Life in the slow lane

Life has moved forward quite quickly during these past few months. Time, however, has not. It some ways, it seems like the August-October period has been much longer than a mere couple of months. This is due to several factors. On one hand, I think that when one's life is filled with a lot of change, time seems like it expands and stretches to accomodate the magnitude of the transitions. I have had a lot of changes.

Physically, my environment has shifted radically from being a large apartment shared between 5 roommates, to a quiet 3 man set up. This has been a huge change. Living in a clean, quiet, private home has had a huge psychological impact on an introvert like me. I mean, in the last house our house was packed with visitors every week. Even if each person only invited people over one weekend a month, that still meant that it was going to be full every time. The fact that my house was downtown and large didn't help it become less of a place for everyone to use as a hostel. Needless to say, all these people didn't create a very quiet... or clean, place to live. So after 2 years, I decided that I needed a change. The house disbanded and several people went their own ways (amicably). Two of the guys joined me and we got a nice little apartment. As I mentioned, the effects of this change cannot be underestimated. I have been more relaxed, rested and happy since the change.

The move also affected my social life a bit, though it is the least of the changes in this area. Other things have changed on the social/friendship areas of my life. Groups have shifted, friends have gone, new friends have been made, friendships have blossomed into other wonderful things... These changes have also contributed to my life seeming beautifully full and long.

Paradoxically, if these months have seemed long due to being so full of nice new things, they have also dragged on for lack of things to do. I am fortunate to have had so many positive changes in my life to keep up my spirits in a time of virtual unemployment. I have dcidd that my current situation as a freelance translator is not stable enough. I miss the stability of a set paycheck. I am tired of the feast-or-famine nature of freelance work. So, in september I began to look for a new job, or at least one to compliment my translator work. I will admit that I didnt really know how to go about it for a while, and that my objectives and methods have changed considerably since I began my job search. Initially I wanted a no-brainer, easy job to cover basic living expenses and allow me time to work on other interests. Now I am not so sure, and I would like to have a job that will make me feel more useful. We will see what I end up taking. I have some freelance translation and interpretation work for the next couple of weeks, which will give me time to hear back from some of the many places I have applied to. The only employer that has called back is Starbucks, which fits into the kind of work that I am not so interested in anymore. But if I don't have any other options in a few week's time, I may be forced to take it. I don't usually ask for people to keep me in their prayers, but if you remember to ask for a good job for me, I would be most grateful.