Meeting a new challenge

Life can be challenging sometimes. Goodness knows, life has thrown some challenges at me in the past decade.


    My mother got sick and I had to drop plans for a graduate program in anthropology to take care of her, which for the last four years of her life was a 24/7 proposition. Fortunately, I found a wonderful online job writing finance news for several UK websites. It was a good job that allowed me to work full time and take care of Mom, too (yay, multi-tasking). I kept the job up after Mom died. Unfortunately, while I was still paying off the bills that had accumulated while she was sick, the job went away when the company I was working for was forced to downsize.


    Looking for a new job was a challenge in the weak economy and in a job market where there many more job applicants than positions available. When I wasn’t able to find a job, I attended some job-search seminars. The seminars didn’t lead to a paying job, but they did lead to volunteer work that helped me keep my hand in and learn some new skills besides. During that period, I spent my savings paying off the bills that had piled up during my mother’s illness but, as often happens after a long illness, my savings ran out before the bills did. Fortunately, I had a wonderful roommate at the time who allowed me to stay even though I couldn’t pay rent. Unfortunately, this spring my roommate had to move in with her family, so I was left without a place to live since two years of job hunting had resulted in zero paying jobs. There was the regular volunteer work, though - people wanted my labor as long as they didn’t have to pay for it. At that point, I was fortunate enough to move in with some of my relatives. Unfortunately, they didn’t check with the zoning department, Social Security, and the holder of their reverse mortgage before they invited me into their home. There are rules, it turns out, and I have to be out by the end of August. I feel lucky to have that long to put a plan in place to go forward.


    Now, the good news: I do have a plan, and I’m hoping you’ll help me with it.


    The plan is this: After more than two years of looking now, it’s clear that I’m not going to find a job in California. But there are jobs in the Washington, D. C./Baltimore area, writing jobs that I am fully qualified to do. And, as I was told while I was doing the research to put my plan together, anyone who can put words on paper can find a job in D. C. So, I’m going to pick up, move across country, and start again. The plan is to apply for those jobs as my departure date gets closer. When I arrive in in the East, I will find a place to live somewhere around the Baltimore area, which is close to D. C. but a much less expensive place to live than in D. C. proper.


    But wait - there’s a second part to my plan. I’m a writer, after all; I will document this new life adventure as it unfolds and write a book about it. In the book, I will acknowledge by name everyone who helps me along the way, because it will be partly your book, too.


    So, to get down to the nitty gritty - what I need is help getting there and getting settled. That means I need your help to buy a train ticket to get to the East Coast, and then to eat and put a roof over my head for the short time until I get my first paycheck. Did I mention that I am multi-talented and willing to take whatever job I can get while I look for the writing job I want? My wide variety of experience includes tutoring college students - and there are a lot of college students in Washington, D. C. who will just be starting a new semester around the time I will be arriving. I’ve also worked in a fruit packing house and in retail. I’ve even been a props handler for a ballet company.


    I’m smart. I’m a willing worker. At the first opportunity I will pay forward the help I get from all of you. Wouldn’t you like to see better writing from Washington? Wouldn’t you like to send me there to do my bit? And wouldn’t you like to read about it in a book with your name on the dedication page?