Of Math, Jobs, and Various Other Things

Math rarely makes me feel better (about anything), but I recently employed it to make me feel a little better about my job situation. (Employed! Ha! Look at that, I made a funny!)

To recap, I left the temp-job-that-might-could-maybe-turn-permanent, which was the one with the uncommunicative boss and the commute I loathed, for this temp-job-that-is-really-temp. As in, it goes to Christmas, but maybe not beyond, I don't know yet. And now I'm facing the possibility of being out of work until I can find something else, which could be who-knows-how-long. Scary.

I don't regret the change, actually, but it's still a scary situation. However! Math to the rescue, or at least to the mood improvement*. My current job pays much better than the last job did. So much so, in fact, that ten weeks here would be roughly equivalent to sixteen and a half weeks there. I needed a pen and paper, and a calculator to check my figuring, but I am confident in the result. Somehow, this makes me feel better about the possibility of being unemployed in January**.

*The construction of that phrase made me think of the Princess Bride, and the whole "To the death! no, to the pain" discussion.
**And now that I'm thinking Princess Bride, this makes me think of Vezzini threatening Fezzick, does he want to go back to being "unemployed, in Greenland?"

Of course, part of the conflict in my head is that the prospective joblessness isn't only scary. For the short term, it sounds divine. I LOVE the idea of some time spent not working. I'm just afraid of how long it will go on.

A month without work? No problem! Cake! Sleep late, hang with Carlos on my lap, read, generally fart around doing nothing much. Not have to traipse out every day in the cold? Dream!

But, much longer than that? Bills. That pesky mortgage. Et-very-cetera. When will I find something? Will I have to settle for something less than what I want? Will I even be able to find something to settle on?

Scary monsters.

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The Bruins are in one of those phases again. One of those "we make your goalie look HOT" phases. One of those "maybe special teams* isn't the right way to put it" phases. One of those "turn on the game, but bring a book" phases. I hate these phases.

*For the non-hockey-fans: when your team is penalized and has to play short-handed, or when the other team is penalized and yours gets to play with an extra man, the players in these situations are called special teams. Penalty-killing + power play = special teams

It's a frustrating time, as a fan. They don't have to win every game and sweep to the Cup, but could they suck a little less thoroughly? Please?

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Tomorrow is the end of November; how crazy is that? Still, there's a lot to look forward to in December, and I'm going to try to hold onto that, this dark and cold time of year.

For one thing, the solstice is in just three weeks. Only three more weeks of Getting Darker, and then we reach Getting Lighter again.

Meals and plans with friends. I have three such events in the next two weeks. Friends are good.

In two and a half weeks, my mother will be here. Yay! Hugs whenever I want one. Nutcracker. Eating out, and visiting friends, and driving around looking at Christmas lights. Hanging out with Carlos. Whatever we want.

And at some point before Christmas (I don't know exactly when), my brother will be here, and my universe will right itself a little when we three are together. A lot of shared history, shorthand references, and laughter. Driving to Grandma's, family and food and fun. And craziness, let's be honest. Still, mostly fun, and totally worth it.

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Now that my VCR isn't working, I keep thinking of things I have on video that I want to watch. I figure that once I'm permanently employed again, I'll get a new VCR, as it seems you can still get them in a combined video-and-DVD-player. I already want to replace my TV* then, so I may as well do it all at once. In the meantime, though, no watching videos, which feels odd. I have a lot of videos still.

*Bought it in college. Graduated from college in 1991. Old TV.

Happily, I did get Miracle on 34th Street* on DVD for my birthday, or I would have been SOL this weekend. I like to watch it Thanksgiving weekend, since it starts at the Macy's parade, and it sort of guides me from the mindset of one holiday to the next.

*Not the remake, thank you (and NOT colorized, either!). I know you're shocked to hear it, but I'm a bit of a stick in the mud that way. I've never even watched High Society all the way through, since I love The Philadelphia Story so much. I like Bing Crosby, but seeing him in Cary Grant's role makes my brain hurt.

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I saw a car this morning with the vanity plate "GOD", which kind of surprised me. I don't picture Him driving a small sedan, somehow. I suppose Jesus would, but I imagine God in something more powerful, with smiting capability.

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P.S. Mary Ellen, the colorway of that Socks That Rock lightweight is "Sunkisssed Sands", and I can't wait to see how it knits up. I lack skein vision, so looking from the skein to the balled yarn to the knit fabric is almost always eye-opening for me.