Estoy Nueces

I'm sitting here listening to KGSR's Lone Star . . .something. . .Radio? Show? New Music? I can't remember but I am enjoying it immensely. They're playing a song by Stephen Bruton that sounds like Tom Waits before his mind deteriorated. It's all about a tamale house a Congress and First (before First was Cesar Chavez) and the bridge and more Austin-y things. I'm a sucker for Austin-y images in a song or a story or photos, etc. I love this town. I am so happy to live here. I want to fall happily back into an Austin lifestyle of pleasure and sunsets and drinking and eating and friends. One day I'll be making money enough that I can return to that instead of the constant worry about cash and income. I hope. I hate for money to be so central to my thought process but when you've developed a "lifestyle" and house payment that has to be supported, there's not a lot of choice without selling it all and moving to a commune. And don't think I haven't considered it.

There is a new job on my horizon Monday. Maybe the answer to prayer. I'm starting a job Monday as a medical transcriptionist, the job I've been pondering and attempting and not knowing how you break in. All ads for the job require previous experience. I have none. As with many jobs I know it is one that I could learn if I put my mind to it. This week I saw an ad for a part-time position as a medical transcriptionist for a psychologist. I faxed them a letter, they called and set up and interview. I interviewed with the doctor and the office manager and before I had returned to my car in their parking garage, they had called the house and asked me to come work for them. The pay is minimal, the hours are small and it will only make me receive less unemployment and won't help us in the income department, BUT, and it is a big BUT, it is experience that I wanted and an opportunity to see if this is something I want to continue and to learn. I have daydreams of meeting more in the medical community through these people and being able to do more work or maybe they will like working with me so much they will find room for another employee. Who knows. I learned long ago to take these risks even if you aren't sure how long it will last or what might happen, because it may be the perfect fit. I'd rather say yes and commit to this Monday through Friday afternoon schedule than say, no, I need to find a full-time job. In four months I probably still will not have found a full-time gig and this will have given me four months experience. I have high hopes here.

I am learning a lot about the world of waitressing, that is for sure. Valentine's was a madhouse and my first experience really being busy busy. Okay tips but not phenomenol. When you've got so many tables going you really can't give them personal attention and that hurts the tips. Tonight was not busy (everyone must have gone out last night). I had a lovely table of elderly people that I really enjoyed taking care of. They were all very sweet about putting money in my hand and saying, "This is for you." That is a nice way to give a tip. I should focus on groups like them. Because later I had a large family group. I try very hard not to pre-judge groups by race or age or whatever and frequently and very glad I didn't treat them differently because of the nice tip I received. Tonight was not the case. It was a couple of couples of mixed races and a couple of kids. They were about my only table at the time so they never had to ask for anything and were taken care of through the night. The $78.46 ticket was paid for with $80.00. And that was it. Okay, I will put that behind me now. I left my money out in the car so I haven't figured if I made any money at all but I know it wasn't much tonight.

The radio station didn't deposit my last check in direct deposit so I had to go in to that soul-sucking place to get my check this morning. And, of course, they had shorted me on over $300 of work. I hope I can get that straightened out and have a check for that next week. A pain. Wednesday there was a going away party for the man who fired me at the cafe where I work. I am SO GLAD I was not on duty. I don't know if I could be civil to him.

Four weeks from today is my birthday. No, please, presents aren't necessary. I'm just pondering it because it is so rapidly approaching. I will be celebrating on a cruise ship somewhere on the high seas around Hawaii. That will be weird. Where was I last year on my birthday? Working downtown and all was so rosy in my future. That was the night I began my 42 bar year. I haven't achieved that goal and I've abandoned the mission since I'm failing at the task and I'm out of money. I think I might have passed thirty. I'll have to check my list. Pretty good effort anyway. Kind of interesting to see how many differenct bars I went to in a single year and to realize how many times I went to some of these bars during the year. For not being a "partyer" (and believe me, working with these kids at the restaurant I'm learning about partyers) I sure am in a lot of bars during a year.

All right. I'm caught up as are you.