Thank you for asking, but yesterday wasn't a bad day.  It was just that
the sentiments expressed in the two messages stepped on a nerve in my
pinky toe.

First of all, I know I don't need to remind you that email is a hollow
medium, and absent some emoticon, there would have been no way for me
to know that you were being facetious.  :-D  That seems to be a common
misperception, that one must truly know what the other was thinking,
feeling, sensing via sterile, black and white lettering.

Now, there were a couple of things I left off my prior post.  First, I
went to school as a single parent (which I indicated) but with no child
support.  My nonsupportive, abusive, threatened by the potential of my
gaining additional education ex-husband was left 5 years before I made
the decision to go back to school, and it was 8 weeks into the first
course before I found somebody who had a previous version of the
textbook that I good buy for a few dollars, so I spent plenty of time
transcribing my notes thoroughly.

Perhaps there would have been a scholarship in my past, but for the
fact that a little unplanned pregnancy  got in my way (we would call
the circumstances surrounding that pregnancy date rape today), and a
child was relinquished before I hit college.  Of course, all the
counseling associated thereto happens before relinquishment, and you're
left in the lurch to figure out how to mend the hole in your heart
alone.

I dropped out the first time after a year to find myself.  It took me
twenty years to decide that the best place to do that was probably
where I left off.  And don't worry, I also found my son two years ago
(and a granddaughter, too!).  So all is not ugly.

I worked, sacrificed, ate a whole lot of crap for more than 20 years
doing what it took to be able to care for my next born children.  I
juggled my schedule for my return to school so that it never got in the
way of a basketball game, or Little League, or any other activity in
which they were involved.  Tuesday nights, don't you know, are probably
the best fit for that, or at least they were for my schedule.

So what did I do in those years in between?  I worked for a company
that was never a fit, selling my soul to be able to feed my children
and maintain my dignity.

Ah-hah!  The kids are now grown and I'm more than willing to exchange
my more than $50K a year job (I worked two last year, getting some
real-time experience in the NPO world, and I think it was closer to
$60K though I have yet to do my taxes ;-)) for a job that feeds my
soul.

Yes, you ARE blessed to do what suits your fancy, to work in a field
where you are inspired and fulfilled.  If life had been different,
perhaps I would have been there sooner, but life is how it is and I am
where I am with no one to point the finger at.

There was no welfare and no public assistance in my life; student loans
and grants have been forsaken, though I may have to explore further
options as I segue to the next piece of education.

There are sacrifices we make on the road of life that are not easy.
Tradeoffs are made, and rarely are they quid pro quo.

When some of you lament how miserable the Museum world is, how low in
pay and how much education is required, I would challenge you to spend
a little time in Corporaterica (my version of Corporate America).

It sucks eggs!



--- Belinda Nickles <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> To Indigo Nights:
>
> Was yesterday a bad day?  Surely you know Mr.
> Martinson and
> I were just being facetious (especially the part
> about promising
> your first-born child).
>

> Belinda Nickles
>

===
Indigo Nights
[log in to unmask]

_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com