This week was up and down. Not all bad! I mean, I saw George at the library, which was cool. We talked about National Book Award nominees. He likes Louise Erdrich (WHO LIVES IN MINNESOTA), I figure Junot Diaz has it in the bag. (Dude's got a Pulitzer and a MacArthur.) I got the last punch in my card at Capitol Grounds, so my next large coffee is free. Ben bought a car! I resisted the urge to tell him to get innie the Audi. And, on the day an earthquake started in Maine and shook its way down New England, we drove the opposite direction.
Just a stone's throw away! Across state lines!
Oh, did you not know that? That the closest Target used to be "one block from work" and is now across state lines, $26 in ferry fees away. But we got a crock pot for $20. Also, I think I may have paid sales tax on some new tights and long john shirt, which is totally foreign to me. Oh, and work was so cold last week I bought a long john shirt to wear under my work clothes.
If work had only been freezing or only been horrific, I wouldn't have wanted to pull my hair out quite so acutely. My co-workers are pretty cool, but the job itself is a fucking joke. Did I seriously go to college to sell old clothes to rural biddies? Did I learn French just so I can tell a Canadian (WHO CLEARLY ALSO SPEAKS ENGLISH) that <<ces chaussures sont mignons>>? Non! It just feels like an enormous waste of my potential.
An opportunity has come up, though. I'm applying for a new job in Burlington. I feel bad maybe leaving this job after only a few months, but I also bust my ass there for nothing. I am the only one working six days a week "part time" i.e. sans benefits. I'm paid so poorly that it takes three weeks to make enough to pay the rent. I considered applying for food stamps this week. Our crazy ass landlord threatened to evict us, and frankly, we're kind of over Montpelier.
Burlington might be a better fit. Everyone our age in Montpelier is either spawning or resentful that they never got out of this town. There are more jobs for Ben in Burlington. It's closer to New York's Target, and a full hour closer to Montreal. It's only a 45 min bus ride if I need to come back to Montpelier. This new job would be a better stepping stone to the job I'm applying for that would start this summer. It would actually be on the path to something I want to do with my freaking life and not standing around, sorting khaki pants by shade.
We went to this gorgeous reservoir in Waterbury today. (They don't have real lakes in central Vermont. Only "reservoirs." Also, we drove Ben and Jerry's HQ.) It was cloudy and we had the place to ourselves. The mountains were shrouded in mist and it was pretty damn gorgeous. That's why we moved here. Because Minnesota doesn't have foggy mountains. It's time to start doing things with my life that make me as happy as sitting on the wet grass did today. Getting the hell out of here may be the first step. Getting back to a real city, getting a job I don't loathe every minute of, getting out of this madhouse.
We accidentally dropped the camera in said reservoir, but here's a less autumn-y perfect photo.
We'll see if this week is as shaky. There's another debate on Monday, I mentor a kid on Thursday, and I have a free coffee coming my way. Plus, my mom just posted this picture to Facebook.
My family is so redheaded, even one of the cats is a ginger.
They're so big now! Here's a picture from August, when they were small enough to bother the dog on her pillow.
Poor Sassy. The kitties took over her bed! Now she can only sleep on the couch or the love seat or the bench by the front door or the bed or the guest bed or any of the heated floors or...
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