I’m back from spending a month away from too much social media with several updates:

1. I am in the thick of a serious job hunt and it’s been frustrating as hell. Over the past three months I’ve been feeling quite positive and motivated. I’ve aimed at applying to 3-4 jobs on a daily basis, but today I suddenly felt like I’d run out of steam.  It’s been a morning of tears and self-flagellation. Hopefully a great job is right around the corner.

(Some good news):

2. I’ve managed to write about 30 out of a 50 page goal for the month towards my novel (I’m not doing a word count with this because, like poetry, the word placement on the page is specific). I’ve got 8 more days to go and I’m going to try to get at least 3 pages a day written so that I can make my goal.

3. I’m just about ready to launch a part-time business that I’ve spent the past year, and especially the past few months, working on.

So, despite having a rough morning, I’ve been able to remind myself that I’ve been working hard these past several months on long term projects.  And despite all the rejections or radio silence, I’ve come to the conclusion below. It’s difficult to write some of these sentences since it seems like bragging but when you’re in the midst of a brutal job hunt and haven’t had any recent publications (but plenty of rejections), you have to create a manifesto: