Thursday Ramblings

THE HUBBY ET AL
My husband is home today working on an assignment for grad school and doing laundry so he can pack for a business trip. He needed help getting chocolate out of a pair of socks. Wouldn't it would be easier for a middle-aged man to get chocolate out of his socks than to get chocolate on them? How does that happen?

His morning routine involves listening to local radio while getting showered and dressed. That happened later in the day today, at a time when the local station carries (cringe) Rush Limbaugh. Rush was picking apart the President's ESPN appearance in excruciating detail. It takes a lot of hatred to obsess about something like that to such an extreme. Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh: who gives a rat's ass? They're not relevant anymore.

CHANGES
I got a job. Can you believe that?

For some of us, life has an interesting way of changing our perspective. Four years ago, I was an Associate Director in charge of technical support for a major administrative unit at a large university. The money was damn good for someone with a BS in Social Science. Then I got sick--too sick to work.

I had good insurance, but the doctors had nothing to offer but drugs and platitudes, both of which were more harmful than helpful. I'm better now, thanks to medical people who refuse to succumb to the AMA and Big Pharma Borg. I still have a big medical bill with the local Borg clinic and monthly expenses for "alternative" care that is not covered by insurance. And we are struggling financially. So, I started looking for work.

Part-time is all I can manage. I found an office job that seems well suited to my needs and abilities. It was such a fluke; there are so few jobs available and most are too physically demanding. I had to negotiate to get the pay up to $10 an hour. I'll bring home one-tenth the take-home pay of my last job. And I feel very fortunate to have it.

Personal Rant: Work Life

Wow, it's been over a month since I've posted. November and December were extremely busy, making and trying to sell jewelry, attending Holiday events, and getting ready for both Christmas and our wedding anniversary. Christmas was wonderfully quiet and peaceful, but afterwards I caught a nasty bug and have been out of commission since then. Now, it's back to life, with Spanish class starting on Monday and my husband starting grad school (in addition to his full-time job). Things are getting back to "normal." (Normal - ha!).

I was prompted to post today after having a hot button pushed one too many times. While listening to an otherwise inspiring program about women who run highly successful businesses, I heard one entrepreneur say, "To be successful, you have to do something you love."

Oh! That's so easy to say, if you're one of the charmed few who is able to do something you love. But what if:

• you don't have the credentials to get into a profession you'd love and don't have the money to get the education/training/certifications to get the credentials?
  
• there are few (or no) paying opportunities to do what you love?
• you are ill or disabled in some way the inhibits your ability to do what you love?
  
• or . . .
  

I did something I loved once--for four years--and the profession chewed me up and spit me out. I loved my work and was extremely good at it, but the profession draws a lot of hard, dysfunctional people--mostly male--who crave power. It broke my heart and broke my spirit. So . . . that was that. I moved on. (If you're wondering, I worked as a juvenile probation officer.)

I moved on to smaller and lesser things--a meaningless hourly job that barely paid the rent for a tiny apartment; but it left me with some sanity at the end of the day. I worked hard at my job and went back to college to begin working my way into another profession. Twenty years later, I had a position with a title and a good salary, but one that I hated to face every single day. Nevertheless, as one of my friends said, "A girl's gotta eat--and get a new pair of shoes now and then."

I can't do that anymore. No more grueling days in jobs I hate. No more working for nasty bastards. After thirty-eight years of working (forty, if you count babysitting), I'm still trying to find the thing I love to do that I'm capable of doing (now that I'm officially disabled) and that pays actual money. I'm searching and researching, but God knows what it might be. At least I hope She does.