OK, I’ve put down in this blog way too many times how frustrated I have been about not having a job. Well, guess what? I found one. Yes, in fact, since I last blogged things have been rather topsy-turvy for me.

Regarding the job I took a test for, I was put through training that I was told would take two to three days. Turned out to take two to three weeks, but that’s not the half of it. I also received an offer for another job I’d applied for–this one would be copyediting scientific and math journals for a publisher. I’d be given a computer (but where would I put it?) and be trained for 8 to 10 weeks. (Yikes, if it requires that much training it would probably take computer-not-so-savvy me twice as long.) It was a regular part-time job–not freelance–which has its good and bad sides. On the good side, the company would give me holiday pay, and I’d get a week of vacation every year. I’d be able to get raises (although quite small), and I’d even be able to participate in the company’s 401(k) plan.

It sounded great until I saw that the pay was half as much as the other company was willing to offer and less than what my daughter makes in retail. Since I’d already begun training for the other job, I took that one, because twice the pay means working half the hours.

Well, I’ve worked two days so far, and I have to say that although the training was mega-frustrating and made me at times want to tell my trainers that they had it all wrong, that I can’t possibly do this job, I stuck with it and I almost know what I’m doing. Almost. There are still some kinks to work through, but I think I have the gist of it.

And, because I am in the feast-or-famine business of freelancing, after I began training I started to get work from two of my regular companies. They incidentally are now asking us contractors to learn a couple editing programs in order to keep working with them. So I ordered an expensive software suite that I hope is easy enough to learn. Still waiting for the thing to arrive and then I get to download it onto my already overloaded hard drive, but if it means more work, it’s worth it.

Like my hard drive, I’m feeling a bit overburdened these days, but it sure beats the alternative.