IMR: 1998: August: 29

IMR: 1998: August: 29 -- Saturday, 10:48 a.m.
Our Apartment, Makiki, Hawai`i

Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 10:48:29 -1000 (HST)
From: Ryan Kawailani Ozawa <ozawa@hawaii.edu>
To: Walter Ozawa <dad@leahi.net>
Cc: Myra Ozawa <mom@leahi.net>
Subject: Making Lemonade
Jen's leaving her job.
She's been with Tower for two years, and most recently has been an assistant manager. She put in to be a full manager, but found out last night that she didn't get it. And even though she's an assistant manager now, working three times harder than a regular clerk, she's still earning minimum wage, and they're telling her they won't be able to afford a raise for a while.
Meanwhile, this schedule I've been keeping of three part-time jobs, two classes plus Katie care has really been scrambling my brain. I've always been one to run in high gear, but at this rate I can genuinely see a breakdown on the horizon.
So for a while we've been talking, and have figured this out. If she leaves her job to become full-time mom (which she wants more than anything, anythingin the world anyway), I'll be able to keep all my jobs andpick up more hours at each and-- more importantly -- notrun around like a chicken without a head all week darting hither and yon and getting stressed out and annoying Katie in the process.
Mostimportantly, since I'm earning between $8.60 and $10 an hour, our total household gross(take home) pay will actually increase by about $240 a month. Enough to cover a COBRA insurance extension and -- eventually -- regular on the side insurance.
Obviously, our financial standing won't improve all that much. Perhaps not at all -- in the end, we'll probably be as broke as ever. But the difference is, Jen will be blisfully happy and I'll be able to maintain my sanity. I don't think I can convey to you how worthwhile that is.
At present, I have classes MWF 8:30 to 10:30, work job one MWF 7:30 to 8:15, job two from home (which isn't easy, since that's with Katie), and job three Tuesdays all day, Wednesday afternoons and Wednesday mornings. Inside of all that, there's driving home to get Jen and taking to work at noon, and heading out every night to pick her up at 9 p.m. Don't ask me where homework fits in... never figured that one out.
With this new setup, I have classes MWF 8:30 to 10:30, work job one Tuesdays and Thursdays 7:30 to 11:30, job two Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 to 5, and job three MWF 12 noon to 5. And there's no racing around involved.
Well, if you drew it out on a calendar it might be more clear, but trust me. As it is I can't keep track of what day I'm living in. This new arrangement will be wonderful.
Finally, of course, if it doesn't work out, we'll try something else. Obviously this is only good through the end of the semester, when my class schedule changes. I might just pick up onefull time job to go exactly opposite my classes, getting insurance and dropping the other piecemeal part-time positions. (That's an option that can be picked up at any time, actually. Kinko's every day from noon to 9 p.m., for example.)
And that's the news for now.
--
Ryan Kawailani Ozawa ozawa@hawaii.edu
In Medias Res http://www2.hawaii.edu/~ozawa/imr/
Diarist.Net http://www.diarist.net/

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