practice pronoia

Well, I have practically gotten my house in order (I LOVE it) and I found out about some extra work through a woman at work who just happened to tell me about it after someone else happened to mention to her that my daughter and I might be interested. My daughter and I went last week to get a certificate so we can get this second (for me) and third (for her) jobs selling things at the upcoming rodeo and I have also interviewed for numerous positions at the company lately, but I think my daughter has me beat. In the past 30 days, she has:

1) Signed up for and started college at U of Houston,
2) Got funding for her first semester,
3) Wound up with only one class that required the purchase of a textbook—the other two are on-line books,
4) Gotten jobs number 2 and 3 without even applying for them or interviewing,
5) Gotten her certificate that will enable her not only to sell things at the rodeo, but will also enable her to advance in her job at the restaurant,
6) Gotten her driver’s license,
7) Bought a car.

I have also had a friend offer me a car that I will be able to start using in a week or so—just in time to drive to my new job at the rodeo. Woo-hoo!

I signed up for this goal and then slid into a funk of thinking the world really sucks and blows because I’m still making on the niggardly side of a paycheck and, even though I have been working and working, I haven’t really seen any more income from my side business. My car got repossessed because my income has dropped so much over the past year and I haven’t yet made it up and I could not keep up with payments and it’s about to be Christmas and THIS JUST SUCKS!!!! But in the midst of all this:

1) I began walking blocks and blocks every day to catch buses so I am getting more exercise in.

2) I was doing a Christmas play at church on Sunday and didn’t really have any plans for Sunday afternoon other than hanging around the church waiting for the Sunday night performance because bus service is kind of sporadic on the weekends and someone offered me a ride and bought me lunch.

3) I have had seven jobs open up at the company that all seem very interesting to me and would all pay me much more than I am making now and the people doing the interviewing are very interested in me as a candidate. One would actually pay me to travel. Whoo-hoo!

4) In the process of my side work, I got a call from a really cool woman who wants to do business with me and we ended up talking for an hour—some about business but mostly just about her and her life and the town and people and things. Very cool, very interesting woman and such a delight in the middle of my day!

5) I had a friend step up and pay our electrical bill for us.

6) I had another friend lend me her car for a week so I could do marketing, etc. And lots of other people have generously and cheerfully given us rides.

7) I have some projects around the house that I want to do and for which I need lumber, but I was reluctant to spend the money because there are other things I need to pay for. And - lo and behold - someone left a whole, very solid wood bookshelf and a lot of very good lumber out by the dumpster. The bookshelf did have one support broken but, once I take it apart (I have no place to put it as it is and I need the lumber more), I will have everything I need to get my projects done!

8) I decided to exercise my sewing skills to make some new clothes for myself so I will be more chic than shabby and found some really good wool that was “specially priced” at $2.99 a yard!!!

9) I offered to help out a friend by making new slip covers, valances, cushions, etc. to vamp up her living room and ended up acquiring some new supplies for vamping up my own environment for which I didn’t have to pay.

10) I have found money almost every day. Not much - just a penny or nickel or quarter - but enough to remind me I can still get kisses from God.

Which goes to show even when I wasn’t looking for it, opportunities to practice pronoia sprang up all around me. So now I am practicing in hindsight. Which I guess is the equivalent of sliding into home with a mouth full of dirt but, hey!, you get there, right?

Something developed for me lately that is really cool. I have been looking for ways to earn extra money. I also have a love of looking at property - houses, land, buildings - whatever. I just like looking at cityscapes. Well, I recently heard through the grapevine that a friend I had lost touch with was getting into investing in land and needed people to scout property for her.

Boy, did a great big Eureka! go off in my brain! I have been doing this for about three weeks now and am about to get a check for several thousand dollars. So I am getting more pronoiac by the minute!

We had a dessert thing at work for Bosses Day—everyone was supposed to bring a dessert from their native country. I decided to bring Italian Creme Cake, which isn’t Italian, but that’s another story, right? I love to bake but, at the moment have:

1) no oven and
2) no time.

So I went to a grocery store we have downtown to buy a cake. I was browsing in the cake department when they announced they were having a cake walk in two minutes over in the cake department where - ta da! - I was browsing. The baker in the department invited me to be in the cake walk, so I stood on my little circle and waited for them to draw names and I was the only one who showed up for the cake walk, so I won the cake I wanted by default.

It was a small thing, but it certainly made me feel like someone was conspiring to bless me!