<div>Hello world!
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<div>My name is Kythera. I’m a super geeky nerd; I draw stuff, I make epic grilled cheese sandwiches, and I’m obsessed with gargoyles (and <em>Gargoyles</em>). I’m also queer, neurodivergent, and cannot drive (disability). Professionally, I'm a mid-career technical writer/editor/proofreader/Atlassian admin/manual QA tester, and all-around documentation Swiss Army knife. I thought I'd hit my stride in my career, but that thing everyone dreads happened at the end of November 2024: "reduction in force."
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<div>I've been diligently looking for a new job ever since. I took every class, workshop, and presentation I possibly could through the career transition program that was part of my severance package. I've pushed the limits of my neurodivergence to network, network, network. Tailored, intentional applications? You bet. Personalized cover letters? So many.
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<div>I've followed all of the most current, up to date, highly recommended advice and best practices that flood LinkedIn and spill from the optimized, keyword-loaded promoted posts by Top Voices. I've applied to more than 300 jobs since December 2024, and I've had 5 interviews (made it to the final round for 3 of them) but each one went with another candidate.
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<div>Despite the reassurances that "it's not [me], it's the job market,” this has been brutal. I’m at the end of my resources. My unemployment benefits and severance package have been exhausted. I’ve already taken early withdrawals from my 401K to keep bills paid.
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<div>I'm not proud about setting this up. I wish I didn't have to. I'd much rather be signing an employment contract than pleading my case, but that's not my current reality. I'm setting this up because my resources will only last another month or two at best. At any given moment, I’m living precariously close to not being able to pay bills. I’m asking for help BEFORE the last of my resources are gone in hopes that I can keep going with less panic and without the fear of losing everything.
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<div>While I continue looking for full-time employment (on W-2 with benefits), I’m working on upskilling and pursuing certifications, leaning on my creative skills as a side-hustle, and managing a couple of 1099 independent contracts (no health benefits, no taxes withheld).
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<div>I need about $6000 per month to keep all of my bills paid: rent and utilities (including phone and Internet service), insurance (and the medications that allow me to function), and other necessary bills (like food and transportation).
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<div>I don't want to lose my home. I don't want to lose my cats, who are the feline equivalent of Pinky and the Brain but nonetheless very good potats. These are my precious sons, Cole (left) and Zeus:
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</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/93201333_1765578550838942_r." width="100%" />
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<div>If you're able to chip in, it means the world. If you have a job lead for a technical writing or editing position, I'd love to hear about it! I have the kind of skills and experience that Ai can’t replicate. Even the best Ai-powered helpdesk systems can’t function without high-quality documentation developed and maintained by actual humans, and that’s where I come in.
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<div>I would much rather be working full-time than asking strangers for help, but the current reality is what it is.
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<div>If you want to know that I'm a real person and get an idea of my experience, here's some links:
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<ul>
<li>LinkedIn profile: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kytheracontreras/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kytheracontreras/" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/kytheracontreras/</a></a>
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<li>Public technical writing portfolio: <a href="https://www.documentation-czar.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://www.documentation-czar.com/" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.documentation-czar.com/</a></a>
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<li>Patreon: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/kythera" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/kythera" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.patreon.com/kythera</a></a>
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<li>Ko-fi (with shop): <a href="https://ko-fi.com/kythera" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/kythera" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://ko-fi.com/kythera</a></a>
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<div>- - - - - - - - - -
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<div><strong>CURRENT STATUS (7/27/2026)</strong>
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<ul>
<li>Funds raised with GoFundMe from December 2025-July 2026: <strong>$10,580</strong>
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<li>Short-term incremental goal: <strong>$12,000</strong>
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<li>Long-term goal: <strong>$13,000 (updated in July)</strong>
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<li>With contributions outside GFM
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<li><em>I </em>am <strong>close to $0</strong> and will not be able to pay bills in August
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</ul>
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<div><strong>Job search metrics (as of 7/27/2026)</strong>
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/93201333_1785175546844997_r.png" width="100%" />
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Anonymous

Karen Allen

Anna Fuchs

Megan Leslie

Valerie Quintana

Ryan Graff

Barbara Cormack

Anna Irwin-Schutze

brigit schroeder

Help Kythera keep her home (and cats)

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

Eligible for Profile Share Badge

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

isEligibleForProfileBadge

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help Kythera keep her home (and cats)

Still $1,315 to go. Help us build momentum.