It’s true. I dropped my phone in the toilet. Since I’m trying to view everything in a positive light, I’m celebrating the fact that there wasn’t any poop in there at the time.

This might make looking for a job + apartment a bit dificil….

I have a job interview today.  First one.  Only one thus far.  If you read this prior to 9:30 am say a prayer, cross your fingers, concentrate on sending good juju, etc.

One of those four is my cousin. Rural Indiana. Was about to make fun, then I realized they’re having more fun than I usually have.

(Photostravaganza nueve.)

Someone on Freecycle gave me tons of hotel shampoo, conditioner, and lotion samples.  How awesome is that?

Freecycle is a great way to save money. Check it out.

I found two hospital jobs and one administrative assistant job, but I’m going to wait til tomorrow to apply because I can barely stand to stare at the computer any longer.  I’m noticing that jobs are being snapped up fast!  I took a gander at available jobs last Thurs. & Fri. and some that were posted those days are already taken down or filled.  Same goes for apartments.  Yikes.  Time for me to put a little hustle in my bustle. [9:56 pm]

6) A temp job doing paper sorting-type office stuff at a company that holds one of my student loans.  Daydreamed about it becoming a permanent position and leading to forgiveness of said loan some how.  (Hey, a girl can dream, right?) [9:29 pm]

5) Another customer service position.  This one doesn’t mention the name of the company, but it’s in town.  On a bus line?? [9:23 pm]

4) Applied to a customer service position about a 20 min. drive away that would involve speaking to customers about grills. Might be able to take Pace, need exact addy to know for sure. [9:16 pm]

3) Didn’t apply to anything yet, but this song is great. [8:56 pm]

2) Store Associate and Pet Grooming Assistant at a chain pet store in two nearby towns (both on bus lines, but could only access if opening).  [earlier today]

1) Activity assistant at a nursing home (near downtown, on a bus line.  woot!). [earlier today]

LIVE BLOGGING!  Hooray!

Justin is over working on a paper, so I am going to search for and apply to jobs online.  And then blog about it.  Up there.  Captivating.  If I hear back from any of the places, I’ll let you know.

Not keeping myself confined to Elgin only, because I realize that my last day is in <2 weeks and I just can’t be picky right now.

Also, FYI, tomorrow I’m applying (in-person) to two retail jobs.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

(Photostravaganza ocho.)

Big ups to AJB Polish Deli for providing me a very satisfactory first ever Polish meal.

I will repay the kindness by adding them to yelp. (Which I wish you would just join already, by the way.)

I realized this blog could possibly be a liability as I apply for jobs so I (temporarily) switched it to not show up in search engines.  How long does that take to work?  Anyone?  I know it takes more than 5 minutes because I changed it 5 minutes ago, and my name is still showing up.  So the internet isn’t instantaneous like some people think.  Anyway.

Another realization this evening.  By “another” I mean “the same one as usual, just had forgotten it again.”

The realization was more or less that the present is all we ever have, and anxiety originates when the mind lives in the future.

And basically expanding that to realize I don’t have to obsess over whether I sell my car or not, or where I’m going to live or work.  The particulars don’t matter.  If I have faith and listen to what I truly believe I should do in the given moment, the correct outcome will just come naturally.

Now I just need to learn to stop announcing “I’m going to do this,” and “FROM NOW ON, I will only do that.”

Which means no going vegan or vegetarian for now.  Just paying conscious attention at each meal time to what I feel is best.

& regarding the car…it almost hurts my head not to know, and not to be able to say “Here’s what I’m doing…,” but, I just don’t know yet.  I will look at apartments.  I will apply to jobs.  My preference will be to those on bus lines, but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.  Health insurance or enough income to cover independent health insurance is the highest priority.  I won’t sacrifice that in order to be able to say I am car-free.

Plus, I need to learn discipline.  Honestly, I think it would be easier for me to sell my car altogether rather than keep it and only drive it for 30% of all trips.  Same with the TV.  I’ve been thinking about living TV-free.  Is it because I’m anti-TV?  No, it’s because when I have easy access, I lose self-control and watch too much.  Same goes for sugary foods.  And heroin.  (Joke there.)

Blah blah blah blah blah.

Oh also, if you watch DH (Desperate Housewives), have you seen the stupid Sprint commercials lately?  Seriously.  They’re just short clips of scenarios of people having affairs and using their Sprint phone some how.  Really the commercials make me feel dirty and gross, and the feeling extends to the show itself.

