So here I sit, in my 7th month of looking for a job. As someone who defines myself by the work I accomplish, this is feeling like a crisis. The unemployment- which I abhored taking- ran out at the end of December and my bank account is now down to less than $100. I'm lucky my housemate and landlord, John, is a very close friend and not likely to throw me out on the street. I'm looking for the right non-profit job (don't get me started on why I don't want to work in the for-profit world), and finally, lately, there are more interesting ones showing up on the lists. But I'm not getting as many interviews as I would have expected. Is it my age? I guess you can't tell how high-energy I am from a piece of paper. Do they think I'll cost too much at my age? Not hardly. I'm not greedy. Are they looking for the 25 year olds with their newly minted non-profit management degrees? Why I believe I could teach that course. Maybe my experience-rich resume is too intimidating. Who knows? Meanwhile- day to day- here I sit writing cover letters and making phone calls. And once in a while escaping outside with the camera or hiding out on flickr. Mental health breaks. I've been lucky my whole life, so I'm thinkin' something's gonna open up here soon. Meanwhile, I'm re-discovering how cheaply you can eat on legumes and onions. Good thing I'm the cheerful type!

I discovered my reflection in the photo because I figured I must be there somewhere (had to flip it 180 degrees). I am very happy because I happen to love the tuba. It may be a kind of clumsy looking instrument, but it has a really funny sound. It has become one of my fave instruments after I watched (and fell in love with) an old Frank Capra's movie "Mr Deeds Goes to Town" with Gary Cooper. Absolute gem and delight! Gary Cooper's character plays a tuba and composes poems for greeting cards! he is also "pixilated" - a word sadly missing from today's dictionaries. In fact, most people think that it refers to pixels (as in digital photographs).