Still not gone......

Continuing my search for lodging, apartment and cottages, sublets, etc.  Nothing of merit so far, some really deserving of being torn down and put out of their misery.  It is shocking, actually, that a rental agent can ask more than $1000 for a place that looks like a shack and justify it by saying "but it's just been painted!"  As if paint can take away the air of desperation and debilitation.  Seriously, a couple of "cottages" I have viewed make my trailer look lovely. 

Same with the job market, not much out there.  What is available pays so little ($12-14 per hour seems to be the high standard, $10 more likely) that it seems foolish to even consider such a job.  But then one must start somewhere, even at the ripe old age of 61.  Shite, never thought I would be in this position, as I have said over and over.

As foolish as it sounds, I keep coming back to the idea of just saying "fuck it" and taking $5000 out of my savings and going to France for a couple of months.  I am sure I can bribe some friends into taking care of Cooper for a while and why not?  Spend money here and be sad through the winter or spend money there and be happy!  Not that I am really going to do that, not yet anyway, but trust me, I think of it every friggin day. The money holds me back a bit but even more than that is the feeling that I would be doing something irresponsible, which of course isn't true, but the nagging feeling of having to get a job, having to get a permanent place to live keeps snapping at me.

The guests at the inn here in Healdsburg have, for the most part, been great the past couple of weeks.  Nice to chat with over their glass of wine in the afternoon, they eat everything on their plates in the morning and they are polite and not demanding.  I am thinking, however, of putting a tip jar on the dining room table, a not-so-subtle way of making a little more money.  (Kidding.)  So at least this short-term work gig is pleasant. The weather is lovely, leaves on the grape vines are changing colors and I even bought pumpkins for decorating the inn!  So unlike me, but hey, the guests need some autumn colors to look at while hanging out at the dining room table.

More to follow.....