Would it help to talk about it?

Well, there's the stress of being the primary breadwinner of the house and being unemployed/job-hunting, there's the never-ending tilt-a-whirl of dealing with the Lyme disease, there's the fiction project I'm working on that could be awesome if I would just stop freaking out (you would think that my agent saying nice things about the bit she's read would help, but no), and on top of all that: Pete and I have lost our hearts and minds, and are bringing home two tiny kittens on Friday. Which means a whirlwind of kitten-proofing the house. Oh, and one of our two current cats is peeing in random places, but we don't know which cat.

Ahahahaha. Oh, and prep for the gothy vendor market I'm selling at later this month.

deep breath

So. I'm stressed. t /understatement

Oh, wow. Lots of stuff. I send peace and fortitude and burning, pure love to Laura and Maria and Jilli. I send healing vibes and big virtual smooches to Erin and Nora and Hil and Jilli (seeing on fb that you have a migraine). I send silly happy grinning jigs of joy to Laga - it is hard and brave to be patient and accepting of one's evolution, says the former gold star lesbian.

And now I'm going to share some happies. I met for coffee this morning with a fabulous contractor trainer who ISTG *must* be the same MB type as I am, since we gabbed happily for two solid hours. He is a terrific support/contact/mentor and is even going to give me a little pro bono training on something I could turn into an income stream. And dayeinu ("it would have been enough" for the goyim) but he then took me by a place I've been meaning to go for a year and gave me a personal intro to the ED who's at her wits' end right now and needs a wide range of my skills badly. Can she pay me at the moment? No. But she'll wear my ass out with relevant work so I can sleep and write me a killer letter of rec, and that is sweet psychic money in the bank and karma to this girl. And she's got not one, but TWO people working for her who are pretty clearly trans* and/or just living genderqueer, which is awesome. She and I hit it off instantly, and she had tears in her eyes five minutes into our conversation - this is a "yat" in her 50s who prides herself on stoicism.

I still need to apply for that other job, but I'm going to keep working all the angles until I get something.

Seekrit message to Nora: I'll be learning window restoration at Mac's this weekend and I just told Michelle that I'm in for HG SG big time.

And now? I'm going to take a nap, because I was up until 4 am last night and up at 9 to meet Bill.

I made it through the session I wanted to see. Combination of TENS and Vicodin helped a lot. Then I saw some people I knew and talked to them, and now I'm back at my hotel room and resting for a little while before going back for another talk I want to see. The hotel and the convention center are connected with those habitrail-type walkway things.

Oh smonster, that sounds fabulous. Go you with your bad networking self!

Thanks, Liese!

A quick primer on Yats: [link]

Oof, Jilli, that's a lot to be dealing with. (But yay for new kittens!!) Many hugs and hairpats to you.

smonster, that's so cool! Way to go!

And yay Laga for happiness in love!

Thank you, Kate. Sometimes it's hard to see yourself as others see you. It's always a delight to see you around. I hope that things are getting better for M and his family. I think of his brother every time I hear another story about Metro safety.

Oh, Jilli. That's a whole crapload of stuff. Kittens, though! Adorable baby animals should help a bit, once the -proofing is done.

smonster, that's fabulous news. I really hope this leads to a paying job that's everything you've hoped for.

Hil, I'm glad you figured out a way to make it work.

smonster,cool! Hey, have you seen Mac since I gave you the check from my mom for the Village? Just wondering...

You need to apply for that CL job ASAP!!

smonster, that's awesome!

I hope that things are getting better for M and his family.

Thank you, sweetheart. It's been a rough year, but I do think things are getting a little better. M has been writing about his brother a lot, and his parents have both been stretching themselves in various ways: doing some traveling, in his mom's case, and starting a new relationship, in his dad's case. So that's all to the good.

I may have shared this story here before, but M's parents have both been going to therapists, and his dad's therapist told him, "What will really help is grandchildren." His dad responded, "Do you think I can get a prescription for that?" So, you know, we're working on it...