Gift of time
This is how I'm trying to view the announcement on Monday that everyone in my department at work is having their hours cut by 20%. This translates, of course, into a pay cut – on top of the pay cut I already absorbed last fall when a program I used to use a lot was trimmed from our benefits package.
It's safe to say that the newspaper business really is facing what you could call a crisis of adaptation these days. Yes, it's also a time of great opportunity for those who are willing and able to change ... but that's not my department. Right now I'm just very grateful I still have enough hours to retain healthcare benefits at all, and, suddenly, enough free time to catch up on all the little chores and errands I've been putting off, and possibly add a little more outside work as well.
Really, I've been saying for as long as I've had this job that this is what I wanted to do – work part-time there, and the rest of the time doing other projects. But until now I was required to work 40+ hours a week to keep this job, and after doing that I wasn't feeling much like doing anything else that involved computers.
So this could work well. I already have an appointment next week with a possible new client, an agency run by someone I've worked with before and who loves my stuff. Their needs are small and only sporadic, which would be perfect.
Because except for the pay cut, I'm actually kind of excited about this new development. I have just gained one whole day a week that I can fill with whatever I want. Suddenly, there is time to call the dentist (and go to the dentist). Getting birthday cards and boxes of chocolate in the mail will be no problem. I can be here when the people come to install high-speed Internet service, which means I can (finally) call and schedule the installation.
Another cool thing: because my boss feels bad about having to cut hours, and also about the fact that I have not had a raise in over three years (don't hate me for not being more assertive about this), I've been able to parlay this situation into something else I've been wanting – more days off. At this point I don't really care if they're paid days off or not – although money's always good. Mainly, I just want the time. And now I think I may be able to get it. My long-dreamed-of return trip to Portland will be happening soon, and now I can take more than just a quick weekend. I can visit my family in Utah and Colorado. If I can convince them to come here, I will be able to take a day or two to check out Yosemite, rent a house on the beach for everyone, or run (walk, in the case of moi) Bay to Breakers with my brothers this spring.
Living on very little money ... I'm already good at that. The only difference this will make in the way I live from day to day will be ... well, I don't think it will make any difference. I'll be saving less, but that's okay.
And anyway, if I start feeling poor or running out of interesting things to do (not possible, but let's just imagine), I can always fill the time with more work. Sell an article here or there, pick up the odd little design job, even go back to the tasting rooms – which although the pay is lousy, is always fun and festive, and the environments are by nature beautiful, inspiring and well-designed.
Spending more time with the dogs will be good, too. The Jeeps in particular, for obvious reasons. And it's always gratifying to see how ecstatic Tater gets when he hears the "W" word, or even just sees me opening the drawer containing his collar and leash.
And taking better care of Mr. A is another thing I'm looking forward to doing. He ... well, he's just an amazing man, to me. He deserves more yummy dinners and backrubs and chocolate cakes and fresh, folded laundry. My inner housewife is really busting to get out, now that I have a little extra time for her.
Speaking of which – Julie asked me to post the recipe for that persimmon cake I made for Christmas. Here it is, with warm thoughts and lots of love.
Tinarama's Warm & Fragrant
Soul-Healingly Delicious
Persimmon Cake
from Heaven
1/2 cup sweet butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour (I use whole-wheat because I like the dense texture, but any kind will do)
1 cup persimmon pulp (just break it open and squeeze it through your fingers – this part is fun – discarding the skin)
3 teaspoons brandy or Grand Marnier, or orange-flower water! (I just thought of that & haven't tried it, but now I'm going to!)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger (use more if you want to use fresh grated ginger)
1 teaspoon cloves (ground)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup golden raisins
Cream together butter and sugar, then add the flour, persimmon pulp, brandy, eggs and baking soda (mix it with a tiny bit of warm water first, a couple of teaspoons at most). Then stir in the vanilla and all the rest of the ingredients and mix it up for a few minutes. I use a big flat wire whisk to do this but an electric mixer will work too. The batter will be dark brown, glistening and kind of sticky.
The recipe I have calls for steaming this in hot water for two hours in a 2-quart pudding mold (it's actually a pudding recipe, not officially a "cake"), but I've always just baked it. I use a 6-cup bundt pan that looks like a rose on top – it makes a very pretty cake. In my uneven old oven it takes about 50 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees, at which point I bring it out, let it cool, and finally use a 1" silicon spatula to very gently loosen the cake from the insides of the pan. It's a non-stick pan, but if yours isn't you would probably do well to butter it before you put the batter in.
I turn this out onto a homemade snowflake "doily" and display it on my precariously balanced homemade cake stand – namely, a heavy porcelain restaurant plate on top of an upside-down heavy porcelain latte bowl, covered by an inverted domed glass mixing bowl. If I'm in an extra creative mood I might also decorate the top, for example with powdered sugar (which tends to be very quickly absorbed by the cake – all that butter) or a hard sauce consisting of a stick of butter (soft but not melted) beaten together with about a cup of powdered sugar and another spoonful of brandy or Grand Marnier (though the GM is a little sweet for my taste). You can also make it with whiskey, if you happen to have any on hand and like the flavor. This whiskey sauce is also very good on heavy, eggy, raisiny bread pudding, but that's another post.
