Well, folks, I got canned.

Hi! My name is Elise. You may have seen me here before! I’m a 40 year old disabled person living with autism, as well as Major Depressive Disorder, along with a grab-bag of other conditions.

(Turns out the company I took medical leave from was not exactly the company I came back to. I got the call half an hour after an email from my health care team asking for accommodations went through. Nothing suspicious there!)

While I'm waiting for my unemployment benefits to come through, (and I have no idea how long it will take them to get back to me, let alone give me those benefits,) I'm doing everything I can to get back on my feet. In the less than a week since I was fired, I've applied for said unemployment, medicare, and food stamps; I worked out a payment arrangement with my treatment resistant depression clinic, and I've lined up three job interviews for next week. I am hustling as hard as I can to find new work. (Could a lazy person do this, I ask you? like a Parks and Rec bit.)

In the meantime, I'm facing some urgent expenses that I can't cover alone. The funds raised here will help me pay for my living expenses, my cats' prescription diet food, my phone bill, car insurance, and pet insurance. My cats rely on a special diet to stay healthy, and keeping up with these bills is crucial for the three of us while I try and claw myself back to employment. Any employment I think I can feasibly handle. Even minimum wage employment.

I'm throwing myself on the mercy of the internet, on my community, and on the kindness of strangers, for support to help bridge the gap until I can secure a new job and steady income. I don't think I can do this without help, or I wouldn't be asking. And any help you can offer would mean the world to me and my furry little guys.

UPDATE July 17: I did not get a job that I was absolutely certain I had in the bag-- too much had aligned for me to think it was mere coincidence and I got bamboozled by the universe into believing it was Fate, or something stupid. I'm still job searching-- I was just hoping I was going to have better news for you all today. I'm sorry if I'm not more clear, I got the email two minutes ago and I'm reeling. I keep looking at it and I can't believe it-- they could have written this job for me.