At any rate, this evening I got to go out on my own for a little while, partly for the aforementioned training class required by the [Local Community Organization I am Contractually Prohibited from Mentioning in My Blog] for my volunteer position in the nursery. I made the decision a few weeks ago that I could not, would not, become a paid staff member there, because working in childcare just depresses me beyond the point of no return. Only slightly less depressing is the fact that I filled out an application at Michael's Crafts this evening. I did it in my worst handwriting, omitted phone numbers of former employers, and didn't remove my nosering, but I did it. I figured that if they do hire me, the discount on art supplies and knitting supplies would be nice for a little while.

I am holding out the small hope that someone will actually pay me to do design. I've applied for a couple of actual design positions, that I am almost qualified for, and dropped off unsolicited resumes at a couple of design/marketing firms in the area. It's just that there are so many recent college graduates around here that I feel there's little hope of finding a ground-floor position as a 32-year-old part-timer. It's depressing. That whole "stay home with the kids for a few years then go back to work" thing? Feh. More like "kiss any long-term financial stability or career achievement goodbye." OK, so I've only been looking for about a month and a half with any seriousness, but it's quite scary. I could also, I suppose, be looking for arts management positions, since I, uh, yeah, bothered to get a graduate degree in that. But you know what? It was a good experience, but not one I want to commute to have again (which would be a necessity living where we do). I'd rather be designing. And parenting. So, here's the backup plan: tuition remission at Purdue kicks in in August. The Bug is old enough for Purdue daycare in June of '08. I'm gonna get me some web design credentials, keep doing the trickly little stream of freelance that comes my way in the meantime, and just try to enhance my job skills a bit in the next 2 years.

So, dear readers, don't get too depressed on my account. Besides, there's some really exciting knitting updates on the way.