It's safe to say that the newspaper business really is facing what you could call a crisis of adaptation these days. Yes, it's also a time of great opportunity for those who are willing and able to change ... but that's not my department. Right now I'm just very grateful I still have enough hours to retain healthcare benefits at all, and, suddenly, enough free time to catch up on all the little chores and errands I've been putting off, and possibly add a little more outside work as well.
Really, I've been saying for as long as I've had this job that this is what I wanted to do – work part-time there, and the rest of the time doing other projects. But until now I was required to work 40+ hours a week to keep this job, and after doing that I wasn't feeling much like doing anything else that involved computers.
So this could work well. I already have an appointment next week with a possible new client, an agency run by someone I've worked with before and who loves my stuff. Their needs are small and only sporadic, which would be perfect.
Because except for the pay cut, I'm actually kind of excited about this new development. I have just gained one whole day a week that I can fill with whatever I want. Suddenly, there is time to call the dentist (and go to the dentist). Getting birthday cards and boxes of chocolate in the mail will be no problem. I can be here when the people come to install high-speed Internet service, which means I can (finally) call and schedule the installation.
Another cool thing: because my boss feels bad about having to cut hours, and also about the fact that I have not had a raise in over three years (don't hate me for not being more assertive about this), I've been able to parlay this situation into something else I've been wanting – more days off. At this point I don't really care if they're paid days off or not – although money's always good. Mainly, I just want the time. And now I think I may be able to get it. My long-dreamed-of return trip to Portland will be happening soon, and now I can take more than just a quick weekend. I can visit my family in Utah and Colorado. If I can convince them to come here, I will be able to take a day or two to check out Yosemite, rent a house on the beach for everyone, or run (walk, in the case of moi) Bay to Breakers with my brothers this spring.
Living on very little money ... I'm already good at that. The only difference this will make in the way I live from day to day will be ... well, I don't think it will make any difference. I'll be saving less, but that's okay.
And anyway, if I start feeling poor or running out of interesting things to do (not possible, but let's just imagine), I can always fill the time with more work. Sell an article here or there, pick up the odd little design job, even go back to the tasting rooms – which although the pay is lousy, is always fun and festive, and the environments are by nature beautiful, inspiring and well-designed.
Spending more time with the dogs will be good, too. The Jeeps in particular, for obvious reasons. And it's always gratifying to see how ecstatic Tater gets when he hears the "W" word, or even just sees me opening the drawer containing his collar and leash.
And taking better care of Mr. A is another thing I'm looking forward to doing. He ... well, he's just an amazing man, to me. He deserves more yummy dinners and backrubs and chocolate cakes and fresh, folded laundry. My inner housewife is really busting to get out, now that I have a little extra time for her.
Speaking of which – Julie asked me to post the recipe for that persimmon cake I made for Christmas. Here it is, with warm thoughts and lots of love.
Tinarama's Warm & Fragrant
Soul-Healingly Delicious
Persimmon Cake
from Heaven
1/2 cup sweet butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour (I use whole-wheat because I like the dense texture, but any kind will do)
1 cup persimmon pulp (just break it open and squeeze it through your fingers – this part is fun – discarding the skin)
3 teaspoons brandy or Grand Marnier, or orange-flower water! (I just thought of that & haven't tried it, but now I'm going to!)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger (use more if you want to use fresh grated ginger)
1 teaspoon cloves (ground)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup golden raisins
Cream together butter and sugar, then add the flour, persimmon pulp, brandy, eggs and baking soda (mix it with a tiny bit of warm water first, a couple of teaspoons at most). Then stir in the vanilla and all the rest of the ingredients and mix it up for a few minutes. I use a big flat wire whisk to do this but an electric mixer will work too. The batter will be dark brown, glistening and kind of sticky.
The recipe I have calls for steaming this in hot water for two hours in a 2-quart pudding mold (it's actually a pudding recipe, not officially a "cake"), but I've always just baked it. I use a 6-cup bundt pan that looks like a rose on top – it makes a very pretty cake. In my uneven old oven it takes about 50 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees, at which point I bring it out, let it cool, and finally use a 1" silicon spatula to very gently loosen the cake from the insides of the pan. It's a non-stick pan, but if yours isn't you would probably do well to butter it before you put the batter in.
I turn this out onto a homemade snowflake "doily" and display it on my precariously balanced homemade cake stand – namely, a heavy porcelain restaurant plate on top of an upside-down heavy porcelain latte bowl, covered by an inverted domed glass mixing bowl. If I'm in an extra creative mood I might also decorate the top, for example with powdered sugar (which tends to be very quickly absorbed by the cake – all that butter) or a hard sauce consisting of a stick of butter (soft but not melted) beaten together with about a cup of powdered sugar and another spoonful of brandy or Grand Marnier (though the GM is a little sweet for my taste). You can also make it with whiskey, if you happen to have any on hand and like the flavor. This whiskey sauce is also very good on heavy, eggy, raisiny bread pudding, but that's another post.
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