Okay, where to start.  I guess where I left off is the best thing.  The good news is I passed my written French so now I have my level BBB, which means I can apply to bilingual jobs.  What is interesting is I saw a job in Cornwall, 100 km south east of Ottawa that is a PG-4 and is with a very interesting Department.  I asked Jim, is there a branch of where you work there?  He asked his boss and yes, there is, and they hire full time people with benefits - it's a larger office.  So I looked at houses with land (a couple of acres) between there and Ottawa and found quite a few nice ones for less than what my house is worth.  Hmm.  So I applied.  I'm not sure I'll get an interview or even take the job if it were offered, but there are some awfully nice places half way between Ottawa and there though the temptation would be to live there and be close to work and on the Saint Lawrence Seaway, which is a beautiful area.  So we'll see.  There would be good and bad things about that.

I haven't posted as I was trying very hard to finish my university course without having to extend it again since I can't afford it.  I did, two weeks early, and I got an A.  I'm very happy with that; it was an interesting course and after a year of exams and tests it was nice to do something that involved a lot of reading and research and writing of 3000 - 4000 word essays.  I love to write, even if it is a research paper.

With our Talerocker~Dreamcat Creations endeavour I recently filmed a talk by Regina Heringa and Robert Burnett (Rob is a friend of ours).  Jim did too but on his own for potential showing on our local tv station.  I took the film I did, and have editted out the Robert portion and further editted it into clips that are now up on You Tube.  You can see the clips (there's 12 of them) at http://www.youtube.com/talerockerdreamcat .  Our company so far has brought in $65, lol, nothing near covering our time and expenses but it is fun.  Unfortunately we just haven't had the time to really do everything we plan to do, but on the other hand, since we aren't getting paid in advance for anything there is a very big limit on what we can do.  I am suffering from my generousity greatly lately, and hoping that the end is soon in sight for money owed to me.

I hated to do it, but our friend we were helping by renting out our garage for woodworking I had to stay stop because my hydro bills were huge, more than I could cope with.  I used my tax refund, the rest of my RRSP and the few stocks I had to pay them and I am still coping with $1000 to pay.  My bill is normally about $200 so obviously I couldn't keep this up.  I feel bad, this was meant to help us all out, but with only a small portion of what is owed given to me, I couldn't keep having that happen.

I'm almost at that point with the cell phones too, since I never intended to be paying for 5, but fortunately the house in Mississauga will soon be sold and a lot of the debt I've been incurring helping people I'll be able to pay off.  It would be nice if I could use that for myself, since it should be mine to better my life, not cover off helping other people but what can you do.  It'll be part of a clean slate anyway.

I was worried about my mortgage renewal this month since of course trying to cope with this situation has harmed my credit rating, but it was offered at least, though while I thought I would be paying less (you normally are), the rates offered where much higher than what they should be.  One option that did offer the lower rate I was expecting was the variable interest one.  I've shied away from those in the past since that is a huge risk if interest rates shoot up, but, given the locked in rates were already huge, I don't think that they will get that high between now and the 3 year point when I can lock it in if I want.  Plus, the house will be sold by then and I'll be better able to handle it. 

Things are looking up, I just have to be patient and not worry so much.  It's hard, but when I think of the hours I've spent cleaning an office building in the evening, meant to be temporary but looking like I'll have to keep doing it until I'm in a better position, it has also put in me a determination not to dismiss my abilities.  I have to start seriously doing what I do best and make money at it.  It's time.  Even if that means leaving a work place I enjoy being, I have my little family to think about.

Oh dear.  Little guy is not being dealt with well where he attends school, it has been an unpleasant year.  14 times sent home, 1 suspension, and me knowing that if he was given the supports he should for being a gifted Asperger's kid this wouldn't be the case, we're at a loss.  There are few schools that could really address his needs, though there is one in Ottawa but I can't afford to live there, not without being in an apartment or something like that and he and we need to be in a place where we can have our dog and cats and no worry of wall-neighbours complaining if he has a meltdown.  His dad moving to Ottawa might be the answer - we'll see.

So that's where I'm at.  I haven't signed up for a new university course yet, not while I have the fallout of the big bills to deal with, so I will get back to editting my books for publication.  Wish me luck on that, lol.