Oh yeah, this project

Hello again, folks.

If my fans are as devoted as my delusions of self grandeur suggest, I hope you weren't too disappointed by this tease of a blog. (Which, by the way, is not to be confused with this blog of nearly the same URL, minus the hyphen. Wish I had realized that before I chose this title...)

You see, I expected to be unemployed for a long time, and I figured that maintaining a blog would be good reason not to let myself spiral into a nearly vegetative state of frustration and boredom. It would encourage me to partake in minor adventures every day, or at least to search my brain for the most artful way to admit that I spent an entire day watching Downton Abbey in my pajamas.*

*Okay, fine, I admit I did precisely that one day two weeks ago, but only because I was deathly ill with what I'm pretty sure was yet another malaria relapse.

To be honest, I was kind of looking forward to my first few weeks of unemployment. Quite unexpectedly, though, and by a lucky fluke that utterly defies statistical reason in this abysmal job market, I landed two jobs within a week, one in a restaurant and one in an office. Both positions are part-time, but as I've always said--and I've usually had more than one job in my short life--two part-time jobs equals more than one full-time job.

That is to say, I've been busy. Really obnoxiously busy. I am either in transit or working from 10:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. three or four days per week. Because I have to ride the bus, I don't get home until 9:00 those nights. Ever the perfect housewife, Jef always has dinner ready on the table when I get home, but he can barely eat it with me before he crashes from exhaustion. (He leaves for work by 7:00 every morning.) Cruelly, the one day each week that I have to get up early is Saturday. The only day I have completely free is Sunday, so my little free time with Jeffrey is so precious that I hardly ever see anyone else.

Needless to say, blogging was a low priority.

So then I thought, "I'll do NaNoWriMo like I did last year, but this time it'll just mean blogging so compulsively that either my friends will get sick of me or I'll get discovered--hopefully the latter!"

But then life got even more crazy.

Also unexpectedly, an opportunity for a full-time job sort of fell in my lap two weeks ago. I accepted a position as an Educational Assistant at a grammar school here in St. Paul. (Yes, a grammar school.)

It's kind of a dream come true. Full-time, normal hours, benefits, and I'll be working with kids again. I'll also be making a good 40% more than I have been, which is ironic, because no one goes into teaching for the money. That's how poor I've been for a few months. (No moral crisis necessary, though: I'm still solidly in the 99%.) Of all of those advantages, though, I am most excited for a normal schedule. To happy hours, afternoon yoga classes, free Thursday evenings at the Walker, 7:00 movies, and reasonable dinner hours, I've missed you. I'll see you in a week.

In the interest of the children with whom I'll be working--and decidedly not in the interest of my own sanity--I offered to begin part-time until I wrap up at my two previous jobs. The result: I currently have three jobs. Thank Zeus, Hera, and Isis that I only have to pull off these 11-hour workdays for two weeks. As I take my one break of the day on the bus ride between Shift 1 and Shift 2 of the day, I consider the fact that some people consistently work two or three jobs and have children, and I am (a) humbled by their perseverance, and (b) really friggin' angry that anyone has to live that way. Blessed are those who occupy Wall Street, because I haven't got the time these days.

After one last awful week, though, I will finally have a moment to breathe. My hard-earned Veteran's Day long weekend can't come soon enough, and after that, I will be very, very thankful for my normal schedule and my dental insurance.