Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Saturday, June 17, 2017

So it's been an interesting week, anyway

It was very busy at work. One day we had over 200 on the schedule and over 150 showed up. That was a record, I think. It will only become more normal, though, now that we're taking over the university's paediatric orthopaedic clinic. But with a lot of teamwork, it went pretty well.

I didn't hear anything about the Owenton job until Friday. They went with another candidate, I suspect because they realised I couldn't take the position. There were just too many drawbacks. I wish I could have made it work. But I still have other local applications out there, and there's a Lexington Public Library children's librarian position that just opened yesterday to apply for. I also applied for a position at Shriners in the department I'm working in. The pay range is less than I have been making, but no real commute and EXCELLENT benefits, and I think I could make it on a little less money. I think the Owenton job was mainly so I could see what was out there, especially in the other counties. For example, Boyle County library is advertising a children's librarian position for a little over $13.50 an hour. The LPL one averages about $42,000 a year. That's a big difference. But the health plan is probably the most important aspect for me. There was no way I could have taken a pay cut AND paid that much in medical expenses. With Shriners, I basically didn't pay out anything beyond my biweekly premiums and the before-tax deduction for my flexible spending account, which paid for the $1500 maximum out-of-pocket expenses we had (yes that is not the deductible, that's the out-of-pocket cost, as the deductible was $150). If I can get the patient access job at $16 an hour, I can just make it, and it would be worth it just for the insurance, really. In the meantime, I'll seek a librarian job.

Speaking of making it, after more than 25 years of living on my own, and 14 years living here at the apartment complex, it looks like I will be moving. I have a friend with whom I'm going to move in so we can share expenses. The only trouble is it's not a very big house, and there's really not room for most of my stuff, which would have to go into storage. I would basically have to get a daybed and have a few things from the apartment, but generally, most of my things would be stored elsewhere. It will take some getting used to, and like I said, I haven't lived with anyone for years and years, and we've always said spending too much time together might not be the best plan, as we're both set in our ways. There will have to be a lot of compromise on both sides, I'm sure, and we'll have to make sure we each get some alone time, as we're both introverts. I'll have to break my lease, but that's not too difficult here, you just give notice and an extra month's rent. I'm thinking I could move in by August 1st. I've already found a daybed at Amazon that has lots of storage under it in the form of drawers and sliding doors, a back that has a bookcase/storage as well. I'd need to have a hamper or two, my lamp, my Bluetooth speaker that's four-feet tall but very thin for listening to music, and not much else. There's a small closet. I'm looking around the apartment to judge what can go and what needs to be gotten rid of, and what might go. I should bring a few small things such as my iron and ironing board for pressing my interview suit, but things like books, CDs, and most of the kitchen stuff can go into storage. The aquarium might be able to go to Brenda, along with the fish inside it, as there's no room there, and she's a hobbyist. Most of the bookshelves come apart and fold down, actually, so that will help. The biggest things are the chest-of-drawers, a dresser with a mirror that comes off, the bed, which comes apart, a table that has the top come off, the computer desk with removable hutch, and maybe two other bookshelves and a microwave cart. The plants will go with me, of course. My, there are a lot of them! I'd basically be living in the living room. But it would help him a great deal, and force me to minimise things quite a bit, which is probably a good thing. The main drawback is he absolutely dislikes and will refuse to have Wi-Fi, and my new computer does not have an Ethernet plug, but I can use the old one in the library, get a USB-Ethernet adapter, or uset his one using my phone's hotspot. The speaker is Bluetooth, not Wi-Fi, and I have unlimited data so I can listen to music from my library or Pandora. Anyway, we're going to give it a try. This is a friend whom I have known for 30 years, and I've been friends with him for at least 28. He probably saved my life and sanity by posing difficult questions at the time that I was married which led me to leave my husband. He is like an older brother, and if thie helps, so be it.

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