Oot And Aboot

I left the house at 6:35 this morning and caught the southbound number two bus to its rendezvous point with the south/ westbound number five. Number five goes directly to the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque, but I stayed on until The University of New Mexico Hospital, where the Coumadin Clinic is located. I arrived at 7:45 for my 8:15 appointment - not at all unusual for me. My pharmacist, Ahn, called me in at 8:10, poked my finger, and installed the blood on her little hand-held meter. I scored a 3.0, just inside the 2-3 range that's considered good. Good.

It was snowing in earnest when I got back outside and crossed Lomas to the bus stop. I had thought about continuing west to Albuquerquqe Little Theatre to see what was up over there, but since it was snowing heavily, I caught the next eastbound bus. It happened to be a number eleven, which goes very close to Sam's Club on Eubank. There were some things I wanted to get from there. My Super Duper membership gives me a ten dollar discount on Turbo Tax. Only problem: Sam's opens at 10:00. It was a little after 9:00.

The snow had slacked up a little, so I walked five blocks down to Walgreen's on Central Avenue (Historic Route 66) and bought some Sea Salt Blue Diamond almonds for Carmen and some sea-free salted almonds for me so I don't glom down her fancy almonds. Then I mosied on back up the hill to Sam's. It had just opened as I approached the doors. I got my Turbo Tax, some Hebrew National hot dogs, some granny Smith apples (gotta keep them doctors away) and the big jar of Litehouse salad dressing. Isn't that interesting? I got back to Eubank in plenty of time to catch the number two north to my neck of the desert. As I approached home, the snow was in the process of changing to rain, which it still is.

Of course, when I walked in the door, Remus J. Lupin took that to mean it was feeding time. I gotta teach that boy to read clocks.

Big Day

First of all, I accessed my unemployment account in Massachusetts and printed an unofficial copy of my 1099 for tax computation purposes. Then I went to the mailbox - there was a check! Woo hoo! Then A&R came and hauled my oxygen equipment (which I haven't used in nearly a month) outta here!

Also in the mail was a copy of my bloodwork from Thursday with a letter from my doctor saying it all looks good. That apple a day thing really seems to work - except for that damnable blood clot business.

The best news: I'm getting ready to walk to the bank and get a haircut on the way back! I haven't left the house since Friday. Cabin fever has set in. See ya!

That's A Big Ten Forty, Good Buddy

Wow, spelled double you oh double you. It's getting near time to buy the new Turbo Tax and try to sort out the tax situation for 2009. Let's see... I started out on Workshare, in which Massachusetts paid 8 hours a week and I worked for Mystic 32 hours a week. Then Mystic laid me off completely, and I was on full unemployment for a month. Then I got a gig at American Repertory Theatre, a Harvard University entity, and worked a forty hour week before starting at Aries Custom Works for three months as a contractor. Then I went back to Mystic for three weeks, then packed and moved for a month, including a three-week road trip. So that's six months as a resident of Massachusetts with Federal and State taxes to pay on Unemployment and three months at Aries. Carmen had no income, but she had tuition payments and other expenses.

Then we became residents of New Mexico. Carmen has been receiving a salary for her internship, I have worked two days on two TV shows as a background actor - with taxes paid - plus my "thank you" money from Albuquerque Little Theatre as a contractor. So I have Federal and New Mexico State taxes to file on all of that. I can't wait to get started. I've done Turbo Tax twice before, and I'm confident we can sort this out. Meanwhile, I'm assembling a file of W-2s and 1099s. Good thing I don't have a job.

Apologies

I remember when frequent Cat Juggler postings were routine. Then came White Christmas, and then came a Deep Vein Thrombosis / Pulmonary Embolism, and suddenly I see that my last posting was a week ago. My huge fan base is sorely disappointed, I'm sure, every time y'all swing by Cat Juggler and see that there is nothing new. Well, I guess that pretty much covers it. Nothing new is going on in my life - at least there's nothing I can write about. Carmen's online church dating process is going well, but I can't divulge any details. The old job search continues with very little to report. Every week I get my blood tested - yesterday it was a three point nine INR, which is still high. The cats still crawl into laps whenever one becomes available. In short, life goes on, but nothing to write about.

