At the same time Sean was leaving a message saying they'd made it to Evanston safely, I was waiting to pick up my lunch at Afternoon Delight.  And on the radio? Telstar.

1.  At the end of last year I was so frustrated with my employer that I had fantasies of setting certain people on fire.
2. About the time I got over it, the place had no work for me anyway.
3. When the place did have work, my back went out. (ER trip, totally couldn't walk for almost a week due to numbness and loss of strength in my right leg, two months to learn how to walk again.)
4. Meanwhile, my husband is also completely fed up with our employers and is looking for a new job.
5. My birthday happens in May, yay!
6. My husband gets fired ten days later.
7. Man, now I REALLY want to set my former employers on fire. (Needless to say, I quit as soon as he got home that evening. I called the co-workers I cared about and let them know.)
8. Much panic ensues.
9. Insurance runs out at the end of May.
10. No second spinal injection to control pain and increase mobility because of no insurance (AND no $$$ because of working for jerk former employers for 2 years. Can you say "sweatshop"? I know I can now.)
11. I send a resume out 5 days after quitting.
12. I get called that day.
13. Exactly a month later i start a real job with a real salary and real benefits.
14. Hope glimmers.
15. Sean gets a new job just under two months later.
16. Now things start to role.
17. Giddy happiness ensues as we go back to non-stressful work  and actually making enough money to work on our debt and pick up anime and manga every now and then.

That's our story so far, for the year to date. I've had a major life shift, but it was necessary. I'm now in control of my own insurance and I have fantastic retirement benefits. Will i be kicking out as much comics, art and other stuff? Well no, but considering I didn't have enough money to buy toner cartridges earlier this year, it's a trade off I'm comfortable with.

Most importantly, I'm happier now than I think I've been in just about a decade.

That was entirely more excitement than I needed...  

What have I been doing for the last couple of months? Mostly getting used to working 40 hours a week again. But since I'm in the middle of a comic project right now, I'll be posting here again. (Sadly, with no pictures until I can buy a new scanner...)

(Bring your own deck chairs)

TO THE MANCHESTER FIREWORKS
Tuesday, July 3rd
We'll light the grill at 6:30 PM, if you're so inclined
Fireworks begin at dark
Dairy Queen available down the road
Blueberry pies provided

Please RSVP if you'll be joining us. :)

I missed the solstice, but hey, they're still new pictures. ;)

Today I'm working on getting more tomatoes into pots.

Oh, and for the record: I had my first official fall in the garden last night, while wearing the official damn brace. feh. Just strained my shoulder and made my sciatic nerve a bit cranky.