New year, new website, new job?

It's been a tough holiday season for me, mostly due to financial problems and family issues. Though things have gotten slightly better lately, I'm still not in the best situation. Mounting credit card debts and no income (or savings) has accelerated my job search and motivated me enough to re-design my portfolio (LCCrafted.com) - which I've wanted to do for awhile, just perhaps under better circumstances. There is some glimmer of hope with a new writing gig I recently got with Examiner.com, I've recently become a Santa Ana Fashion Examiner - a little strange since I'm not that close to Santa Ana.

I had an interview in Santa Ana the other day, and it's just as far as my last company in Los Alamitos - except that there isn't really a fast local route. It was kind of a waste of time since not only was the pay rate lower than what I ended a job I had 7 years ago, but it was also part time and presumably non-benefited. Not quite what a college grad who actually has a little professional experience in their chosen career field needs. Fortunately, I still have plenty of stuff to sell, though my credit card bills are not getting any smaller, unlike my bank account - which is due to increases in necessary expenses (Medicare, Car Insurance, etc.)

And it doesn't help that Yoox.com is having a sale on Tokidoki Jeans - not that I do need any more or should consider buying any. I'm really just hoping that my new website might actually help me get a job that pays me fairly, and may even have benefits so I don't have to pay for Medicare. You may wonder why someone my age would even have Medicare. The answer is disability, which for me was taken away unfairly in November because Social Security thought I had been working over 9 months at my last part time job - meaning I have substantial income. I didn't know part time jobs were substantial, and I was part of the Ticket to Work Program - which meant I would still be entitled to benefits even 18 months after working.

I had called the office and left messages to tell them, I even called the main office and talked to someone about it. They made it seem like it would be okay back in July, but then all of sudden, I get the same damn letter I got in July saying I was no longer entitled to benefits after November - in November. Made for a bit of a crappy birthday news, but I digress. Anyways, I've been selling more on ebay and Amazon out of necessity, and gotten some money from family - with much difficulty and argument. For now, I know I can't really rely on them for financial stuff, and I will probably carry my debt for a few months or more. I visited the local Social Security office in December to see what was up, and they just said to re-submit all the paperwork...

So now I'm still waiting - about job interviews, ebay auctions, even articles I write for Examiner.com since they do some editing before putting stuff live. At least, I have this blog to let off some steam and share how crappy my situation is at the moment. I guess that's life and it's full of ups and downs. I am just trying my best to be responsible and not too depressed about it. It least I have my Facebook games and World of Warcraft characters to distract me from real life... not that it always does, but it helps a bit. I'm not completely unhappy, I really just hate this feeling of not being able to pay all my debts and even having to ask for help from family, who yell at me for stupid things.