Re-Inventing
Hi. My name is Nancy, and I need a job.
I held down the same two jobs for twenty years: I managed a co-operative housing development, and I worked at a beer store, selling hundreds of different brands of beer to weekend warriors in my neighourhood. While doing all of that, I also attempted to nurture a freelance writing life, which came about in fits and starts, and made me very happy.
Then, I moved to Alberta.
This fabled province gave the rest of the country the impression that it was the Promised Land. With oil and gas revenues floating its boat in ways never thought possible, the province was rich, the people were rich, property was plentiful and cheap and wages were high.
Then, I got here.
Alberta is still riding a real estate boom. Prices for your average bungalow are still way too high, oil and gas revenues are dropping, (but its workers are still rich), and the province has miraculously gone from being seven billion dollars in the black to seven billion dollars in the red.
And, I live here now. Yay.
Wages are no better than anyone else. The service sector is the worst, with hourly rates just barely rising above minimum wage. While jobs aren’t exactly scarce, employers are picky, demanding certification in skills ranging anywhere from operating office equipment to maintenance management.
When I assess my skills, I get to thinking that, while the only piece of paper I have is a certificate from my college Journalism program, I’ve done a lot of stuff. I have, like I said, managed homes and the lives that dwell in them, I’ve worked a variety of retail jobs and not taken any lives, I’ve been on TV and radio, I’ve written a good handful of radio newscasts. I’ve written for the web. Writing remains my first love. I’ve looked after old people, and I’ve seen what’s wrong with elderly care.
So, what does a 51—year-old who has done stuff, do with the rest of her life?
I know that writing full-time will not bring me the paycheque I need, but I still want to re-vitalize that part of my life’s work. In the meantime, I have to do something outside the home. I’m in a new province, a new town, with my long-standing love of my life, and I need to find my niche.
Therein lies my daily challenge. Re-inventing, re-tooling, and trying to find just the right slot for this old girl to fit in.
