Tuesday, June 2, 2015

It's only temporary

Lily does not approve of any activity that messes with mealtime.
I mentioned last post that I'm temping again.

This is for several reasons.  It was a long winter, as we all know, and it isn't cheap to heat a big old drafty house, even as minimally as I choose to heat it.

Add to that the fact that Mario's house still hasn't sold -- doesn't anyone want an inexpensive, not unattractive, really convenient house in West Philadelphia? -- and things have been tight.  Shows and Etsy and in-person sales have been good, but they're no replacement for an office salary when the savings dip.

I have a line that the bank account isn't supposed to cross.  It's an arbitrary, self-imposed line, and it moves, depending on circumstances, upcoming events and knowing that I can replenish it soon.  But lately I've been drifting closer to that mark and considering whether or not I should go back to work for a while.

Which I don't want to do.  I love how my life is going, how much happier I am with less stress, less money, less reasons to have to get dressed up and make nice when all I want to do is sit home and make things.  So going back to work full time was a no go.

I've been doing some daily work, organizing and paperwork, for a neighbor.  It's okay, but it's one day a week and she drives me batty because she's so chaotic she makes me look super-organized.  And I'm not.

Annie just doesn't want to be
on the menu.
And then, after the holiday weekend, this happened:  Tuesday morning my phone rang.  It was the temp agency, and they asked if I was busy the rest of this week.  Same office I worked for last summer, and if I'm willing, they have a two-week stint later on in the month.  Add to this a scheduled week at a different office next week, and suddenly I have four weeks of employment stretching ahead of me, which is more than enough to replenish the bank account to a place where I'm comfortable again.

I wasn't thrilled about the two solid weeks, but it turns out they're willing for me to work whatever days during that two week period suit my schedule.  I'm a known quantity, and they figure I can get more work done in three days than someone unfamiliar with their systems can do in five.

So in the space of a few days, I went from fretting about finances to having more work than I'm actually willing to do.  Instead of griping about it, I found a way to make it work, and I will.  I'm grateful I have several places that are willing to ask me back, give me work I can do without thinking too hard, and pay me more than I make working at home.

It's a good thing; it helps the budget, and it reminds me that I'm really, really happiest when I'm making less (but doing what I love).

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Life is SO serendipitous!!!! I love any of your posts that has your cats. It is nice to live life on ones own terms, or a close as one can get to that. Really enjoy your posts. I'll keep my fingers crossed for Mario's house sale.
Renita

Kris C. said...

That's super awesome! I'm happy for you in getting more work than you want, and figuring out how to make it work for you.