As some of you who may have read my previous diary might recall, I was once a gay attorney stuck in regressive, smalltown Mississippi. In mid-2014, in part thanks to Kossack encouragement here, I shut down my 3-year solo law practice and moved to Tacoma, Washington, in search of a better, less suffocating life. After moving across the country and getting my law license in the state activated, I lived for 6 months on what little savings I had before finally landing a job with what looked like an “okay” local firm. But, after working there for a month, it soon became clear that they had high staff turnover issues and subsequent months would show that the firm was poorly managed and stayed just a step ahead of going under, as finances there were constantly “in the red”. I lasted there for about 8 months hoping things might improve (they didn’t), but because of the way my hours were calculated and reported (billable hours, instead of hours actually worked), I didn’t meet the “minimum hours worked in the prior year” requirement to qualify for state unemployment insurance. So, that job screwed me while I worked there, and then screwed me again when I finally had had enough of their BS and left in February of this year.
So, without unemployment benefits, my parents have tried to step into the gap and keep rent paid and whatnot while I’ve continued looking for work. But, they are at the end of their savings now, too, and I haven’t found a new job yet. Just got word on the one prospect with a firm I interviewed with last week, and they’re apparently going with someone else. So, I am really getting to the end of my rope here, and I am not sure what to do next if I don’t find some kind of remunerative employment here soon. Me and my dogs will be homeless when my lease is up at the end of August, I guess, if something doesn’t change.
So, my experiment in sorting myself to a new, more economically vibrant and more liberal area of the country seems to be about on the verge of failure if I don’t find some kind of work--and soon. So, since many of you were so helpful in your suggestions for getting me out of Mississippi in the first place, I thought I would post again in the event any of you might have any further suggestions, know someone in this area who might be able to help, or maybe even have a lead on a job here. Although I am an attorney by training, I am getting desperate and am pretty much open to anything that I can do that pays the rent and keeps my two dogs fed. Willing to relocate to anywhere in Western Washington state (ie, the liberal side), as my lease here is up soon. For those interested or who may be able to help, my current resume is posted here on Craiglist. Any help appreciated, and you have my sincere thanks in advance.