Writer, Photographer,

Jillangill Loves Baby Chicks!

Originally uploaded by Jillmac

So, Jeremy and I have moved. This summer has been–in a word–stressful. We finally sat down a few months ago and came to grips with the fact that neither of us was having much luck career-wise living in the high desert. Not to mention, it was a little silly that since our friends and church were a solid hour away we were logging quite a bit of time in the car. So, we set out to move closer to jobs and friends. I can hardly believe the dust is settling and that’s exactly what we’ve done! We were able to find renters for our house, a nice apartment in a great area for reasonable rent, and now the job piece of the puzzle is all that remains to be settled. Sounds so easy, right? Jeremy has had some luck finding teaching gigs here and there, but so far I’ve just come across a lot of jobs that sound fantastic but I never get asked to interview. And no, I’m not going to be one of those “stand out from the crowd” people who put their application in a shoe (presumably to “get their foot in the door”, but actually to just appear strange).  I used to be on the other side of the job applications. Sending a shoe is not ok.

SO what kinds of jobs am I [still] looking for? Editing, writing, assistant jobs, anything in an office, photography, stuff involving animals, and librarian assistant jobs. It’s tough not to get discouraged with the sheer number of applicants out there who are just as qualified (more!) than me. I keep thinking something’s got to come along that I can live with…but…

In other news, to keep myself occupied this summer I’ve been training for a 5k (just over 3 miles). I was a sprinter in a past life, but really never considered the distance gig to be a viable option for me. With proper training and starting slow though, I’ve found that it’s really quite enjoyable! Nobody’s more surprised I can do this than me. It’s very empowering! Special thanks to my friend, uber-runner Ben, for being a great cheerleader and pointing me toward a great program: C25k. They even had a handy little iPhone app that tells you when to run, walk, die, etc.

Anyway, so that’s life these days. Hectic. If anybody can take on a very sweet 3-year-old gray tabby (who needs to probably be the only pet), PLEASE let me know.

Way too excited about this

Originally uploaded by Jillmac

Verdict: inexcusably gross!

Originally uploaded by Jillmac

Shameful library missing-apostrophe action

Originally uploaded by Jillmac