OMG OMG OMG OMG! I GOT THE JOB! At least, I'm pretty sure I did. The HR person called me today and met my asking salary with no quibbles, and I was just happy to be in my field again after a two year hiatus so that was fine by me. The paperwork should arrive in the next few days and everything will hopefully be signed in a week or two so I can start ASAP, but until I actually sign the document hiring me I'm mentally prepared in case anything falls through. However, the confidence level in a decent paying job has gone from about 50% to 99% :D.

Oddly enough, despite overhearing my parents telling friends of the family about my sister and I both living here during the pandemic (that's 4 people, 2 bedrooms, so overhearing is inevitable in this small house), they don't seem to be chasing me out yet. My mom's spotted me stalking Craigslist, Apartments.com, and Zillow so maybe it's assumed, or maybe she's waiting for the right time to broach the topic and my first paychecks to arrive. I've always offered to pay rent, which they refuse to accept, so I pay groceries, gas, etc whenever I can to offset some of their expenses, as well as cook and bake, clean, and contribute to the household where needed.

When I leave they'll be losing the only help they have around the house since my sister is oblivious to anyone's needs but her own, but I can't feel guilty about that. While I don't expect to have much of a social life, particularly taking the night shift at this job, I don't crave that socialization nearly as much as I used to when I was younger. For now I'll keep an eye out for housing alternatives and dream of the day I can give up my storage unit. Miracles do happen!