(Photostravaganza siete.)

The new word on the street is that you weren’t satisfied with those photos of my dogs.  No, you want photos in which my pups surrounded with nearly $8K in cold hard cash.

(If you’re thinking of robbing me, take note that the money is long gone.)

Back and forth on “the car thing.”  Basically like this:

Should I sell it?

Should I not sell it?

Should I sell it?  Hm…

Or maybe I should not sell it.

I’ve done quite a bit of studying the Pace bus schedules and am dismayed.  They all leave from the downtown bus depot and travel outward in circles that end back at the bus depot.  Most possible living locations in Elgin (yes I am moving, that is definite) are near just one bus line.  To get to a place off of another bus line would require transferring downtown in most cases.  Most busses run every 30 minutes.  A 10 or 15 minute trip by car could literally take over an hour by bus if it required a transfer.

It appears that the bus set-up is not for the average Elginite trying to get around town.  The bus system in town is more of a service job shuttle system for out-of-town folks who arrive via Metra than a true bus system.  It seems to be very strategically placed next to a Metra stop.  The various bus lines all radiate out to industrial parks and commercial strips.

The schedule reflects that as well.  I don’t think a single bus line runs past 8:30 pm or so, and some end around 6:30 pm.  Many of them do not run on Saturdays or Sundays.  These lines are for people who work 8 to 4, 9 to 5, 10 to 6.  Even the Spring Hill Mall bus doesn’t run until 9 pm.  That means mall workers cannot work a closing shift and take a bus home.

The situation is dismal.

Probably couldn’t even work at Petco or PetSmart with the bus routes/schedules.  Busses don’t go to the S. Elgin locations, so that leaves C-ville and Streamwood.  That Streamwood bus only runs on weekdays, and stops running at 6-something pm.

No wonder people only take Pace when they have no other options.

I could surely find a job and an apartment and make that work, but my job options would be so limited, “making it work” could mean “barely scraping by” or even “going further into debt.”  I feel like intuition has told me to sell my car.  At what cost do I listen?  Even if it means being forced to take a job that pays very, very little?  Even if it means being forced to take a job without bennys?  (Bennys = benefits.)

I’ve been looking at jobs online for over a week.  Everything I’ve really felt drawn to would require a car.

Also, will I realistically become a dog trainer if I don’t have a car?  Will I be able to get myself to workshops and events?  What if I want to volunteer at a local animal shelter?  There is one that is off a bus route, but unless I choose to live on that bus route, it would become an all-day affair.

Sigh sigh sigh sigh sigh sigh.  It is an uphill battle.  Someone needs to “go first” to try to make the change, right?  Maybe I’m not meant to live in the suburbs after all.

And why can’t I have the discipline to own a car, but drive it sparingly?  It seems like once I have car access I abuse the privilege.

Once again I feel this is a clash of values and priorities.

• Is moving into a rewarding a fulfilling career path that I feel I can do well despite my chronic illness the top priority?  If so, I’d want to keep the car, because it will make that easier and quicker to accomplish.
• Is living according to my convictions regarding the environment, transportation, urban planning, my community, etc. the top priority?  If so, I sell the car.
• Is health my top priority?  If so, what’s healthier?  Living without a car means increased exercise.  But if it means I make less money or lose health benefits, then that could negatively impact my health.  Also, I cannot predict what walking and waiting in the cold will do to me.

There’s nothing like telling people you’re doing something, then backing out of doing it, then telling people you’re doing that something again, and then maybe (?) backing out of it again.

S-igh.

(Photostravaganza seis.)

I never asked if I could take photos at the dog job, but I did photo some of the after effects.

This came about when I broke up a scuffle. A small but slightly aggressive white dog attacked my sweet baby Wheez, and a rottweiler decided to jump in and save Wheezy. I, of course, had to break the whole thing up. Once two dogs in a pack go wild, the entire group goes wild. And while not all of them are running around biting, they do bark and go crazy and it’s quite chaotic.

The dog place frequently sanitizes the place to make sure it stays nice and safe and healthy for all the dogs and workers.

That requires bleach. Which means I get to look like I have really bad fashion sense for the next few months because I’m too frugal to throw out perfectly good shoes.

(Photostravaganza post #5.)

People on the streets have been sayin’ you want more photos of my dogs.