A lot of my time this past week has been spent on the phone with my dad. He has been writing a novel these past five years. We gave him a computer five years ago, and tried to impress upon him that here in the twenty-first century, publishers want your electronic version of your book because that saves them time retyping your book, and ensures that they won't make any mistakes above and beyond the ones you have already made. Well, he sent his publisher a paper copy, sliced and taped and recopied until it was right, and thought he was done - like it used to be in the sixties. When the publisher informed him that they were ready now to receive his electronic copy, he was flabberghasted. He enlisted my help to make about fifty corrections to the best version he had and send it to them. We're all excited now, after three submissions and two STOP THE PRESSES emails since Sunday, because he says he's done and won't even look at it any more until his copy comes in the mail in six to nine months.

I also have a lengthy Rand McNally nearly finished if you care to click the link to the left. I expect to finish it this afternoon. Other than that, nothing is going on here in Albuquerque.

All Very Hush Hush

About the time I was struck down with the nefarious blood clots, Carmen began clicking. It's computer dating for congregations seeking ministers and ministers seeking congregations. The congregation posts a little information on the UUA site, the minister reads and either clicks or not. If she clicks, the congregation's search committee can read a little info about the minister. If they like what they read, they contact the minister and agree to exchange massive packets of information (it can all be posted online nowadays, saving shipping costs and paper) and if they like what they read, they can agree to a phone interview. Carmen has had several go that far.

Next, the minister is invited to "precandidate" at the congregation's locality, check out the place and the situation, and deliver a sermon at a neutral pulpit for the Committee. If they like what they hear and like what they see, things get even cosier. Then they meet me, and the deal is off!

I wish I could say where things are headed at this time, but, as The Avengers used to say, "It's all very hush hush." It will be months before things are finalized enough to leak the story.

I think I can safely say (and I'll find out soon enough if I can't) that The Ordination is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, June 6th at the Albuquerque church. Y'all come!

Fifty Freakin' Seven ??!!!!

Nothing says "getting old" like a sudden medical emergency caused by one's own body. Of course, I'm not getting old. I've been old for nearly thirty five years, ever since the spectacular Bicentennial backflip at forty MPH on the cobblestones of Baltimore woke me up to the fact that even if I landed on my head on cobblestones at forty miles per hour, roller skates akimbo, it wasn't going to kill me - just increase my pain. I did get a very cool scar out of it, if that counts for anything.

So now I've had my ass kicked by stupid blood clots. For two weeks I could do almost nothing but lie on my back with my leg propped up, sucking oxygen. For another week walking caused me some diminishing discomfort. Now I feel pretty durn good, but I'm taking anti-coagulants every day for at least six months. Carmen is very hinky about the possibility that I might cut myself and bleed to death. No roller skating on cobblestones!

Every day I still go around the job search merry-go-round, but I haven't seen anything worth applying for since late December. Albuquerque seems to be very hard-hit by what the media call the "downturn" or the "recession." I call it the meltdown. I guess if I were still in Massachusetts I would be in better straits. My friends there seem to be working. Moving to a new and heavily impacted city in the middle of this "thang" was not a good career move for me.

Carmen, on the other hand, is loving her internship, loving her job-search process for the next move, and excited about the future of her ministry. I am an integral part of her ministry, so I am very much involved in all of that as well - and I have lots of time on my hands for whatever she needs me to do: cooking and cleaning, grocery shopping, photographing her church events and creating word and picture documents for her ministerial record, assembling music and burning CDs for her church stuff, reading info from congregations looking to hire ministers and giving my insight into our compatibility with them.

All in all, I'm excited about the future. Even though my employment situation here has been pretty dismal, I've done some cool stuff - background actor on two TV shows, sets for Albuquerque Little Theatre, writing two blogs - I'm looking forward to the next adventure, wherever that takes us. That's what our lives together have long been, a great epic adventure.

