Everything lies blueshadowed and still. We tromp through the woods on our skis, and there is birdsong, and there are mouse tracks and a great churn of snow where at least two deer bedded down for the night. My first time cross-country skiing, and the snow is light enough that I don't even get frustrated when I fall. There is a drone of snowmobiles in the distance, the occasional whir of passing cars from the road. When I slip and slip and slip trying to get up a hill, he stands behind me and pushes me gently, and I feel a little bit like I'm learning to ride a bike with my mom holding onto the seat. Later, I bake batches and batches of cookies: chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin, baked in a glass lasagna pan because my cookie sheets are still in a storage unit in California. Unemployment in the winter seems to equate to a lot of baking - cookies and pretzels, mostly. Also a lot of knitting. My favorite project so far has been steering wheel cozies with L and R on them, to keep my hands warm and keep me oriented when I drive.

But all that free time is coming to an end soon. The job dilemma was resolved thusly:

I told the vet's I wanted to work for them, but that the salary made my budget too tight, and asked if they would give me more money. They told me they'd call me back. Meanwhile, I had a second interveiw with the other company. The vet's called me back and said they wouldn't give me more money, sorry it didn't work out, goodbye. I spend the next week trying to talk myself into being glad about the other job, which I hadn't officially been offered but felt confident I would get. Meanwhile, there was a big blizzard, and everything was closed for two days. On Monday, I felt miserable about the other job, decided I really wanted the vet job anyway, and called them to say so; they were gone for the day, and I left a message. Yesterday, I finally talked to the vet, who told me they'd have to consider and call me back. Right after I talked to her, the other company called to tell me they really appreciated my interest and enthusiasm, but they'd offered the position to someone else. This morning, the vet called me back to say they'd hire me.

Horray! All in all I feel pretty good about it, except that I feel silly about holding out for a job I didn't end up getting. But I got the chance to realize that I really do want to work for the vet's office, and I'm really excited about it. I haven't been really excited about a job... well, ever. (With the exception of Earth Island, but I wasn't getting paid for that, so it doesn't count.)

Thanks again to everybody who gave me advice along the way; I'm not starting for a week still, but I'll keep y'all updated on how it goes.