexpected happened - we won a contest.
My mother had taken to making natural body-care products. The things she made were actually really, really good, and I thought they could be the basis for a decent income. She had been taking business classes at the local community college, and the college offered a contest in conjunction with the shopping center that particular branch was located in. Whosoever submitted the best business plan would get a store rent-free for a year. I wrote a business plan for my mother, and it won. This was a really huge opportunity, and I found myself sticking around longer. I promised myself that I would remain just long enough to get things set up and secure at the store.
There's a bit of a problem, though - I don't get paid. I knew that I would have no time for a job in addition to everything else I'd be doing, so I left my job and my apartment, and moved back in with my mother. My costs are very, very low now but my savings are getting bled dry, and I there wasn't an easy solution. I was going to sell my saxophones to get the money I needed for the eventual move and reestablishing, but that was going to be a bitter, bitter pill to swallow. As things turned out, though, I got wind of the US Census Bureau. They're hiring people all across the country for tasks related to the 2010 census, and the pay is actually pretty decent. I took their hiring test and did absurdly well on it, but they wouldn't be hiring for some time.
Well, lately I've been extricating myself from the store. The situation is really, really frustrating despite our success, and I simply can't take much more of it. This week I've been working on the specific tasks that I need to do before I feel I can go, and it just so turns out that today the Bureau finally got back to me. Training begins next week and the actual work shortly thereafter, and should last about eight weeks.
Things have moved slower than I had hoped, but I'm glad things have been moving forward. In nine or ten weeks I should be entirely unnecessary for the store and out of it, and have the money for a move. Could it be that things are finally coming together? Could it be that after *years* of saying that I intend to move, it'll FINALLY happen? I sure hope so, and I don't see any reason why it shouldn't.