domesticity

late nights revising and rewriting
hoping and praying with my fingers
on the keypad
for something more stable
my ankle boring into the wood floor
the fridge humming
where is the dog?
i wonder if I will get anywhere
i wonder if i was a gypsy too long
if no one will believe me
when i say
i want to lay down roots
-but i do-
i'm tired of traveling
i'm tired of moving
i want the boring life
a house
a family
a stable job
tea in the morning
and broccoli at night
my piano in the living room
my best friend at my side
he'll be home soon
with a van full of stuff
ready to start a new life
--together--

A most unlikely tale of finding a [possible] job

I wrote this on 8/22/2009, but then reconsidered posting it - and thought I'd wait until I actually had the job.

It all started with a posting for a job opening at WalMart in Eugene, Oregon. A posting I found while looking for fill-in work in Oregon. I thought I could pay off all my loans if I worked at WalMart for a while, even though I'm not so sure about the place. I googled "Walmart optometry job Eugene" and ended up finding a posting for an opening as a civilian optometrist in Vilseck(Veel-sick) Germany, twenty-five miles from the Czech border, in the Bavaria region.

***

I contacted the company who was contracted by the US Army to fill the position. They were looking for a start date in October 2009 and said a contract package would be out in a few weeks. This is the first time there's been a full-time opening as a civilian optometrist in the Europe division.

I'd sort of forgotten about the job while traveling Minnesota and North Dakota, attending endless family reunions, not wanting to get my hopes up. After my travels, I arrived home in Minot at my mom's house. The next day, she opened the front door. There was a UPS package for me with all the Germany information.

I started the application process, which involved eighty-three pages mailed to me, one hundred mailed back. Yes, I counted. You know I like math.

Anyway.

This morning my mom called at 7:38AM. I don't normally get up until ten, so this was essentially the middle of the night for me.

She said, Tim called this morning to talk to you. Tim is John 's brother, the one who I used to date in college and after Keith died."

In my grogginess, I was utterly confused about what was happening. "Did he call tomorrow?" I asked. No, that's not the right word.

She said, "You better have some coffee, start singing and call him back."

I started to grind my coffee and prepare my morning medication. After gulping two Americanosdown and singing "On Eagle's Wings" at my dining room table, I placed the call to North Dakota about a job in Germany.

Drowning in paperwork and life

I'm filling out yet another fifty-three pages. Yes, fifty-three.

So exhausted from paperwork, house sales, other personal problems which I will not state here, that I wonder sometimes how I am going to get through the day or the night or the morning for that matter.

I had a partially bald man come to give me a bid on shipping my belongings to Germany this morning. I'm allotted 4,000 pounds. They estimate I'll have about 2,500. That's including the small piano, which is the bulk of my weight.

Today I was sitting at the piano, trying to calm myself by letting my fingers glide over the keys. It didn't really do the trick. I think vodka would've worked better. But it was nice anyway.

When I'm done with all this, I'll write several interesting posts on pursuing overseas employment, renters, and house sales. But until the cards have fallen, my lips are mum.

Please send good vibes my way if you have time and inclination.