Caught Slipping!

The phrase, "caught slipping", is an old one that simply means a person is left holding the bag or having something pinned on you that was completely out of your control.  A group of friends meet for dinner.  As they leave one-by-one, the last person seated at the table, very unaware of what is going on, is now stuck with the bill.  Or a group of robbers pull a heist.  As the police bust in, everyone makes a dash for it except one person who was caught offguard and doesn't know what to do.  Unsure which way to run, he is easily and quickly apprehended by authorities.  Both of these are examples of getting "caught slipping".  For the previous four months, I feel as if I've been caught not knowing where to go, what to do, or how to respond.  In June, I left a job with Ole Grapevine Cigars & Tobacco Shop thinking I had another gig lined up with JR Cigars.  Literally right before training was scheduled to begin, the company's human resource department emailed to state they were rescinding their employment offer.  They are well-within their right to hire whomever they choose; however, I was now left reeling for what to do or how to pivot in light of this new piece of information.  Since all this went down, I have been taking full advantage of the time to look for employment, work on hobbies, exercise at the gym, and to simply focus on yours truly.  For whatever reason, finding work has been difficult.  Quite a few interviews, a couple of job offers only to fail the background check, and other job postings that I'm simply not qualified for but apply to anyway.  Surely something will come along soon.  If it weren't for my wonderful mother, who assists with rent and other financial needs, I would have been in a real jam and already homeless.  Praise God for His financial provision through her.  In the midst of looking for work, I have been diligently working on the family tree (genealogy).  Since my Ancestry subscription is expired without the disposable income to reactivate the account, I've been using Find A Grave.  It's a free service and was created by the founder of Ancestry.  What I have learned is amazing!  Not only am I collecting a lot of information, I'm also helping to update different familial connections on the website.  After cross-referencing outside source material, I can connect different people on the website.  (For example: listing parents, adding missing siblings, or creating an altogether new profile for an individual.  Ancestry is still helpful in this case since I can access some information from the expired account.  I don't have full access but can see basic information.)  Thankfully I'm making progress in this endeavor.  Other hobbies I'm working on include: binge-watching Star Trek, reading, family document preservation, attending the recovery support group, and so much more.  I'm trying very hard to keep a delicate balance through this precarious time in my life.  For the month of September, I was asked to facilitate the 6 p.m. A.A. meetings on Thursdays.  This was a blast as I had such a great time preparing for and running the meetings.  Three out of the four topics brought for discussion were very-well received.  The one rogue topic took some time to gain traction but eventually caught on.  Who knows if I'll ever get asked to do this again?  Anyway, as you can see, I'm trying to make the best out of a not-so-good situation.  Something will break for me soon.  Until then, I'm trying to become the best steward of the time God has given me.

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