And here we go again...

[catherineldf]

Which sums up so much, really. In a very short time last week, the following things happened:

• I successfully sold one of Jana's design bindings (my personal fav, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) to a book collector. Not the institution I had hoped for but still good news and very helpful.I also managed to rehome/sell a bunch of her reference books and remaining tools with someone else who was one of her students and a colleague.
• I got news that Jana is getting a posthumous Laura Young Award from the Guild of Bookworkers this year in Iowa City. One the one hand, this is "Yay! Awesome!" and very well-deserved, On the other, I am kind of resentful that this recognition couldn't have come in the Before Times so she could have enjoyed it, given that was when she did the bulk of the work that is being honored. But so it goes. Now I have to figure out how I'll fit in a trip to Iowa City in October, especially as I may be unemployed.
• Because that is the other thing that happened on the same afternoon last week. I got word that my contract wasn't going to be extended so I'm out on 7/2. On the one hand, this fairly toxic project was starting to be bad for my mental health, especially after what I've been through already this year. On the other, super fond of the paychecks and not yet in a position for retirement to be more than a good joke amongst friends. And, of course, Readercon (midJuly) has been a goal for ages and is partially paid for and Worldcon in Seattle (mid August) is paid for with the exception of hotel, food and sundries and I have a roommate and a friend to travel on the train with, so cancelling is not on the table.
• I did go to 4th Street Fantasy over the weekend and had a perfectly nice time with friends. And I wore my Alice B. Readers' medal pinned to my chest like a Napoleanic general all weekend because I'm not going to get another lifetime achievement award (in all likelihood) so I'd best appreciate it while I can.
• I had a really nice queer elder moment this weekend. A local young person is trying to spin up a homemade scones delivered by bike business that I have ordered from a few times and they reached out on Sunday to ask if they could stop by to give me some scones since they had extra from their last sale. We had a nice chat and i enjoyed the intergenerational bonding. Will try and do more of this!
• I watched "Ballerina" and "In the Lost Lands" in the last week and they are both terrible in different ways, but also action-packed and entertaining fun. Very, very high body count and quite gory if those are things you wish to avoid.
• Things that would be helpful as I embark on another effin' round of job hunting:

1. Job referrals for analyst gigs - as much WFH as possible. Shu is not doing well and I'd need to pay someone to check on him otherwise (this is what I do when I have all day events, given his shot schedule).
2. Check out the Pride StoryBundle - buy one if you can, encourage your friends to do the same, recommend it to others and boost if you can't buy. Melissa and I split the curator's fee so the more we sell, the better we do. It also means more money for the publishers and authors as well as for Rainbow Railroad so very much a win/win.
3. Hire me! I edit, I coach people on publishing and marketing, I can format ebooks, give talks, teach classes and workshops and all that good stuff. I write fiction, nonfiction and media tie-ins - invite me to write or edit for your project!
4. I have a Patreon that supports both me and Queen of Swords. The tiers are nonsense at this point - everybody gets something and any amount helps.
5. Buy books or get your library to buy Queen of Swords Press titles. Reviews and recommendations help lots too!
6. Stay tuned - I'll be putting stuff up for sale online, including finally getting Jana's boxes up on my Ko-fi. I'm looking at article pitches and CFS and crowdfunding a Queen of Swords Press project. Oh, and finally writing that next novel and digging into writing a new short story collection and more.

Am I aware of what's going on in the outside world? Yes. Doing what I can to make things better where I can, but I also gotta consider what happens to me, my cats and so forth so that needs to be the priority. Hugs all around if you need them.

Comments

[alfreda89]

Have you mentioned the job search on Mastodon? I don't know if it or Bsky are any more useful, but I do see actual tags there, and have shared for people with certain skills looking for recs of where to apply. Noticed recently that a lot of older and younger professionals are using LinkedIn seriously, so also over there?

Remembering my own job searches and the hours each app took, with crickets, I will share anything for any friend, but I appreciate knowing what I should highlight, resume locations to send people to, etc.. I know many analysts, but in many different fields. You work heavily with words, but what else?

I'll come back to share a post on job hunting for you, just ping me with a comment so I know it's ready, if you do one.

[catherineldf]

Not quite there yet. i only took 3 days off after Jana died and I've really been paying for that decision for the last several months, especially while adapting to the kitty shot schedule. I'm going to take a break for a few weeks and focus on writing, publishing and small projects. My contracting company will keep looking for work for me in the meantime. My head is just not in the game right now, but I will keep you posted when I would like help boosting. Thank you!

[alfreda89]

Glad you're taking a break. Everything happened so quickly in the past couple of years. . . It's good you are giving yourself processing time. There's both a path and a rhythm through grief, and every journey is unique. Yay your company is looking for you, and hope they come up with something great later in July.

(I didn't give myself time to process some losses because survival was the utmost concern at that point. So I think I get ambushed by grief more than people who gave themselves time and space to find their new pattern.)

May the book sales be good!