Investing in Serenity
08/23/2024
Well, it's been a couple of weeks, and you'll never believe what ended up finally sprouting from my hard work in the garden back in June. The phlox hangers dried out within a month - not sure if from too much or too little water. The bellflowers and black-eyed Susans have yet to show up, but I was surprised to find some of my partridge peas from last year were thriving. Exactly one bergamot stalk bloomed, but rather than doing the thing that mint does, a bunch of other unknown weeds took over the patio instead. I am convinced the rose bush that has been here since before we moved in is immortal.
I've been slowly cooking some compost that will hopefully yield better results once I do fall clean-up, but I am not sure how much longer I'll have this space to experiment in. Due to changes at my daytime job, and potentially in our roommate arrangements, it's likely that I'll be moving again within the next year. It has been a longtime goal of mine to transition from renting to owning a home, and I'd gotten so comfortable with our current neighborhood that I've considered asking about buying this place, but the 60-90 minute drive to work and back every morning is starting to wear on me, and though it feels like I spend 90% of my life either at a desk or in bed, a larger house that's closer to everything else could be a worthwhile investment. Investment towards what? Idk really. Not having to wake up at 5 AM every morning, for one thing.
Our expenses in the meantime have been manageable, but this month has been really fucking expensive. My car insurance went up - because god forbid I try to protect my sole vehicle of income - and so did utilities, healthcare, and being out of PTO for the year, the act of just taking a vacation. I haven't been actively seeking commission work in over a year, in part because I've been too tired to update my website, or draw, or do anything. There is good news though - turns out my chronic tiredness was sleep apnea, which means I'm starting to finally recover under home treatment. I feel optimistic that I can overcome the lingering brain-soup to work on my creative wishlist, including properly reopening Nightinglark, though I've been uncertain what direction I want to take the studio that doesn't lead to me burning out and hating it like a second job. (If any experienced freelancers are reading this and have advice for how to navigate the world of Online Business, please let me know!)
To all readers, thanks for being invested in me.