Leap and the net will appear

Okay, August 11 was my last day at work at smart center Cary. When I started there in January of 2008, I thought it would be perhaps a year and then I would move into something more like a "real" job -- Monday through Friday, 8 to 5, holidays, sick days, etc. Then the economy tanked, finding something like that got to be a real problem as you all know, and at least I had a job. As my co-workers left one by one, the hours and uncertainty got longer, and pay got smaller, until I was working usually 50+ hours per week, at $7.25 per hour. I had THREE Saturdays off in over 2-1/2 years, and every Sunday or the one day every other week I did get off had a sense of urgency to it that was very unsettling. So, after the last rejection letter ("we decided to hire someone with more legal experience") I decided something had to change.

I have thought about plumbing or electricity as a career for a long time. I'm handy; I've installed a faucet and repaired a toilet, hung some light fixtures and installed dimmer switches, a programmable thermostat, etc., and have thought about hanging the "handy woman" shingle out a few times, with encouragement from a good friend. When I looked at the Wake Tech site and weighed the two options, I decided (perhaps erroneously, but we'll see) that one was less likely to be killed while plumbing, so applied and sent an email to the man who runs the program for more information. One week later I was registered, and classes begin next week!

So, I am unemployed but a full time plumbing student. I have some money saved and enough alimony to cover my major living expenses; will have to work out the health care issue (COBRA = $338 per month for medical, and another $28 for dental - yikes!) and eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but I'm excited and looking forward to something new. At the end I'll have a skill that should be pretty sale-able as well as handy, and who knows what the future will bring.

In the meantime, I'm going to try to make some extra money using some of my other skills, including my "mad" sewing skills (alterations? pillows? simple curtains? I used to specialize in flower girl outfits!) so if you need anything give me a call! And I'll be keeping this record of the journey, so if you want to follow along, I'd be glad to have you. I'll also be posting plumbing tips, as I learn them! :)

Thanks to my family and friends for all your support and encouragement.