This was because I was rarely paid on time or in a predictable amount. One of my schools did not pay me at all for the first ten weeks of the semester. Healthcare? Hah.

Winter came, and there were cuts. Last one in, first one out. When I sent letters of inquiry to pretty much any school I could reach (I didn’t own a car, so MUNI and BART access were essential), I got sympathetic letters about how interesting I was and how they would love to have me, but they were cutting another 15% in almost every department. [. ]

Getting ready to do it again

I hope for my 75 year old grandma who used to be in real estate and who lost everything in the crash and now works at Vegas Walmart in the refrigeration area, her hands usually numb or in extreme pain, won’t have to keep working such a shit job until she is dead and will stop apologizing to me that she wishes she could help but cannot, though I have not asked. She has no healthcare as a pizza delivery driver, but was recently diagnosed with a serious heart problem, requiring meds she can’t afford and less work she can’t afford. She already lost her house in the crash. She is a bigot who hates Obama and Muslims and blacks and Mexicans (my dad is Mexican Native America, so, not very funny irony). I hope for her to see how she has focused her anger over very real wrongs to her in the wrong directions, at the wrong people.

Last fall, even though I made more money than I ever had before by working essentially 60 hour weeks and commuting 1-3 hours one way Mondays thru Thursdays, I was exhausted and often broke and stressed anyway

I don’t have to hope for my dad. He was a 15 year old run away dropout from Alabama. Now, with just a AS, he is a full engineer at Intel and travels the world to help various factories. Yes. He is talented and super smart. But also insanely lucky.

Mostly, I hope this shit gets better for my kid. Cause. this is shit. And those that shat are doing just fine. All I can think is, not on my kid, you don’t!

I lost my job 3 days before Thanksgiving in 2009 from a Home Improvement Store. It was their version of cutting back on the employers with high pay. That year was my daughters first Christmas, we had no money to do get anything big, I finally saved up bout a $100 the day before Christmas Eve. It was the ugliest feeling in the world to not being able give my daughter the world on her first Christmas. The holidays past and still no job, I had almost 10 yrs Retail experience and about 4 years Management experience. I was turned down by RadioShack, Toys R Us, Target, even Wal , I was finally offered a job by the US Census, it helped getting us back on our feet, but just like any good thing the assignment came to an end. I was given Unemployment Benefits that lasted almost a year, it kept us afloat financially. During that time I must of gone to dozens of interviews with all different companies: Best Buy, Apple, even my local University turned me down for a Rent A Cop position. Every time telling me I was over or under qualified. But there is a silver lining to this dark time in my life. I was able to spend each day with my newborn daughter, was able to raise her for the first 2 and half years of her life, I went back to school and I am currently only a year away from getting my Bachelors Degree, Just this past March, I was finally hired with the Parks & Rec Department in our City and I absolutely love my job. I’ll never forget that rough patch of my life, it taught me to appreciate the small things in my life: my family, my time spent with my daughter and even a stress-free night of sleep. Even though it was the toughest part of my life so far, I wouldn’t change it for the world.