I just finished Week 3 on my new shift. I love having my Sundays off again, and it's easier to binge watch tv shows and movies. The only problems I have with the shift itself are that I have a hard time getting up before 2:00pm on my days off, and there are fewer people on the night shift than there were three years ago, meaning there are fewer interesting people. I've realized that a lot of my issues are with the company itself, and that that place has sucked my soul so dry that changing shifts won't make me any less miserable. I really don't know how much more of the ten hour days, micromanaging, and being sent to other departments I can take. But I'm also making $13 an hour, and with my limited skill set, I don't know where I'm going to go where I can start out making at least that much. And I don't feel like I have the brain power to look for another job, look for a therapist, or look for an apartment, and work at the same time. The only other reason to stay is that I'll be getting more vacation time in January.
My life outside of work hasn't been much better, which makes the work situation worse. I was hoping to get to hang out more with the new friends I made last year, but everybody seems to be too busy. I'm no closer to getting my own place now than I was six months ago. A lot of that is my own fault, between being bitten by the collecting bug, and engaging in "retail therapy" when I need to get out of the house, but have no one to hang out with. But I've also spent a good deal of money trying to keep one of my best friends, who deals with thyroid and depression issues, from getting evicted, which ultimately amounted to prolonging the inevitable. And too many people I've known have died.
I'm also tired of the general mediocrity of Louisville and the surrounding area, much like I was in 1998. A lot of online articles try to paint Louisville as some Hipster mecca, but the Hipster element is mostly confined to the original city limits, which is nowhere near as big as Austin, TX even was in 1998. The greater Louisville Metro area is made up of people who are content to see mediocre cookie cutter acts like Luke Bryan or Shinedown, and don't have much interest in movies beyond the major releases. As far as terrestrial radio goes, if it weren't for 91.9 WFPK, I'd go nuts. Looking back, Louisville Mojo was the main reason I came to like Louisville in the 2000s, and now that Louisville Mojo seems to be on life support, it figures that my love for the city should dwindle as well. I so want to travel, but I've not mastered the art of traveling on little money, plus I don't have the vacation time for it. I'd also like to relocate, but if I can't make it in a relatively affordable place like Louisville, then I don't know how I could make it in a place like Austin or San Francisco.
