Unemployment

I've been unemployed for about 5 months now. That's surprising to me but I quit my job in March and it's August now! I haven't accomplished what I'd hoped to in this time. What have I been up to?

Early on I took up an odd/assisting job to a freelance artist working on a stop animation short and random projects. I liked being able to make things all day! I made molds, sculpted clay, carved foam, did some painting, while wielding a glue gun. The atmosphere was way too unstructured for my taste. I wanted more direction, more of a schedule and time line to feel like I/we were steadily making progress. There was a lot of 2 steps forward and 1 step back when I had to re-touch and re-make props and characters due to their getting lost and damaged in dis-organized heaps.

I went on vacation to Spain and Italy with my parents which was a wonderful thing I would not be able to do with a regular job.

Upon returning the assisting job kind of... dried up. It didn't seem like I was needed anymore or maybe the fit was wrong. I didn't get paid for that work, but we never really did officially agree to terms.

I finished some projects that had been half abandoned when I gave myself the excuse that working made me too tired to work on anything for myself.

Now I'm babysitting twice a week for a little rent money. It's good to slow the drain on my checking account, but I'll only be able to keep this up for another 4 months or so.

I really need to find a way to make more money.

Somehow I've slipped into another malaise where my apartment is in a bit of a shambles, I've stopped exercising, and my personal projects are all half started.

I wonder if I should be working on a portfolio, pushing myself toward more challenging personal art work, designing crafts that will sell, hunting that unicorn of a great creative paying job, or taking any job that will pay the bills. Any? All? A combination?

Well something needs to change.