oh woe is me

[2stars4arms]

I'm tired. I feel overwhelmed. There's too much going on at work, too much going on in life. When did my personal lfe get so busy? Social obligations everywhere. Also, I have too many jobs I think. My main job is more than enough, it's wearing me out. The pace is so quick. Things are constantly being thrown at me. And then I'm teaching

Comments

[pnwmom]

*hugs* Learn how to say "no". :)

I have some info for you from Portland, but Robert seems less certain of the move now. Did I miss something?

Here is what I learned-- Portland/Multnomah county is having financial problems. They closed 7 schools last year. The better places to look for employment are the suburbs. Gresham is currently in Multnomah county, but trying to get out. It is an older community that is undergoing some revitalization with population growth. The person I spoke with works for one of the apartments that my sister looked at. She warned us that in Gresham, we needed to ask about the number of aprtments reserved for low income people. Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Clackamas are all growing by leaps and bounds. Knowing that you wanted to buy a house... the rental company we were looking at has a program that helps renters become buyers. AND they have a local heros program that INCLUDES teachers. That program offers lots of extras (and lower rent) for the heros. I can get you names if you are interested.

[2stars4arms]

I'm absolutely interested, thank you so much.

Closing schools, yikes! I don't want that. But it's good to know other areas are growing. From the research I've done, I didn't like the Gresham-Barlow district because they say they cap all new hires at 4 years of experience. Screw that! I want to get paid for all my years. But I'm not opposed to working in the suburbs. We'll probably want to live in the suburbs anyway.

Do you know anything about the Parkrose district? According to their website, they've just reached an agreement between the union and the district that has the highest salaries I've seen for the entire area. I'm interested in that!

[pnwmom]

I've only been thru the Parkrose neighborhood. My thoughts were that it was a neighborhood of older (small) homes, clean. The MAX line runs thru the south part of the neighborhood, with a main transfer station at the intersection of I-205 and I-84. The airport is only minutes away to the northeast. Sandy Blvd is the main street cutting diagonally from that area into the center of Portland. Closer in, that is not a street that I was comfortable on at night- used car dealerships, shady bars, just plane bad energy. That was 12 years ago though. I didn't go into that area on my recent visit.

[luckycee]

I hope this won't sound like I'm afraid it's gonna sound, but...

I was in the exact same pickle in my mid-thirties. I ended up having to quit doing just about everything extra to figure out how I really wanted to spend my time. It just about killed me to quit things and say no to people, but eventually it was very liberating.

[2stars4arms]

The worst part of what you said is "mid-thirties." Holy Shit!!!

;)

I know. I just have to figure out what I can give up. I don't want to give up my extra jobs because I want the money. I'm trying to save up for our move. So I guess that's my answer. If it's paying me, do it. If it's not, let it go.

[luckycee]

That's a very good start. :)

[rpeate]

I'm sorry you feel tired and overwhelmed, and I hope you feel rested and just-right-whelmed soon.

[compostwormbin]

You're right - something does have to give. Your schedule sounds absolutely crazy. Health, sanity, and enjoyment of life are far more important. After giving it some thought, have you decided which commitment or commitments has to go?

[2stars4arms]

Well, I'll stop saying yes to so many social commitments. As for my jobs, I'm going to stop stressing about and giving myself a hard time about the one that doesn't pay me anything, just do the minimum and not worry about it. The two extra jobs, well... one I don't think I can really quit, plus it pays a lot more than the other. (A lot more stressful, too, but it's about the same number of hours per week.) And the last little job, the one at the gym, I could quit but I don't really want to yet. I'm going to see how I feel after making these other changes.

[compostwormbin]

That sounds like a good start. Still, I can't even imagine working three jobs. If it's necessary I'm really sorry because that would be hard.

[2stars4arms]

Jobs two and three are only about 8 or 8 1/2 hours extra per week, together. It's not that bad. It's also not really necessary in terms of just paying the bills each month. But it feels necessary to me because I'm trying to save up money for our move, and I have the goal of getting out of credit card debt. That one is tough and takes a lot of extra money due to damn interest. So, necessary to live, no. Necessary to make improvements in our life overall, yes.

Buck up, li'l camper. :o)

[sunnycrittenden]

*hugs* The month's almost over and then it's almost spring!

Re: Buck up, li'l camper. :o)

[2stars4arms]

Thanks, Sunny. :)