Snapping Out of It

I haven't been posting much because I've been a little down lately; I'm working 5 part time jobs, I'm not making much money at any of them, and I'm tired and cranky all the time. Part of it, I think, was that I didn't really have a single day free for the better part of January and haven't had time to unwind at all until this weekend, when my work at the museum was unexpectedly cancelled. While I'm sorry I'm not making $60 this weekend by annoying little kids, it was a huge mental sigh of relief when I realized I didn't have anything to do yesterday. This gave me a little time to reflect upon all the stuff that I'm happy about, which offset the honestly very few things I'm unhappy about right now.
1. I haven't had a cold yet this winter. This is amazing; especially considering how many little germ-factory kids I've had contact with at the museum in the last 2 months.
2. I got to be in a movie last weekend. Yes, my role as "Martinique, the Fencing Assassin" has been recorded on digital video, to debut online in a few months as the second installment of the popular soap opera "MD HEARTS" from ANC Movies. I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille! Seriously, it was a great time. That's the back of my head in the teaser photo.
3. It snowed yesterday. Perfect snow, about an inch, didn't stick to the roads or my car but coated every tree branch and power line, and it's just beautiful.
4. I have a job interview next week. Part time, no benefits, but it IS at a museum. More details if they become relevant.
5. I've cooked some really good food lately. I made a resolution to do more cooking in 2006, and specifically to try a new recipe every week. This week's installment was Chinese dumplings, to celebrate the Year of the Dog (which is my year, in the Chinese Zodiacal sense. Come to think of it, that's another reason to be happy--this is my year! Things have to be better--dogs unite!)
6. My pets are insane. No, wait... this was the happy list. Well, I'll tell this story anyway--see, the Orange Cat has this habit of playing with things that aren't technically cat toys, in the traditional sense. So I'm used to waking up in the night and hearing him assaulting some random thing, and unless it's really annoying I just yell "Shut up, dammit!" and then roll over. This happened the other night, I yelled "shut up dammit" and rolled over, and thought nothing more about it. Then the next morning, I wake up for real to discover that his "prey" was a bag of peat moss that I'd been using to try to lower the Ph in my fish tank (which is another depressing story, somehow my Ph spiked to 8.2. it's amazing my fish haven't just dissolved.) So he's found this bag, stalked it, killed it, and then dragged it around the house like a cheetah carrying a Thomson's Gazelle, leaving a trail of blood (that is, peat moss, which is something akin to potting soil) all around my bedroom and living room. When I found the bag, it had been utterly bled dry. I was stunned. Stunned and amused. That's what he's best at, after all, causing stunned amusement. So I'm happy I can wake up to find something that makes me laugh even as I'm dragging out the vacuum cleaner again.
There's more, I'm sure, but this is a good start. It was good to have a day to stop, take a deep breath, and remind myself that I will not always have 5 part time jobs with crummy pay. Hope springs a turtle!