So that is the greatest birthday present - the adventure continues! Happy birthday to me.

How 'bout Some Good News?

I finally talked to Colby yesterday. You remember Colby, Technical Director at Albuquerque Little Theatre. The last time we spoke was the day after Thanksgiving, opening night of White Christmas. I went in to collect my check, finished up the last few details of the set, and asked about the next show. He told me then that I should be able to start on it by the end of the next week. He went to visit his mom, and I awaited his call to start on Dial M For Murder.

On December 11th I went in to clean the shop, still a wreck since the strike of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow on Hallowe'en night. Colby wasn't there and nobody knew where he was. My leg was hurting and swelling all day. Thus began my coagulation calamity. In the hospital for five days, on oxygen at home for two weeks, and in pain whenever I was vertical.

So Wednesday, when I walked to the bank on the way to an appointment, turned on my cellular phone, and there was a message from Colby saying he was ready to start on Dial M. I immediately called his cellular phone, got his voice mail, and left him a message updating him on my life since November.

Yesterday I called again and actually spoke to him live. He's had a hectic and stressful month as well. He's got Dial M For Murder well in hand. But the big news: The ALT Program Committee met, and they want to run White Christmas again next year! Good thing the sets I built are still intact. All they have to do is find a place to store them for a year.

I like recycling!

Out Of The Recliner And Onto The Bus

You know, if you're going to have a life-threatening episode that puts you out of action for a month, it's best to do it while you're unemployed, provided your spouse IS employed and has health insurance. Even my mother said that at the end of week one of life totally flat on my back.

Yesterday I took a bold step. I left my oxygen behind and walked to the midday bus stop, 1 1/2 miles away, caught the number 2 to Montgomery Road and the number 5 directly to UNM Hospital for my weekly Coumadin Clinic blood test. It was a more difficult journey than in months past, but I made it in good shape. My leg didn't even hurt. I wasn't out of breath, either. That's good. My blood tested at 3.9 - still too high.

The return trip was easier because after 3:30 the bus takes me to within a quarter mile of home. Even so, I was pretty tired. I slapped on my oxygen and hit the recliner. Kitties came from all over the house when they heard the reclining action, and we had a warm-up love-in until Carmen got home.

Tomorrow I do about the same trip for my Discharge Clinic appointment with Dr. Pierce (not Hawkeye) who will undoubtedly officially take me off of oxygen. I'm debating whether to haul my little tank with me for the appointment. It would make the trip ever so much harder, but I fear a chewing out for presuming to take myself off of it. It would be much harder to lie about it if I don't even have it with me. Hmmm, something to think about for the next twenty-five hours.

Meanwhile, it's around and around the job search wheel again. Things are even more dismal now than they were a month ago - and that's going some!

GRRRR!

As one might imagine, extrapolating from the title of this entry, I am just a little bit cheesed off. A week ago I put together my latest resume, my letters of recommendation, a spiffy cover letter, three special Science Museum references and the CD of my portfolio (you can see it at www.slideshare.net/jimemerson ) in a manilla envelope and mailed it with $1.22 postage to a museum here in Albuquerque that advertised for an exhibit guy with science museum experience. Now I realize that most of those 82 guys that apply for all the same jobs I do are still at it. I just think that, after we jumped through all of those hoops, a simple email to all of us that didn't get an interview wouldn't be too much to ask.

I haven't actually counted, but I don't think it would be any exaggeration to say that since we've been here I've applied for 150 jobs. Three of them went to the trouble to let me know that I didn't make the cut. Even the ones I actually interviewed for didn't let me know. Even the spa place that called me and invited me to fill out an application and take a fifteen page pointless test didn't let me know that I was out of the running. WTF??!!

Here's hoping that in 2010 the pendulum begins to swing back the other way, and that wherever we go in June is in better economic shape than Albuquerque. I'm really tired of following those 82 guys around, filling out application after fitness test, and just being dropped in the trash because I'm twice as old as the winning applicant. To put it succinctly, it sucks!