High Holidays - Day 448 (Yr 2, Day 81)

Asheville, NC

Before  backtracking over the past week that I missed posting, let me share the serenity of my "back yard" once again:

Once again, it is the time of year for introspection and atonement as Rosh Hashanah, which was this past Monday and Tuesday, and Yom Kippur (next Wednesday) come around.  It's hard to believe this is the 2nd year that we were not in NJ.  Last year we were in Cary, NC and were lucky not to have to drive to services, as they were held in a banquet hall where we could park our home in the far corner of the parking lot.  This year we don't have that luxury as there's hardly even room to park our truck.  But we are very grateful to be in an area where at least there are services!

This is the first year, however, that we didn't have the privilege to be with any family members.  In NJ, it was always Doris who came out to join us, and last year, Jessica joined us for diner on R.H. evening.  I'm sure I've mentioned Ethylin Morgan in a previous post -- someone Mitch originally met on one of his survey jobs who we learned was Jewish and attended the synagogue we planned to.  We've become friends (she is recently widowed).  We invited her to join us for Rosh Hashanah dinner and we all had a very lovely time.  It was a completely vegetarian meal:  I made a veggie loaf (stuffed with apples & nuts), tsimmes (a sweet casserole made of sweet potatoes, pineapple, raisins and marshmallows), a curried carrot/sweet potato soup, our usual mushroom dish and a salad made with lettuce, pomegranate seeds & orange slices in a balsamic vinaigrette.

Services were quite nice, uplifting and spiritual as well, although I really do miss the beautiful cantorial voices of the Blesofskys in NJ.

It was great having all that time off, but Wednesday was non-stop busy, catching up with all my clients' work.  It is great how God always provides, and to use another cliche - one door closes and another opens.  Last week I decided to fire one of my clients.  I decided that the pain and aggravation I derive from this account doesn't come close to justifying the work.  Although a steady client, the number of hours per month was usually less than 10 and did not make up for any substantial amount of income, so I didn't feel bad letting him go.  Working for him has just been a constant headache, as IF he answers my questions (which is rare), it's usually one word answers or very vague ones.  That means I have to make a lot of judgement calls, and about 10% of the time they are wrong.  There was a recent major screw-up, causing me to redo at least a month's worth of work.  At that point, I decided enough was enough; he's just not the type of person I want to work with.  I still think I'm the best person for this job, and if he realizes that and wants to hire me back, it'll be twice the cost and I'll demand better communication.  Meanwhile, he insists I stay on at least another month to train someone else (that should be fun, since it took me months to figure it all out and I had somewhat of a background.  She has no skills and no background.  I don't think she's going to catch on at all.  But.... not my problem any more, is it?)

But the door that opened is that I almost immediately took on another client, who I will be starting with after the holiday next week.  We've spoken a few times on the phone and there's a great chemistry between us.  I think we'll make a good team.  This job will entail mostly setting meetings, organizing her calendar and making extensive travel arrangements.

Back at the campground, a few folks we've hung out with have left (Critter and Kurt & Kristen), but we met a few other nice ladies -- Kathy and Jane.  Kathy is a solo and Jane RVs with her female partner.  We're hoping to maybe do a pot luck and campfire some time next week.