Ladiesss

ladiesss

Fell way behind on Catching Up (I haven’t even posted Friday’s yet), so here’s the deal: All five remaining topics will still be covered before the end of the year, but they won’t be on a set MWF schedule. I was already having trouble keeping the schedule, but I’m having extra trouble finding the time to write due to the holidays (and a family emergency – everything worked out okay on that front). Luckily I’m about to have a few days off with no other plans, so there’s still plenty of time to get the rest done!

Next time I do a series, though, I’m definitely gonna wait until they’re all written to post them. also there will be fewer of them

I Can’t Believe It’s Not On Nintendo Switch!

Interesting, looks like the Tumblr queue ate my post. Regardless, it was just a note to say that I'm running behind on writing, so today's Catching Up will be posted tomorrow.

Catching Up: Working Full-Time

In one of the biggest moves I've had to make in my entire life, I started working full-time in March of this year (2019). All at once, I had to get my first car, look for my first place, and live somewhere new by myself for the first time. Thankfully, due to a series of miracles, everything worked out, and I am now a Real Adult! [citation needed]

The tagline I give to people unfamiliar with my work is that "I make software for boats that drive themselves." It's certainly not what I expected to be doing with my life; I wanted to make video games, but it turns out that's a really unstable industry to work in. Thankfully, working on remote boats isn't too far removed – there's a lot of UI work, 3D visualizations, AI path planning, and other video-game-y stuff! Quite often I struggle with understanding how to do all that, but everyone there is wonderful and more than willing to help me out.

The first few weeks of getting adjusted to my new life were really rough. I'd had jobs before, but they were part time, other people drove me to and from work, and I still lived with my parents. Rather than a gradual process of learning to drive, then to work, then to live on my own... I had to do it all at once. Even with some experience doing these things individually, it was completely overwhelming. Having several mental health issues did not help with this; I was sliding backwards every week, with less and less energy for myself. It's hard to get adjusted to adult life when you don't have any life left.

Luckily, the company has an excellent accommodation process. I was able to lower my work hours to 32 hours per week, which has significantly reduced the burden on my energy levels. This was actually a dream of mine since college – to work 30ish hours a week, so I could still do things in my spare time. I'm still struggling to do very much when I get home, so I'm not quite there, but I'm happy to be this close to my goal!

In addition, my mom moved in with me over the summer (more on that later). She's been helping with cleaning and cooking, for which I am eternally grateful; I never notice when things need cleaning, and all my attempts at cooking took three times as long as they were supposed to.

Unfortunately, between not having a degree, and working less hours... I don't make a whole lot of money. In fact, I'm paycheck to paycheck now that my mom is here with me. I have no money left to save, and often have to dig out of my savings when something goes wrong. And apparently, due to a company restructure, no one knows if they're getting raises or Christmas bonuses this year, so I might be stuck with this for the long term.

Obviously, I could bump up my work hours again. But it ultimately wouldn't make enough of a difference, even if it wasn't complete self-sabotage on my health. Mom's been looking for a job, but hasn't been able to land anything, even after dozens of applications. I could stream more or set up Ko-fi, but I'm struggling with my hobbies as is and monetizing them would kill my enjoyment of them altogether (more on streaming later).

I do have plans on how to tackle all the problems here – my energy levels, finances, and adult responsibilities. However, it's kind of a slow process, and in the meantime, working is the biggest thing in my life, to the detriment of all else. Pretty much everything I want to do with my life is being slowed down by this massive thing that I have to do with my life. It really sucks.

At the very least... the job itself is fine, I haven't missed any payments, the house is taken care of, and we're making it. The rest will come with time.

ladiesss