Everyday Stupidities

When I said last weekend that I wanted to change my life, I only meant how I make money... not everything. There's a lot I'm not going to say about this last weekend. Such as why I was in a motel room alone on the edge of Puyallup, wrangling with a 28800bps dialup connection because I don't have a wireless card. It was an educational experience, where I learned that some people can take art photos of nothing in particular and some cannot, that a Twix bar and orange juice at 6am after not eating for fourteen hours will keep one from sleeping or thinking clearly, how you will see the damnest bits of sugar packet thievery at a continental breakfast. I also discovered how frail the bond between people can be, how everyone has some point where their nuclear fusion detonator gets tripped and the countryside will be devestated, and that the internal demons can't come out to play when other children are out on the teeter-totters and swings -- the little demons might scare park visitors of all ages. I felt like something out of a hard-boiled detective movie, minus the detective part and the chainsmoking (and the flashing neon sign outside the window). I'm terrible at biding my time unless there's a computer and decent Internet connection (gee, to think I used to live at 2400bps without complaint, but that was just text BBSs), and lousy at trying to catch lost zzz's in a Goodwill parking lot. But come the dawn of a new day, the morning after the night and morning, my world returned to its pleasant blue-green color scheme. I have photos from my exile, some of which I like, and memories of standing watching the rain from a second story walkway wondering if I will see the sun again.

And with this look of "dammit!" from Cheddar Meatloaf, the more aesthetically pleasing description of my financial straits. Last Wednesday and yesterday, I did some contract work for a computer company's techie outsourcer. The first job was in Tacoma and it was nothing like what had been described on my sheet. Lotsa laughs over that one. Monday's job was closer to the letter, and while it was slated for two days I got my part done in nine hours. Yeah, aced myself out of another eight hours at $20 an hour for being efficient, but I am not complaining. Tomorow I'll be in Redmond, which should also be following the script, and having only five computers to work with I will likely be done by tea-time. I was awaken this morning by a call from the Unemployment people (good thing I had the day off afterall, since I would have been gone at the time) who asked about my vacation hours payout, which had been holding up benefits in previous weeks and disqualified me from getting anything last week because I finally got it, so I will finally be getting a check. Of course, since I'm skipping tomorrow's "how to get a job" manditory class because I'll be working a job (just that day and that hour, not For Real) they'll screw with my getting paid yet again. Hmm, beyond all that, I'm still looking (weakly) for work, and the friend mentioned last week admitted that when she began seeking income without boundaries she was still gainfully employed -- "I had my first and second books published while I was still at the law firm, so by the time I left the firm I was finally getting income from the books," she told me the other night. I am at least rich in friends, even if I can't freaking get ahold of them or get a response in a timely manner, and that's gotten me emotionally through some rough spots. (Hi, Bobbie!)