Friday, August 17, 2007

to be specific

you may be wondering just what, exactly, we are up to this summer. i mean, in terms of employment, livelihood, didn't-you-close-your-bookstore-in-april, etc. i thought i would give you a brief update on the summer of unemployment:

m, although officially unemployed, has been working at his usual two-and-a-half-full- time-jobs pace. the business of closing cbb has been lengthy and convoluted, and i mean that in paperwork, physical, and psychological terms. today he is at the former store space helping move three book fixtures which he sold to an acquaintance. there are still a couple of huge pieces of furniture there to deal with, but most of the physical stuff is pretty much finished, thanks in large part to m's friend mitchell and his truck. m has made milo in maine a very part time job this summer, keeping up with reorders, online orders, and basically (with the help of me, his trusty sidekick) keeping bliss and edith and edna stocked with shirts. he has also made time to relax, go to the beach, ride his bike, take the kids on adventures, etc. i can't begin to describe what this has been like for him. after almost nine years in maine, he finally gets to experience a maine summer! as a result, i think he's feeling much more fond of and attached to maine than he ever has. yesterday, he interviewed for a job in hancock and washington counties (before you ask, we are sticking by our plan a, which does not involve a move; if m gets a job far away, it may mean that he will commute home on weekends. essentially, we'll cross that bridge. later.). so then there's the job search, his number one full-time job, involving meetings, phone calls, emails, online applications, etc. i may or may not report on happenings on the job search front, cause i'm terribly superstitious. i've probably blown the hancock/washington county thing already by even mentioning it.

i am stitching with vigor in my one-woman sweatshop. i am not currently looking for a job, or maybe i am about halfway looking. although the distractions of the summer make me especially prone to not sitting down at my sewing table, we did figure out that if we were paying someone else to sew, we could pay them at least $10/hour, possibly even more than that. and the shirts are selling like, um, vegan hotcakes, so my time is well spent and actually compensated.

i'm finding it's easier to love portland when you aren't depending on its inhabitants to spend money in your store. it's kind of a thrill to walk around the old port and not get stuck behind a counter making espresso drinks. it's also easier to love this place in august than in february. but, honestly, i've never loved any place i've lived in february.

and while we're attached and committed, i'm still a little addicted to this message board, currently my favorite way to procrastinate.

1 comment:

Michael said...

isnt' Portland a funny place that way. sometimes I am not sure why i like it so much. But while there are many places I'd love to live I really cannot think of a better place to live.