Zero dollar day. Better than that, I managed to cut my auto insurance almost in half (by finally updating it for my new state of residence), and reduced my minimum monthly payments on the van. I’ll pay it down as quickly as I can once I’ve signed a contract for my next job, but I need to do everything I can to free up cash till then. Oh, I also recently stopped paying into my retirement account. Need cash now.
I’m guessing this college is going to refuse to give me even a 7.5% raise (matching inflation) when this contract is up, which will mean I’ll walk. But we’ll see. I’d hate for the department to get screwed over (I like (most of) them), but I wouldn’t be the one doing the screwing.
Apropos of all of this, I’ve decided to finish transcribing the notebook I”m working on now (one that bridges my last years in high-school and first years in college), then transition to van work as my afternoon project. It’s still cold as fuck here (snowing as I type), so we’ll start with 3d modelling, and prepping some wood. I am going to buy like 1k in new tools from that one big online retailer so I can get 0% apr for 12 months. Sucks, but thems the breaks. These tools (mostly a planer and job-site table saw) will let me process scrap wood down to 1/4″ shiplap wall panels. Then I’ll stain them dark walnut, and seal em.
The majority of my adolescent poetry is pretty painful to read now. But some of it is almost not bad. Check this out:
Huddled in a dark hole,
I scribble words
that mean myself.
Or at least I try.
Nervously looking over my shoulder,
I shove the pages down my throat
if the shadows even move too fast.
Terrified that someone might see
something other than the beast.
Something other than a bent
and hairy animal
huddled in a dark hole.
