January 24

Finally, my dream job!

1965

No church today - we got 10 to 11 inches of snow, with sleet on top. The Ws stopped in for punch and cookies after they helped us clear our walk. I've decided to sew a dress for M or K. I'd love to sew for younger children. I studied History until 12:00 - which it is now, so, if you will not mind, I'll retire.

Comment 2006

I have no idea who the Ws were. That chunk of memory has completely vanished. I do recall being hired to do some sewing for various neighbors. It didn't pay particularly well, though it was fun. Babysitting was my main source of income, since we lived about a mile from town and relied on one car, which my father drove to and from work. Most of my babysitting income was used to buy fabric, 45 RPMs and Christmas presents.

Comment 2023

Did you ever think of turning your favorite hobby into your dream job? I have always loved making things, and tried several times to monetize my passion. It never worked. For example:

I really enjoyed polishing shoes. When I was six or seven, I hauled a shoebox full of polish and brushed out to the sidewalk in front of my house and set up shop. Several hours and one customer later, I had a nickel.

Middle school: I learned to crochet and made a hat for myself. A friend asked me to make one for her and said she would pay me. She paid me the cost of the yarn plus a quarter.

High school: Besides the two W sisters, I sewed maternity clothes for a neighbor. They supplied the pattern and fabric, I got a couple of bucks.

College: Various minimum wage jobs as a sign printer, costume shop stitchkin. 

STILL NOT LEARNING!!

After College: Doing piecework for a touristy “general store” selling “locally made” calico aprons. I was paid $5 each; they sold for $40. It took me a week of 8-10 hour days to make ten aprons.

Graduate school: Summer job as the crafts counselor at the Rhode Island Association for the Blind. Thought this was my “dream job”. It was not.

My entire professorial life: I turned to writing and wrote and wrote and wrote. It earned me tenure, promotion, and a good enough salary to support my family and buy a fixer-upper. I wrote two academic books that together have earned between $1000 and $1500 in about ten years.

So now I am retired, and doing what I love for free. Knitting, poetry, these short posts. Grateful for the Social Security and pension that allow me to fill my time this way. Once a year, I get a table at our local craft bazaar and sell my hats, scarves, and mitts at cost  so I can get more yarn. I write things and and people enjoy reading them. Finally, my dream job!

1979

Classes are now only a week old and I am already tired and mind-weary. Perhaps I am convincing myself that I’m tired. That’s dangerous. 

Today’s interesting factoid. The term “poop deck” comes from the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis. It has nothing to do with pooping. The pooping area was in located  in the bow, otherwise known as the “head” of the ship. Now you know.

Comment 2024

The question came up in my history of costume class, though I can’t remember why. Thank heaven for our family copy of the OED.

1980

Still thinking about the Virginia Tech job. Maybe I could try some of the same things here that were so enticing there. Graduate level fashion theory course, for example. A recent issues course in clothing and textiles. An advanced undergraduate course for students interested in history. Maybe a cooperative course with American Studies for museum studies. Dropping the antiquated “Ancient and Non-Western Fashion” class and developing one with a more cultural anthropology focus.

1996

My last work day at home before the semester begins. This has been an excellent winter break. It started with a warm, loving, and joyful Christmas. Since then, I’ve had a very productive few weeks, and feel ready for the semester. The snowstorm gave us some fun family time.

I spoke to a colleague about her snow-week experience, and she said it was great because she sent her 4-year-old to the sitter every day and wrote two articles. Well, to each her own, but that’s not my idea of a great week. Never was and probably never will be. 

1982

What a fortnight! It seems as if it has been cold and snowy forever. I’ve already shoveled my limit for the winter. And driving in all that sleet and ice and slush - yech. Today it is clear, 32 degrees and slippery. The snow looks like porcelain.

I’ve been cleaning and tidying. I have a book I should read, and it is nagging at me. (Yeah, yeah) I’ve been reading Alice in Wonderland instead. 

I’m about 5 months pregnant now. According to my baby info, you have hair, eyebrows and lashes, and facial expressions. Jim might be able to hear your heartbeat. We’ll have to try again. Last time he listened, all he got was a boot in the ear.

(There follows a page-long to-do list.)

1997

My life is filled with riches.: comfort, stimulating work, time to reflect, a wonderful church community, opportunity for growth and learning, my healthy, safe, and thoughtful children, a life partner who is my equal in so many different ways and treats me accordingly. A silly beagle who makes me laugh, and a sweet boo-dog who makes me melt.

2013

Such a pretty day! We had about an inch of snow overnight and the wind is swirling it off the tree branches. Beautiful. 

The first day of classes went well. The fireplace is warming my toes, and Cunningham is perched in the sunshine on the back of the sofa. The house is peaceful and waiting. A good day! A good day for thinking, and planning, and reading.

2019

Another poem found me in Oaxaca.

Immortality

Before I die,
Give me a magic potion.
A potion of mezcal and maize,
(Maybe a pinch of grasshoppers).
With my last breath,
I’ll become a vocho*,
And live forever in Oaxaca.

*vocho = Mexican slang for a VW Beetle. There are so many vochos in Oaxaca, all of them very old.

If the vocho and the tuk-tuk have puppies, I want one!