Oysters

Remember when I said I didn’t know what was wrong with my head the last time I posted? I know now. My transition from the corporate cubicle world to self-employment, though it seemed to be seamless and simple on the surface, had the back, bottom, and sides of my brain in some turmoil. Had a tiny meltdown there for a few days.

I quit my job!

In a sinking economy where even the corporate-owned nightly newscasters have started mentioning, quite matter-of-factly, that while unemployment and poverty rose in the last quarter, the rich got a lot richer, I left the dull but secure safety net of a stable job for the uncertainty of going it on my own.

At an age when I expected to be anticipating an early, and well-funded, retirement, with my retirement funds stagnant—as they have been for the last 11 years—I decided to give up my paycheck?

Not all my preparation—thinking about it for two years, talking about it incessantly, having enough funds on-hand to keep me going for a few months, etc., seems to have convinced all of my brain that, (a) this was going to happen, and (b) it was okay to make the decision.

I think it was three or four days ago that it all actually fell in on me—the idea that I was going to quit my job with only a tiny and unstable income in sight, I mean. Since that was easily two months too late for me to change my mind, I went ahead and adapted.

I’m better now.

It’s much too later to bore y’all with the work details of the last month. Highlights include one account that I didn’t expect to come on board actually taking the plunge, adding a small amount to the aforementioned tiny income, a new account from Louie Louie materializing yesterday, adding another critical mite of bill-paying funding, another Louie Louie account lurking in the wings, a moderate account from the Sandwich Man (another agency), that could sign on this month, and a solid nibble from a stand-alone account that would, if it develops, double my current income.

There. In a nutshell and drama-free.

Pearls

My holidays were fantabulous, as they tend to be. I got the usual mix of games, books, toiletries, and foodstuffs, all of which delighted me.

I took a chance and asked Santa for the new version of Final Fantasy III they released for the DS. I was a bit concerned—I’ve been doing mostly just farming games for the last 2-3 years and wasn’t sure if I was “up” to anything more challenging any more, but I’m moving right through it, and having a ball.

Santa also brought me Rune Factory 3, but I’m saving that one. I haven’t even finished my birthday game (Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns) yet and bouncing between two games at once is as much as my brain can handle.

I made holiday cards again this past fall—store-bought ones are cheaper and nicer but making cards gives me something to do with my hands in the evenings besides eating. Because I didn’t get them actually mailed, family members can expect to see theirs as “new year greetings” showing up in the next week. No one else I know actually sends cards, so I’m going to let them off the hook and stop sending those. The R.C. wrote a holiday letter, which inspired me to write one of my own for inclusion. (I’m a big copier of others’ notions.)

Now, post-meltdown, I’m back to what will become my “regular” work schedule. Today, so far, I’ve showered*, attended a regular idea-sharing chat session by way of “professional education”, finished one load of laundry and started a second one, and run an armload of reports for the new account I need to reorganize and get working by Thursday. All very productive and peaceful.

Also, I made a pot of tea. I’m becoming very fond of sipping a civilized cup of tea throughout the day. A pot of tea—something that would be very difficult to make in an office, is becoming symbolic of my new freedom.

Freedom. Not leisure.

There is more--but I'll blog again soon. Right now, I need to go do some work.

Hope your holidays were the most wonderful ever, and that 2012 brings nothing but peace, prosperity, and joy to you and your loved ones!




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* Not a thing I can take for granted. I’m finding that the water in this building tends to be off unexpectedly once or twice a week. Not always for long—often less than an hour—but long enough to make the morning pot of coffee and shower a bit unpredictable.