[HANASHIR:14727] Re: making a living

[Batiya5723 <Batiya5723...>]

Thank you to both Judy and Robin -- and everyone who replied personally to me 
-- for your comments. I continue to wrestle with this issue and will have to 
reach some kind of decision before the summer ends.

I did not expect it to be easy. I also did not expect it to be so 
ridiculuously hard. 

Part of the "blame", if it can be called that, lies with me. I live in a town 
with a rather small Jewish community and cannot afford to own a car. So far, 
that hasn't been too  much of a big deal, as Portland has excellent public 
transit and I can get anywhere I need to go. But having so few choices of 
synagogues and only one Jewish day school available for me to work in does mean 
that 
Jewish work will simply not be as abundant here. The recession has hit Oregon 
especially hard -- we have the highest unemployment in the nation -- and 
EVERYone is being tight with money right now. 

I am strategizing ways to ask for more money in order to stay in the work I'm 
doing. It may totally backfire and if it does I accept that. As a self-made 
musician with little formal training and no credentials, I recognized long ago 
that I would be making my own way if I pursued this dream. That's why I 
continue to puirsue club dates and mix up the Jewish stuff with secular folk 
covers 
(and soon, some of my own secular stuff as well). 

I still think that it is appalling that one of of the wealthiest minorities 
in town pays its teachers poverty wages and no health coverage, and I stand by 
that statement without apology. 

Perhaps I will figure out a way to make it work. Perhaps not. I am not in a 
position to move elsewhere, as my partner's job pays more and frankly we want 
to stay in the place that we call home. It may prove impossible and if that's 
the case we'll cross that bridge. But I don't think weçve reached that point 
yet.

Thanks again. I will keep you posted as to what happens. --Beth Hamon