Got another one

Got another one of those emails from my mom today. 

After reading it, I wondered again if she really thinks I'm so stupid that I don't know what needs to be done to get ready to move by the end of April.

Oh, and apparently sending me birthday money gives her government over said money.  I took myself and Mrs Potatohead out to dinner one night.  We got cheap appetizers for meals and free guacamole.  We had a good time getting out of the house.  It didn't cost us much.  Nonetheless, my thank you note raised her ire and I was informed that I need to stop going out to eat so much.

I wonder what I did in a previous life that I'm paying for now?  No use wondering when she'll realize what she's doing.

I do have a lot to do to get ready.  So much stuff to get rid of.  >sigh<

Personal update

More like health complaint update...  lol

My left elbow has been really hurting.  It's amazing how much I use my elbow to do simple things: pull up or push down my pants, get up from sitting down, lean when sitting or standing.  I can't really do any of those things lately without hurting more, which makes it very hard to do anything really.  Luckily, or unluckily, as the case may be, I've been sick and lounging around lazily in bed for most of the past week.  It still hurts to use my elbow to roll over or to read, but it's not as bad as trying to use it to get through a normal day.

My hemorrhoids have been acting up.  Ugh!  It's damn difficult to keep from scratching my butt constantly, even with hemorrhoid ointment.  Guess that's another thing I'll talk to a doctor about, someday.   And sorry for the TMI, but we've all got them, sooner or later.

We got approved for Food Stamps, and Baby Tatertot is on Medicaid, so financially speaking, things are a wee bit easier.  Still struggling to pay all the bills that someone else has been paying for the last six months, but I'm feeling like there's hope in there somewhere.

I've got quite a backlog of reviews to write, and just couldn't motivate myself to write a thing yesterday.   I'm hoping that I can get at least one written today, so that I can stop reminding myself what the book was about.  lol

We did get some more stuff rearranged in the living room, so it'll be easier to sort more and get more stuff out of here, which will make it easier to live in general.

I did pretty well on Amazon the last part of December and first week or so of January.  Mostly sold tarot decks, with a book or DVD thrown in every now and again to jumble things up. 

I have found enough incense, candles, books, rocks and other odds and ends to start a small store.  I am apparently addicted to owning weird stuff.  It'll be a challenge to let go of some of this.

Busy weekend

This weekend has been beyond busy, with lots of auctions ending, and putting stuff up on the new site.  I have twelve packages ready to go out, with six of them paid for.

I listed my truck up on craigslist, and have already gotten two responses to it.  It's only been an hour.  Sheesh.  I mean, good, because I want to get rid of it to have something more useful to me, but unexpected.

Tomorrow I have to go to an unemployment meeting, mandatory, at 9am.  I guess that's technically later today.  Ugh.  I hate mandatory meetings, much less first thing in the morning, when I haven't been able to get to sleep the night before. 

The cats all went to the shelter last week, and I miss them.  I wish that I'd had the money to keep them, but since they weren't even mine, I guess I just have to live with what is, rather than what I wish.

2010 accomplishments

Got everything I owned out of storage and into the garage of the house in which I was living.

Threw away, gave away, recycled and donated about three large U-Haul trucks' worth of "stuff." 

Yes, I was a packrat.  My "stuff" included 30 years of living on my own, my daughter's dead best friend's leftovers from five years ago (mom needed them out of the house after she died, and I don't blame her), my own dead mother's stuff from eight years ago (personal, professional and retail), my daughter's stuff, and my own personal addiction to candles, incense, magazines, rocks, office supplies in general and pens in particular, shoes and whatever else has struck my fancy.

As far as that packrattiness is concerned, I am in recovery, not cured.  There are still things I find it very difficult to let go.  Mostly though, I find that I don't even remember why I was holding onto things, as I unpack them and evaluate the usefulness of each item.  There are still far too many items which are "worth money, I can sell that."  Problem is, if the person to whom they really belong doesn't see them, they don't get sold, and I keep looking at them, or moving them around, or moving them to new places. 

Attended my only daughter's wedding without killing the man who was planning it.  Without input from us, I might add.  That alone ought to have earned me the Pulitzer Peace prize away from Obama.

Continued to look for work, whether at a job or from home.  No, I haven't applied at McDonald's or Wendy's, and I'm planning to continue avoiding those little jewels.  I know my physical limitations.  Usually.  I continue to get emails and letters turning me down, or explaining that I am not the best person for the job.

Got my first few denials for SS Disability, and an appearance before a judge, who also denied my claim.  That is an ongoing saga - I am looking for a new disability lawyer, because that firm "fired" me for failure to communicate.  My last letter from them came with a deadline that had passed five days before I received the letter.   And I'm the one failing to communicate.

Now, I am looking forward to 2011.  It must, by necessity, be a big year for me.  I will find a way to support myself financially.  I will find a way to have access to more-than-adequate medical care.  I will continue to sell or give away or throw away or donate stuff as I sort through the seemingly endless supply of boxes and bins.  I will resolve what legal issues are before me, and perhaps in a more positive way than I am expecting.  I will sell the car I now own, and find a mode of transportation that is more in keeping with my current practically nonexistent means and minimal needs.

I will love my kid and my grandkid (and yes, -sigh-, even my son-in-law, lol), and myself.  I will strive to be aware of the good in my life as it passes through, and continue to be incredibly thankful for it, whatever forms it takes.  If you perhaps need to point that out to me sometimes, feel free.

Mystery Shopping

One of the things I do for what little cash I have is mystery shop and merchandise.  I'm working up a post with the companies for whom I have done actual work and gotten paid actual money.  It's a lot more information than I expected, so it's taking me more time to compile the information into a readable format than I wanted.

Anyway, that's coming in a few days.

I'm also working on a companion piece about ALL the things I do to have positive cash flow.

Tuesday Topic

Today, I spent a couple of hours at a Workforce Investment Act meeting.  There are federal funds available locally, for retraining in a new field and furthering training in a current field.  In my county, competition for these spots is tough, as there is never enough money to go around for all the people who need help.  Many who are highly eligible have no desire to go through all the steps necessary to get to the golden egg - the government paying for up to two years of "school" to help you get a better job.

I have to admit that the list of "have-to's" was kind of daunting to me, but I decided that I'll never find a job at the rate I'm going now, unless I have some kind of help.  And I've heard that God helps those who help themselves.  I don't know about that, but I'm getting tired of (not really) sitting on my ass looking for a job and not finding one.

Sunday, Sunday

Sunday I did nothing at all that would assist me in finding paid work.  I did, however, process or delete another thousand or so emails.  My inbox is looking a bit peaked.

I also played with the grandson.  I like him.  He's beginning to almost laugh.  He gets the right expression on his face, but doesn't quite have the breath control or whatever it is that makes the laughter noise come out.  Mostly, it comes out as coos and weird noises.  He particularly likes it when gramma steals kisses.

Friday Job Focus

Today's work search focus was on courthouse research.  I picked an email at random from my job search folder.  It was from ratracerebellion.com.  I looked at the work-from-home list, as usual, and the term court researcher caught my eye.  I don't recall seeing that one before.  I've certainly done my fair share of research, both online and offline, so I am qualified.   I applied to at least six of the two dozen companies listed, and may hear back with some assignments next week.   We shall see.

Speaking of assignments, which we weren't really, a mystery shopping company, who shall for now remain nameless, finally paid me last week for work I completed in August and early September.  Even at that, I had to send a formal email requesting the status of my payment, and "suggesting" that if he didn't get his booty in gear, he'd hear from a lawyer.  Amazing how quickly he paid after that.  Don't think I'll be doing any more work for that company.  Brats.