It's been 10 weeks since I was laid off. All in all I've enjoyed my time off and relished Portland's spring/summer that blesses us for such a short time. I finished a term of school in mid-June and kicked the summer off right with my 30th birthday. I've sewed a bunch, barbequed with friends and had some great finds at yard sales. F-unemployment at it's finest.
As this week rolls by it has also been 5 months since I hurt my hand. Being laid off has granted me more than enough time to devote to my 3x a week physical therapy (and by "physical therapy" I mean hand torture: think The Rack for my fingers). After all this time what is the progress? We've had my two fingers in casts for about 6 weeks. I am celebrating that they are straighter than the have been since Feb. They tend to hover around the 20 degree mark (0 degerees is straight). We've been able to push them straighter but this is not their resting state. How about bending them? Ummmm....no not really. I can wiggle them a little. Bending them is painful and seems to reverse all the straightening I have been working so hard for.
All this struggle is starting to weigh on me a little. I have walked in three times a week to the PT office with a smile on my face and hope that things with time will get better. The reality is typing alone is difficult, opening a twist off beer cap, almost impossible, and using tools...ummmm... I am starting to wonder, where does this leave me in the world of manual labor? I love my job and really felt like I'd figured something out for awhile. I never thought I'd be a career electrician, but assumed it would take me into new places in 10 years. I was ready for that. But what happens when I can't use my hand? I run the risk or re-injurying myself or hurting myself (or god-forbid someone else) in a new way because I can't use my right hand correctly. I am not ready to discover another career path, but it's looking more and more like my reality. Thinking about it is like a fog has descended on my world.
So, I need your help. I want ideas thrown at me. None are too wacky. Give me some non-conventional ideas for ways to make a living. Or give me convential (engineering has been brought up more times than I can count, so I want some ideas outside of that box). Maybe you know someone who loves their job and think I might benefit from an informational interview. Send them my way. It's like standing at a crossroads facing hundreds of pathways but not having a map or any idea of where I really want to go. Should I go back to school or not? Can I work my way into a job? Build a job? Here's some of my thoughts so far (not in any particular order or related in any way in particular):
-something flexible.
-something that changes all the time.
-something food related (I love me some local, organic food!)
-consulting on something (this requires specialized knowledge on something though....I've got a lot of general knowledge about a lot of different things...will that take me anywhere? how would I go about getting there?)
-something with travel involved or allows me the freedom to travel.
-something involving problem-solving. figuring out how things work. strategy.
-grad school for sustainability like this one.
-grad school for building science like this one.
-construction management.
So let's hear it.
As this week rolls by it has also been 5 months since I hurt my hand. Being laid off has granted me more than enough time to devote to my 3x a week physical therapy (and by "physical therapy" I mean hand torture: think The Rack for my fingers). After all this time what is the progress? We've had my two fingers in casts for about 6 weeks. I am celebrating that they are straighter than the have been since Feb. They tend to hover around the 20 degree mark (0 degerees is straight). We've been able to push them straighter but this is not their resting state. How about bending them? Ummmm....no not really. I can wiggle them a little. Bending them is painful and seems to reverse all the straightening I have been working so hard for.
All this struggle is starting to weigh on me a little. I have walked in three times a week to the PT office with a smile on my face and hope that things with time will get better. The reality is typing alone is difficult, opening a twist off beer cap, almost impossible, and using tools...ummmm... I am starting to wonder, where does this leave me in the world of manual labor? I love my job and really felt like I'd figured something out for awhile. I never thought I'd be a career electrician, but assumed it would take me into new places in 10 years. I was ready for that. But what happens when I can't use my hand? I run the risk or re-injurying myself or hurting myself (or god-forbid someone else) in a new way because I can't use my right hand correctly. I am not ready to discover another career path, but it's looking more and more like my reality. Thinking about it is like a fog has descended on my world.
So, I need your help. I want ideas thrown at me. None are too wacky. Give me some non-conventional ideas for ways to make a living. Or give me convential (engineering has been brought up more times than I can count, so I want some ideas outside of that box). Maybe you know someone who loves their job and think I might benefit from an informational interview. Send them my way. It's like standing at a crossroads facing hundreds of pathways but not having a map or any idea of where I really want to go. Should I go back to school or not? Can I work my way into a job? Build a job? Here's some of my thoughts so far (not in any particular order or related in any way in particular):
-something flexible.
-something that changes all the time.
-something food related (I love me some local, organic food!)
-consulting on something (this requires specialized knowledge on something though....I've got a lot of general knowledge about a lot of different things...will that take me anywhere? how would I go about getting there?)
-something with travel involved or allows me the freedom to travel.
-something involving problem-solving. figuring out how things work. strategy.
-grad school for sustainability like this one.
-grad school for building science like this one.
-construction management.
So let's hear it.
