pixiebelle

I need to get back to comments and stuff, and I will as soon as I'm on a computer for any length of time... ( I'm on my phone right now).

A few updates as I wait on Kevin to get ready for bed...

1) I haven't been paid my unemployment benefits for three weeks out of the month. I don't know what's going on, but I'm not alone... I follow a website/message board and apparently many people haven't been getting paid for a few months now. Calling the EDD? Impossible. They keep telling you to call back later. So yeah... I'm just sitting here, wondering if I'll be able to pay my rent in January ( I have money for this month because I skipped paying my credit cards and other bills. Sad, huh? But rent has to come first). I'm beyond pissed off... And I'm tired of living like this, I really am.

2) That being said... I have a job interview on Monday. I'm NOT getting my hopes up because I know nothing about the company, what they pay, or what the hours would be... And it's located in the Bay Area so it would have to be really good to justify the move. It's in publishing so basically I'd be doing what I do now (which I love) for someone else too and getting a salary for it. There are possibilities of telecommuting and whatnot, I just know nothing... So not getting my hopes up. I won't move up North for a job that doesn't pay enough to survive. I want to be able to thrive, not barely get by.

3) And as of right now, we are still planning the move to Missouri early next year. We still don't know how we will pull it off... And honestly, it's so overwhelming that I wish we could stall it a few months (at least until our lease runs out here), but honestly... We can't afford to. If Congress doesn't extend the extensions, we will have no income on December 28th. And even if they do extend them, I run out sometime in January and Kevin's isn't enough to survive on... So what choice do we have really? I'll just be glad when we aren't in limbo anymore, and we know what's going on.

I'll be even happier when I can tell the EDD to fuck off. I can't wait to be free from their crappy ways. Countless people in CA are not getting benefits they're entitled to, some are being evicted, others going without food for the holidays... All because the EDD can't get their act together. The stress of worrying whether or not I'll get paid is ridiculous... I'm just lost in the shuffle... And I'm tired of it.

So I apologize if I seem distant, grumpy, bitter or cynical. I'm all the above plus sick and tired of everyone and everything. My patience is very thin and people piss me off on the internet daily (NOT my friends, don't worry).

I'm just... Ready for whatever comes next. And I really want to beat the crap out of stupid, ignorant people. But that's another entry for another time. Again, this isn't targeted at any friends of mine, it's mostly strangers who piss me off these days.

Thanks for listening. I am well, just a tad bit stressed. But overall, we will be okay.

pixiebelle

There's a reason I'm not around as much right now. I'm not just slacking, I'm just super busy.

I don't know if I mentioned it or not, but Kevin and I work out every morning now. It's a mixture of hardcore strength training, hiking and yoga (which still kicks our butt). We get up and do it first thing every morning. And we are already seeing a difference! My clothes are looser again (I gained about 10 pounds in the last few months) and the workouts aren't as brutal as they were the first few weeks. We have stamina. And we are noticing it in other parts of life too ;)

So after that, we shower, run errands as needed, get stuff done (which for me means applying for jobs, looking into apartments, editing, formatting, marketing... Tons of stuff and I never seem to get enough done).

Today, we looked at a couple apartments and I'm looking into more. It's hard to find apartments that allow big dogs that are also really cheap ("really cheap" around here means less than $1500 a month btw). We have a few in mind though and that'll help a lot with money.

I called and had my car insurance switched to storage rates. I owe a little more than $5 a month now, saving $50 a month. Which considering after bills were paid last month I had $9 leftover, $50 seems like a lot.

I'll be formatting some Ebooks. It's fairly easy for me to do this (and that means linked TOC and all the fancy stuff too). After I get a few up successfully, I think I might advertise my services since apparently it's something many authors pay to have done. Maybe I'll earn some extra cash that way.

I had an interview with a newspaper regarding my company and need to get a good author photo for that since mine is a selfie taken from my phone.

I applied for a few really awesome part-time jobs yesterday. The EDD will pay whatever I don't make at the job to match my unemployment benefits. And they're actually jobs I'd enjoy and build up experience, so why not? One is with a humane society and I'd make just about what I make on unemployment while working 20 hours a week. And I'd be working with animals. Which would make me happy. I'd also have time to write and run my business too. If I could get off unemployment, I could take classes and actually improve my situation rather than to keep applying to jobs I know I'd hate.

I actually have a potential job interview for a writing gig tomorrow. It's part-time and is be writing blogs and web content on law and healthcare.

Another one I applied for sounded awesome too. I could do some design work, blogging, marketing, etc for a very small company that makes iPhone and iPod cases. It's writing + design + marketing. All things I love to do. And I could work from home. It could be full time, I don't know yet.

Anyway, as you can see, I'm busy as can be. I have a hard deadline on my book now. It's entered into a giveaway through a new writer friend's page. It needs to be done by August 1st. Which I can do, I just need to finish editing.

Oh did I mention I had won a free cover? She also created a free banner and other marketing materials for me and it looks fantastic. I have a title too. I'll have a big cover reveal soon. If you have a blog or website and would want to be part of that (LJs count too), I can send you the materials and it would bring in some more readers to your blog. I just need to work out the details. May have a giveaway attached too, not sure yet :)

Well I need to get back to work. Almost done formatting two Ebooks and those need to be done ASAP. Today if possible. Anyways, I'm alive and well and can be found on FB and Twiiter if you wanna add me there too!

I'm at FB at www.facebook.com/kristenduvallwriter (author page) and just look for [email protected] for my regular page. Send me a message telling me who you are if you send a friend request!

And I'm @kristen_duvall on Twitter. Still a Twitter noob though :)