Wednesday, January 1, 2014

New Year's Day

I had a plan for January.  I was going to make some paper sculpture, catch up on a backlog of postcards to post, hand address all my New Year's cards.  I thought I was losing my job so I was preparing to print more, scramble more for rent money, and so I took all the extra shifts I could.  Then they asked me to take over at the restaurant.  Instead of closing, the owner decided to stay open but the manager already had a better job offer.  I wrote a long, thought out list about why I wasn't interested in the job.  The best reason was that I like my life, I like working 4 days a week at a decent and likable job and spending my off days making the things I love and wandering the hills of Oakland.  A few days went by and there was no one ready to take the job full time.  I like having a little control in my life, however fleeting and farcical it might be.  I didn't want to find a new job again, I didn't want my co-workers to find a new job, and mostly I wanted things to stay as calm and smooth as possible until they found someone committed who can make the changes needed.  I like where I work, I like my co-workers and it seems things could work.  So I offered to be a temporary manager.  This is how I got a full time job.  It is only for two months, which is 2 weeks longer than Andy suggested, and I have to come home and be nice to him but I think I can do it.  This past week has been a whirlwind of training and I am realizing I have skills I didn't know I had.  So here we go.  Work a bunch, pay off the lingering debt, and see where 2014 falls.

This does mean that I will be on hiatus from taking a lot of new print work.  There are a few people I have talked with casually, or to whom I already owe something (Jeremy---it's coming!) and I will still be sending your postcards.  But I might not take on much else till March.  But in March, boyhowdee watch out.  I feel big things are coming in 2014.  I've napped the past 2 days, and am almost ready for it.  Here we go.