The other day in class I was challenged to find 50 things I was thankful for that day. This is my list. It was Tuesday. I may have time to do today's list later in the day.( 50 things )

NC may still happen, but it's not going to happen before Christmas. That, by itself, is a relief. I'll hunt down and answer Christmas card things now. I don't know if we can afford to send many out ourselves.

Thanks guys, for answering my question so quickly and thoroughly. I will no longer look askance at them, and may look at the journal as a possible venue for a thing I've been trying to write for a few years now (i.e., something scholarly about fiction and people who follow it).

Anyways, there is more news. Cantropos has been contacted by the office in NC, but he's been playing phone tag with the dude. Still, it's an advancement. I'm meeting with my pastor on Friday to try to untangle the mess my head is in, and a strange epiphany may have killed my NaNo dead. It happens. I'll mourn it later.

Yesterday was interesting and sadly, not terribly fun. It was me and Cantropos's 4th anniversary, but we haven't time to celebrate. We mostly played a bit of Dynasty Warriors when he got home. We still can't get the last item at He Fei Castle. We killed all the officers we were supposed to last night, but missed something with the rams so no special item. It's a huge map and the officers spawn at the north east and north west respectively, and the rams are kind of several places. Frustrated. I did finish Xiao Qiao's musou mode, and it's darn annoying how she's portrayed there. After our disappointment at He Fei castle, we did a fan girl only (the Qiao sisters and two fan girl bodyguards) assault on an easier map just for fun. That was at the end of the night.

( wibble about Gilles and going to choir right afterwards )

Cantropos still hasn't heard about an interview from Rocky Mount. I am hoping good things for him, but the idea of moving so quickly terrifies me because of the housing issues. He wouldn't be going to NC except for me, but if I can't legally live with him, we can't afford to go at all. And I have no work here.

Not a lot of progress on NaNo yesterday, mostly coz of the Gilles thing. Maybe today will be better.

There isn't any point keeping it private now. When he got home, he explained that some employees found out about this on Facebook! So, I'm letting a wider range of people know. Cantropos has been laid off. He has work until the middle of December, but no more. The call center is closing.

This isn't really any more substantial than the friends only post I made last night. He didn't want to talk plans. He wanted comfort. And I entirely understand that. I am very upset, but it's not my job. I am affected, but yeah, he's the one feeling hurt right now. They were good enough to give them warning, but it's going to be hard to work more than two more months knowing this is coming. The company Christmas party this year is going to be a farewell party more than anything. Because of this, depending who else goes, we may go our first and only time.

The scary part is that this city and county are far more depressed economically than the country as a whole. Our unemployment rate here is 15% compared to nationally just under 10%. Because I know he's panicking a little, I'm trying not to do it more. Worst case scenarios keep me up at night with a stomach ache.

ETA: He's telling his parents today. The few of you who may know them, please keep quiet until tomorrow.

this pretty icon of Gilles Chiasson wearing too bright colors will keep me from panicking. My church replaced the sanctuary floor this summer. We just had our first choir rehearsal in it (and with me suffering an allergy attack that leaves my throat sore and with very little air to breathe just to live) and nothing and nobody can hide now. I'll be lucky if Paul doesn't send me away in shame. I know if I breathe right and support it, I don't get too far off feeling like this--I survived last Christmas after all--but every little thing stands out so vividly now. Well, at least Norm is beside me if I faint again, and when we're in the loft I have a railing to hang on to.

If I don't sing, I don't make it to church. So I need to hang onto my little corner of the alto section.

I won't be around much, if at all, this afternoon. The people are coming to fix the ceiling (supposedly), and that's the room where the computer is, so I'll just hide in the other room with Percycat. Hopefully, they'll be gone and the work will be done by evening.

( mostly health )

I am feeling better now, so I need to write Bel and Akio for Taura and Utena now. Everyone else, even the ones I adore will have to wait until later.

I was driving home from my class when I saw a teeny kitten just sitting in the right lane--I had to stop short not to hit it. I detoured into the BoA parking lot to see if I could catch it or see if it had family. It was a little gray fuzzball, very small, and I couldn't see any family at all. But it wouldn't let me catch it. So I spent most of the night worrying that it got itself turned into road pizza. I hope not. I very much hope not, but if the little critter is going to sit in the street at a busy intersection, I don't rate its chances very highly.

Darn.

Today I witnessed something odd. I was washing just a few loads for us so Cantropos would have clothes in Minnesota and work shirts for next week. I decided to sit in the car to save my aching back, which provided a good view of the people coming and going. Two pairs of people, a mother and adult son and a couple, came in with 3 bottles of detergent each, all the same brand and size. I can only assume each bottle only had a drab of detergent left. One of them also had 2 bottles of bleach. It was like those people you see leaving the grocery store with a dozen loaves of bread and 5 gallons of milk.