A note about things going on:

1. Yup, I'm out of a job. That means I gotta look again, probably in another industry. I gave it a really go try, and I have proven that I've got a head for business, but I'm in a losing proposition in the loan industry. Anywhere I go, I have to prove myself from the bottom up, and right now the business is contracting something fierce. That means, folks on the bottom are the first ones to get cleared out, ergo, starting from the bottom isn't a good option. I was hoping to have found a safe haven, and that was my mistake: there is no safe haven, right now. So, I'm not mad, I'm not anxious about if it was my fault, or anything. It's the market, and it's what happens. The timing sucks pretty bad, but there you go.
2. Aaaannd, my car died. What it amounts to is a chain reaction. The water pump broke. However the water pump is pressed up against the timing belt. So, when the water pump went, it took the timing with it. That caused the already weakened head gasket to blow. So, we're in an unfixable situation with that. It's a dead car with about 180,000 miles. Since I live in the country, that's a real problem. Without a car, I'm somewhat limited job-wise. I can bag groceries in town, or I can try the two hour one-way commute via the MARC train, to work in Rockville, or DC, neither of which is a particularly fruitful job destination, right now (the DC area jobs are mostly in Northern Virginia, Frederick County, and The corridor between DC and Baltimore).
3. Then, my kitty Red went missing. Red, as I may or may not have written, is a very shy kittie. The chances of us getting her back decrease with every hour she's gone, really. The other end is that there are several cats in the neighborhood with very similar markings. So, putting up signs isn't the best idea. However, it's getting cold out, and she lacks the survival skills to cope with that effectively. So, yes, I'm worried, but, she still might surprise me. Of course we're looking for her, but there are other complications, and isn't this complicated enough?
4. My son has expenses. He's got several school-related expenses that are unavoidable, and would've been a strain without the above-mentioned strain. But, if I can parse it out, and keep it in chunks under 200, at a time, I think we can still have Christmas. (I'm serious, folks. Hitting a bit of a brick wall, here)
5. Still haven't been able to get the fridge taken care of. It makes everything else just that little bit of extra hassle.
6.Still got the headache. Nuff said? Well, I suspect it's related to my neck, but that's not really much to write about…
7. Random Anna just got her Lasik completed. Why would that be a stress? Because it put her out of commission for a day or so, just when we couldn't really afford it. But, what doesn't kill me, makes me stronger. Others say it, I believe it. I will come out of this life a stronger person than most, and the grim reaper will have to fight me to take me away.
8. Kahlua is doing better. It was expensive, though. That part sucks. But, it is good to have my kitty. She's been extra happy. It's either due to brain damage from the seizures, or the sedative effect of her medications, but she loves to sit on my lap, now, for hours and hours, just purring away. She's never been a lap cat, but, like I said, it seems to make her happy, right now.
9. The Holidays! EEEP! Look, I've not been the biggest fan of Christmas for years, and New Year's Day has depressed me for years. Here, let me explain: A few years back I was married to the wrong woman. There's no nicer way for me to say it, than she wasn't the kind of person I'd want to know, nor was she the kind of person I needed in my life. But, we had a son, and I am grateful I have him. Anyway, I went away, with my son, to go bury my grandfather, and have Christmas with him and my parents. (Things weren't the greatest at home, anyway). So, I get back, to literally find my wife in bed with another man. I left almost immediately. Never to return. She, for her part, ran off and couldn't be found for a few days, while she binged. I'm not got to say what she was binging on, because I do not know, but I know roughly what she was doing, now. So, there I was, New Year's Eve, with no friends (I worked too many jobs to have friends) no wife, the only relative who was universally kind to me was dead, an infant son, and no signs that my life would ever get any better. That big black cloud has never fully left me. My life has gotten miles better, and I am grateful for so many things, but some moments burn you so deeply that you'll never be able to graft enough skin over the scar. So, I hate New Years', even now. Thanksgiving? I kinda like that, but there is a stress, in that I've got a pretty limited diet, and that is compatible with Thanksgiving dinners, but it'll be good to sit down with my new family. The rest of the holiday season is just plain stress, for me. I'll make it. I always do. But I ain't looking forward to it.
10. I'm sure there's more, I just can't think of it in the mighty mess that's going on. I didn't mean for this to be a big whine fest, but honestly, my life is kinda tough, right now. So, I'm sorry to those events and people and things I may have forgotten. I'm not a whiner, I swear. I know I'll make it through. I can remember Novembers that were worse than this one promises to be. I'll survive, and maybe even thrive. I know I've gotta rise to the need, and I know that I can. But, part of the reason for this blog is to talk about what's going on in my life, and this is what's going on. But, enough about me, for now. I've got other fish to fry….