All right, here we go. Let's see if I can actually recall what I wrote before, though it might seem a little incongruent in spots. My mood has plummeted from where it was when I wrote the original version. There's also a bit more new stuff, since the first draft.

It always surprises me to find people that read what I spill out onto these virtual pages. I know perhaps three people that do so, and I'm always astonished to find out that there just might be others out there taking a look. I'm even more surprised when someone I hadn't known read it nudges me for an update when I haven't posted anything for a while.

I tend to do things in spurts; writing, drawing, checking webcomics, updating my own site, catching up with the webpages of other people... a bad habit, really. You can bet I'm kicking myself, since after going through the latest round of catch-up, I've found I've missed the posting of some information I was drooling over and waiting for with anticipation, as well as the chance to win a picture drawn by the inestimable Kishma by not checking more regularly. I'm going to have to remedy that.

Yes, I am employed, which is a good thing. No matter what, it feels good to be working, and I've been paying off my debts, which is a great relief. I really hate owing people. My only consolation is that I always pay them back, though it might take a little time. Even so, the fact that I ended up -owing- in the first place... well... *sighs*

Anyhow. I'm working at Kmart. Hey, I said that the fact I was working was a good thing, not necessarily the job I was doing. I'm a door monitor of sorts. If the alarm goes off, it's my job to find out why, what set it off, and deactivate the tag on merchandise if it was somehow forgotten or missed (which most of the time, is exactly the case), or, if someone is trying to rip off something, stop them, of course. I check receipts too, and some people really, really don't like that. I'm always polite, of course, but yeesh, some folks take it personally. It's not even because of the people I ask, either, though that seems the common belief. I'm supposed to ask to see the receipt if they came from an area other than the checkouts, (meaning they usually paid at one of the other ones in the store, like in electronics or the garden shop) or if it's a large item, or something from electronics, or something you can open and put stuff in. So I stand in one place for eight hours, basically hoping the alarm goes off so I have something to do other than think about my aching feet. Is it just me, or do I keep getting jobs that are worse and worse, and pay less and less? Seven and a quarter an hour. That's what I make. With gas as high as it is, as you can imagine, the hour commute each way takes a nice big chunk out of it. Oh, I have actually caught people trying to steal stuff. Busted one woman for trying to get out of the store with over $130 worth of jeans (that's six)hidden in a plastic bin she'd bought. I found three such bins stuffed with clothes, shoes, electronics, and assorted odd stuff - like hair gel - hidden behind the garden shop. Probably a thousand dollars worth of stuff, easily. Inside job, that. But I dunno what came of it. It got handed to the higher ups to investigate. And of course, some I don't catch. I had a runner the other day. Fast sonuva... he got away, I don't know with what, and I never saw his face. S'how it goes, I guess.

Still fighting every step of the way with the EDD for money. Now they're claiming I quit a job I worked with some company called Vicar Operations or some such. The only problem is, I never worked there, and certainly never quit. So while I'm arguing this, of course, my money is held up. Money I -need- so I can get a move on... well, on my moving plans. No pun intended.

I have to get out of here by August 1st. The problem, all the way, has been the pet situation. Nobody effin' lets you have big dogs. I've narrowed it down to two possibilities. I'll either be getting a roomie in Watsonville, where I work, in some low-income housing, (provided they allow a cat and a dog that's over 60 pounds, which is evidently like asking someone for their firstborn) or I'll be moving to Oklahoma. The minimum wage is about the same as I'm making now, and the cost of living is much lower. I could afford to live on a similar salary.

I've begun my packing, at least.