(the dogwalking app, not the stock ticker symbol for Walgreens)
(where, weirdly, i've also worked)
I've started dogwalking (as an
independent contractor, a “wagwalker,”) every weekday. I signed
an ICA (independent contractor agreement). It's the “Uber of
dogwalking,” which they told me to say – I need to try Uber so I
can actually know what I'm talking about. I can work as little as I
choose, selecting to accept or decline each (on-demand, or scheduled)
walk, as they come up. I'm still walking Fido and Taco once a week,
usually Tuesday mornings (no earlier than 8a), for an hour, once a
week. With Wag, there's lots more work, although it's a bit cut-throat, like answering a jeopardy
question, to accept local walks (I set my radius for 2 miles) ahead
of the dozen or so other walkers in the Berkeley area. I made $224
in March, my first month, with 11 walks, for 9 dogs. I have 2
recurring walks, that I've committed to for 3 months, of 1)Kaleb and
Kado, and 2)Hazel. Kaleb is a husky-pit mix, Kado is a pomeranian,
and I walk them Monday through Friday, MTRF at 1p, and W at 12 noon,
for an hour each day. Wednesday is earlier, because I need travel
time (it only takes 20m, though) between K/K (on Oakland Ave.) and
Hazel (on Colby, near St. Augustine). Hazel, also a pit, is a shorter (30 minute)
walk. I'm enjoying it. It's like getting paid to exercise. I still
have a gym membership at the Berkeley YMCA, though, at a disability
discount rate, which my mom is paying for. Greg gave me the
iphone/smartphone, and the Verizon service, as a gift last Christmas,
which I'm grateful for, and couldn't do my job without. Just my
scheduled walks, not including the on-demand walks I can choose to
accept, will (probably) pay $589 this month (21 weekdays x $25/walk
plus $16 x 4 wednesdays).
Anyway, I still have symptoms,
though, and I have to make sure I don't lose my Social Security
benefits. That would be “devastating,” according to Sara. I
don't know how much I would have to earn to pay for all my expenses,
including medications (risperdal/risperidone and zyprexa/olanzapine)
and Kaiser health insurance. So let's see, I've got rent ($725), gym
($35.20, disability rate), food (?) which is mostly free (2 bags a
month from the Berkeley food pantry). There are free meals in
Berkeley on the weekends, too. I pay for a restaurant meal with
Sara, my treat, every 4 weeks, and usually a taco on Tuesdays from
Los Pericos in San Leandro ($3.03), as well as an occasional sushi
burrito ($9.84, from sushi secrets) or slice of pizza ($3.30, Papa
John's) or cookie ($2, gourmet from the SL library cafe). I just
bought a coffee maker, so my Peet's expense of $4.90 like every other
day (for a small cup of coffee and an almond croissant) will go down
now that I'm buying and brewing my own coffee. Also, there's
miscellaneous (such as bart fare (disability discounted), bike
repair, lotto tickets, and contributions to the Bernie campaign).
In addition to food, I get lots of free stuff: phone service (Greg),
gym membership (mom), haircuts (Sara), books and magazines and
newspaper (berkeley/sf/oakland libraries), BFC (Berkeley Free Clinic)
dental work, and medications (1mg of risperdal and 30mg of
olanzapine, nightly; the dissolving “zydis” form -less weight
gain side effect- of zyprexa costs more, I believe). Wifi and
utilities is included in rent. I get itunes, movie, and trader joe's
gift cards from family, and I occasionally win tickets to music
shows/venues from kalx radio (90.7fm)
Speaking of “bills” (with
ill in it) and invoices (voices?), I've been writing down what my
voice has been saying, both on my blog and in my notebook, which I
imagine is interesting for psychiatrists/ psychologists/ researchers/
and the generally curious. I still think it's telepathy, despite it
being affected by medication. My symptoms include, in addition to
the voice (from David A. Eldridge), headshocks, chestpains, and
-occasionally- teeth taps. That's 4 things that make me feel
monitored, possessed, oppressed, depressed (and angry/mad). I like
to think I'm sane, though, anyway, being healthy myself, but
afflicted with a sick person who insists on a presence in my
mind/head. Sometimes I even suspect that everyone is crazy, and that
I'm actually saner than most “normal” people. My birthmother,
Annette Riddle, has schizophrenia, which I imagine was a factor in my
original diagnosis, like 20 years ago. I think I'll get paid also to
participate in the Cal ESI (emotion and social interaction) lab's
research, which I just discovered won't be videotaping me, this time,
which I feel is a plus (I don't like the idea of being dissected,
that is, having my micro-expressions analyzed; I already have issues
with lack of privacy).
