I got caught up in a wonderful visit from my son for the holidays so I neglected the updates in favor of quality time watching him play on his computer with his friends at my dining room table. To be fair to him, he asked if I minded him being online. It’s like a big conference call when they all get together to play. I like hearing them or at least his end, he wears headphones. He probably would have preferred to play up in his new lair aka the bonus room but we could not figure out how to get the ethernet cable up there without drilling holes. I need a plan if I am going to drill holes in the walls and ceilings. My modem is on top of the china cabinet in the living room. I put it there because it is out of the way, it is central in the house and that is where the internet outlet that we could find that worked was. Unfortunately my neighborhood only has one provider (so far) so I need to go with what they have. So my son set up the gaming PC that he made in ninth grade on the dining room table and didn’t disappear into his man cave while he was visiting from college. We did have fun mom and son time too though. We rode horses, went to the UGA Wonder Lights/Disco Nights and saw a hockey game with my sister and her husband. We made cookies and he helped me around the house. I missed him when he went off to Austin before going back to school.
The house is coming along well. Just about all of the boxes are unpacked and rooms are serviceable. Looking around the living room now, I would say it even looks lived in. The dogs are on the furniture and papers are accumulating on flat surfaces. The kitchen has newer appliances so it feels good to work in there if I don’t look too hard at the cabinets and countertops. A home improvement project for down the road is how I am couching that. This will give give me time to live in the space and see how I want to best use it. I can collect ideas as well. It’s difficult for me to sit back and wait. I am a doer, full speed ahead and take charge.
My mosaic room is ready for action and today may be the day I get going on them. I have an area in the garage that needs to be improved as a work area so I can paint and grout without making a mess in the house. I still have too much of a mess in the garage though. I need to figure out how to organize the Christmas decorations and where to put the packing material I am saving for shipping mosaics when that picks up again. I am a thrifty packrat but NOT a hoarder. Right now though, I have the cats’ litter robot in the mosaic room. I’m trying to decide if it will stay there. I don’t want to put it in the guest room for obvious reasons and the laundry room is too small. I may just have to clean it more often than I am doing. It is the favorite of the clowder (I just looked that up. It is what a group of cats is called). The other litter box is in the “house” bathroom, also not ideal. It is small and easy to keep clean because when you go to use the facilities, the box is right in front so I feel compelled to clean it while I am sitting there. I am a multitasker. As I live here longer, I am sure solutions will present themselves. But this really is the least of my worries.
As I work to build my freelance photo business, I need a part-time job. I have applied online several places but no luck as of yet. Does it help to double down on local part-time positions to go visit in person as well? I am going to try that tomorrow. The University of Georgia has a free museum event and that is one of the place I applied. Perhaps if I go see someone in person, it would help them to see that I am serious about a part-time job even though on paper I look old and over qualified. Starting on a different path as you get older can be tough. The other option I am considering is getting a masters in emerging media. The university has a good program here and it would help me sharpen skills and be able to teach in the future. The problem with that is the money. Where would it come from? I need to research grants for older white ladies who are hoping to change careers. I have so much to offer in the way of experience and street smarts. Furthering my education seems like the right thing to do at this time.
I had a dream last night that I reconnected with a former staffer at the newspaper who left to go get her masters and then PhD, I think. In the dream she was whole heartedly encouraging me to get my masters. She expounded on how it opened doors for her. She was truly happy, which she had not been in her newspaper career toward the end. Was this a sign for me or simply a desire of my subconscious?
Nell Carroll Photography 