Life Gets in the Way

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I’ve been… distracted, to say the least.

You know how they say bad things come in threes? Well, they don’t. They come in sixes and sevens… possibly even eights or nines.

But, rather than dwell on everything that’s going on in my life at the moment, which I have a feeling is getting very tiresome for my friends because that’s all I’ve been talking about lately, I’m going to just give a brief synopsis of everything.

Volcano: Mt. Redoubt still blowing, but thankfully the ash is being blown elsewhere. We got a light dusting a few days ago, but nothing at all compared to past explosions. There are some very cool pictures, though. If you’re interested, check out the Alaska Volcano Observatory’s website.

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/

Glacier Valley Farm CSA: I get my second box on Wednesday. Just in time, too, because I just used the last of my first box. I made the best soup ever (but, then, I always say that) using a carrot-ginger base and adding in cauliflower, spinach, potato, carrots, onions, and cabbage. Now I have my lunches all made for a week with some left over for when my sister-in-law comes over for our craft date.

My Job: the big shocker of the month is that I got laid off. Again. I only just recently got off unemployment, and now I have to go back on it. My ex-boss said some pretty bad things to me, too. The odd thing about that is that I think he actually thought he was “helping” me. All he did was ensure that I would go spiraling into a fit of depression, thereby making it even worse. As I’ve said before: I hate being unemployed.

My Physical Therapy: I’ve had to cancel all the PT sessions due to lack of income and lack of insurance. The doctor was not very happy – he really wanted me to find a way to continue so that I wouldn’t loose what small gains we’d started to achieve. The real kicker is that now it’s a “pre-existing condition” so even if I do get insurance again, I’ll have to wait a year before being able to do anything about it. I just hope it doesn’t turn in to an emergency type situation.

My Africa Expedition: I’m still going. Even if I wanted to cancel out of it, I couldn’t. The plane ticket is bought, the expedition is paid for, the hotels are reserved… it’s a done deal. I still have a few things that need to be taken care of, like all the inoculations required, all the gear I need to have with me, and the babysitter here at home. I just hope I’m employed by then so I can relax and enjoy myself properly.

My Financial Status: I am not as prepared for unemployment as I was last time. All my money is tied up in the Africa expedition, so I have none left over for paying bills. My ex-employer did give me 2-weeks severance pay but that only covers a couple months of house payments – I still have all the bills and living expenses to deal with. And I’m not entirely sure I qualify for unemployment again since it hasn’t been even 3 months since I was last on it.

Possible Solution: I’m thinking about renting out a room in my house. This makes good financial sense, but I’m very hesitant. I’ve lived by myself for over 20 years – I don’t know if I can live with anybody now. Plus, I’d have to rearrange my entire house to accommodate somebody. I do have a few ideas to play with on that account – I can make it work if I decide to do it. And, the zoo has summer interns each year that typically need a place to stay. I’m just down the road from the zoo, so that would be perfect for them (they could even walk to work each day) and it would be fairly temporary for me.

My Cats: me and the girls are getting used to life without the Alien. We all still habitually look for him each time we pass by his room. But, I’ve taken his box and heating pad away, and cleaned out his potty. The room seems so empty now.