In which things appear to be taking off but maybe it’s just an illusion.

First off, I have to say I’ve just about had it with the fucking humidity. I am not at all enamored with being sticky and damp all the time! I do not enjoy damp sheets! GAH! It’s like living in a giant armpit.

I did six loads of laundry this weekend. (Go me.) I still have nothing to wear.

ShadowGrl and I drove all over town this weekend looking for a house to rent. They’re all for sale, not for rent. The papers list only 1- or 2-bedroom apartments. (We did pick up a hula hoop, a badminton set, and boxed Go game for free, though, so it wasn’t a total wash.)

After house hunting we returned to my place, where my housemates were vibing badly and ShadowGrl’s ex was hanging out, so every room I entered featured people having intense conversations that stopped abruptly. After being unable to find a safe place to sit and read, I announced I was going to the little bar. While I was there, the two people I spoke with were also distraught: one’s wife had left him ten days prior; the other had cheated on her boyfriend and was waiting to be dumped.

The entire evening was emotionally exhausting. Normally I’m good with that kind of stress, but with The Curse and all, I mostly just felt kicked in the chest because everyone I spoke with was in some kind of pain.

Monday I only worked for a couple of hours because The Curse had me feeling retarded. (At least it’s been pain-free so far this time. Bonus.) Monday night I hung out with Baby Girl so we could catch up on gossip; there’s a house across the street from her place that may be available to rent. Shadow and I will have to go see it this afternoon. It would be perfect, but it’s on the market so its rentability isn’t known.

My ex-employer has practically offered me a part-time job, but they’re arguing price like I’m asking for something impossible. They seem to be grumbling about paying me the rate I was making when I left, and they also want me to be a contractor… Companies are shifting the burden of bookkeeping off to their employees by calling them contractors when they’re not, and there’s no benefit to it. Sure, they don’t have to pay unemployment or offer insurance, but contractors charge more than employees do so it ends up being the same in the end.

Plus if you’re not really a contractor and you don’t have anything to write off, you end up paying a higher tax rate. Then there’s that damn Schedule C, which is a total pain in the arse. Having been a genuine contractor in the past, I know for a fact that I don’t want to be filing as a business next April.

So, as Vuboq has pointed out, perhaps the universe is giving me my answer: it’s time to bail. I mean, I have very nearly found a house, and I’ve very nearly found a second job, but both are iffy at best and I guess I need to really want to be here to be able to find the energy to make anything work out… And since my housemates have formally asked me to move out, I can’t do nothing like I usually do.

I’m entirely too Libra for this shit.