Sara and Pierre discouraged me from becoming
a dogwalker, fearing I could lose my benefits. There's a formula, a
bit complex, that I call “taking 2 steps forward, and 1 step back”
in terms of income: I have to figure out the size of the steps... I
get help from MHA (mental health advocates, specifically Stephen
Statler), and Pierre knows a lawyer who specializes in SSI
(disability) law/payments, who maybe I should talk to, also. I have
to report my previous month's income at the beginning of the new
month, to Social Security, but they want me to estimate my yearly
earnings, which is loco, because it's not a salaried job, and the
payments will vary from month to month, and even week to week, or day
by day. And tips (all of which I get to keep) can vary. But my
scheduled walks, assuming I get the same tips, will pay me $589, in
April (this month).
The way Wag works is the walker
gets 60% of the cost, which is $20 for a half-hour, $30 for an hour,
and $5 more per extra dog (limit 3 dogs). But if there's low supply
or high-demand (or some combination thereof, I guess there's an
algorithm), wag occasionally offers “full-fare” as an incentive
for walkers to pick up walks that are proving difficult to fill. If
you wear the t-shirt, and put the bandannas on the dog(s), you get an
extra dollar (as an incentive for advertising). I carry promo cards
-I get $25 if someone signs up with Wag, that I've referred. So far,
I've given cards to Julie, and the apartment manager at K/K's place
in Oakland, both yesterday.
I still value my free time, the
main perk/benefit of being disabled. I get to sleep in, go to the
gym when I want, attempt to read a book/day as well as the daily new
york times, etc. I'm always busy, and I have enough money for the
lifestyle I want, although I could always spice up my life and vary
my routine with different, exciting things like camping or travel or
music concerts and plays or whatever. I don't have a car, and I'm
not sure I want one. Driving can be stressful, and I was in a bad
car accident once, and I also like not being a part of the
(environmental/pollution) problem. I also imagine my time, spent
freely, is valued by other(s), which would be a bigger-picture
rationale behind my mental “illness.” I like my life, and my
mind, and my body is slowly improving, also. I'm proud of my blog,
and enjoy writing it, and seeing the comments and daily traffic it
gets. Being God ain't such a bad gig. We'll see if I can help
Bernie get elected. I think he has a pretty good shot. Hopefully,
the world and I will be a happy, improving, fun and enjoyable place.
I'm a meliorist, and my condition is ameliorating. My reading list
is (listS ARE, I've got 5 of them*) ridiculously long, and I imagine I will never be bored for the
rest of my life, because I have quite a large bucket-list of
activities on-deck, as they say in baseball; i.e. lined up, awaiting
me. In fact, I'm not sure I'll be able to complete it in the next 50
years, but discipline, improvement, and a little help from my
friends, may just add up to a healthier, happy life of achievement
and satisfaction and reward, a feeling of accomplishment. We're all
in this together, and I'd like to set an example, loving self and
All. Buddhism, meditation, yoga, swimming, walking/biking, lifting,
smart nutrition, reading a book-a-day, and regular writing, are all
components of my plan for sanity and wellness. (Maybe I should throw
dating into the mix -not sure if I should or not).
peace out,
Jess
*including
Bill Gates' recommendations,
1001 books you must read before you die,
501 must-read books, and
the list of Newbery award winners.
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