I've had a break from the road, and it was welcome. But it's time to head back, which is something I meet with mixed emotions.
There is no money here; none that I can make anyway. And it's not like I haven't tried. And so we're picking up roots, moving our permanent residence to Oklahoma, where I'll have more work around me. If this is going to be my life, may as well be where I have more work.
There's scene in the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness", where he sells a scanner and says it provided "six more weeks of oxygen". That's how it feels right now. My wife went into the hospital last week, and I've been spending a lot of time on the phone trying to get our Medicaid restored (it was pulled last month) so that this bill doesn't follow us too far into retirement. An ER visit, surgery, a two night stay, and a helicopter flight (nearest surgeon is two hours away) is bound to all add up.
She's still off work, so when a job came up that offered enough to cover both her income and my income for the day, I let the high school coworker who calls the high school sports come in and do the morning show. Have to pick up the money when I can.
This meant waking up at 5:30, counting the time across the time zone, and heading out before the caffeine had a real chance to take effect. I arrived onsite to find everything in order, but that the repair unfortunately did not come with a manual. I called the helpdesk and they emailed it out, but as I saw the download bar advancing at a snail's pace, I decided to look at the replacement part and the machine as well, and was able to figure it out without the manual. I finished up, made sure I had everything I needed for my paperwork and headed out.
I have put in for a batch of jobs next month; I'm phasing out at the radio station in mid January and hoping that I can make enough between now and when we move to keep our heads above water. I'll keep purchasing oxygen, one day, one week, at a time and hope that tickets come in at a fast enough rate.
This is no way to make a living, but for now, it's the only way.
