I got the news on Monday. I got a job.
It's been a tough year for me. As it has been for so many among us. It has been a struggle. You plod along, applying to job after job just to be told you are over-qualified, under-qualified and the myriad of other reasons in between.
But finally I've broken through.
Good news beneath the fluffy orange meringue puff
So I landed a job as a cook at an established, non-corporate small business. It's the field I have the most experience in, outside of the writing/activist world. I don't officially start the job for another week or so, and even then it isn't a sure thing as I am sure my skills have gotten rusty, but it's a start, and that gives me reason for hope.
I've been a manager. I've done everything from busboy to waiter, prep cook, line cook, I've even worked my way up to head chef. The food service industry is high on demand and stress, but the creativity can be very rewarding even if the pay isn't always the same. At this point though the pay didn't matter. I needed something. And something is better than nothing. I've needed some stability for a while though and I really hope this provides some. It has been a hope that I badly needed over the last few months.
I've maintained my head above water just barely with a few freelance gigs here and there as well as the help of this community.
The downside though is that you fall behind, and looking up can be a humbling view. You fall behind on your bills and in other areas and the act of just catching up to where you used to be can be daunting to say the least. Even after you've been through it before and you know how to pull yourself back up by your bootstraps (pardon the term) it gets to be a Sisyphean task, rolling the boulder back up the hill yet again, but so be it.
So here I go again. The nice part is now that I know I will go to orientation in a week or so and look forward to my first paycheck a week or so afterwards should things go well, and that gives me a confidence I'd not had for quite some time. Activism can be a slog if not downright impossible when you don't know where tomorrow's breakfast is coming from, or when you worry about your late rent, or your child's needs, or even your own needs. Being able to look towards the future and say to yourself that you think you can overcome that is a psychological boost of endorphins that has no substitute.
In the next few months I'm looking forward to structuring my activism around my new work schedule, whatever that may be. Having a set work schedule forces you to have a set writing schedule, it makes you more responsible, and I could frankly use some of that, so I welcome it.
Anyway, I just wanted to share a bit of good news. Anyone who wants to throw a few bucks in my paypal so I can catch up on late rent and buy some groceries until my first paycheck at presumably the end of this month would be most appreciated. I am trying to look at this as the next step forward, a positive step and at the same time a stepping stone to even better things. So I will light a little candle and say a word of prayer, and hope it gets better for other people too, and work towards that.
Peace and love to one and all, and have a great weekend!
Paypal link for Jesse LaGreca
-----------------------------
