After 6 months without work, most of which has been spent in and out of the doctor's office, I finally got a call. Job would only be temporary, but at least it will give me something "in the meantime" while I look for other work, try to get moved out, etc. There is no job security, no benefits, and it won't pay enough to put food on the table... but it's a job, and not a moment too soon, as I'm quickly running out of savings. Hopefully I can land this one and find something more stable in the meantime.
But hooray, one small step. Plus since it's a Halloween store, I get to be around spooky stuff and help customers put together outfits. ...If they hire me, that is. I won't count my chickens before they hatch. But I'm hopeful, at least.

@AshTheAlien: Exactly. And this at least looks fun. Much as I need money, I also need to watch my stress for health reasons, so a smaller store with a theme I like seemed like a good idea.

Your health is always more important than money

@Tsundererra: I thought for sure I'd missed the window, but I saw they had posted a position only a few days ago, so I went ahead and applied. I guess they still need people even after the initial setup phase. And I completely agree about the other stuff. Life has been a very bumpy and tiring road. I hope whatever comes of the next election sees at least some improvement. More and more places are raising their wages, so that's a good sign.

@AshTheAlien: aye, too bad govt and employers don't tend to see it that way. But we do what we can.

@koneko: That sounds nice, though. I wanted to do something like that in my "downtime", but problems ended up being worse than I realized and by the time I was ready to get back out there, I felt like I needed to make getting paid a priority. But maybe once I do get a job--this one or otherwise--I'll have an easier time scheduling things and see what volunteer opportunities are out there. You're lucky to have a cast rescue nearby! Not that I don't love dogs, but I'm a cat person and this city is dogsville. There is a cat cafe nearby and I'd kill to work there, but they're only hiring management and don't have volunteer positions. I doubt the people who do work there will be leaving any time soon to give me an opening, not that I blame them lol.
Halloween stores are great, though. I applied here because not only do I love Halloween, but I figured a temporary position would be easier to get into since they need to fill positions very quickly and take people with less experience. One benefit of temporary jobs, I guess, is they're not hard to come by.

and thanks everybody. Fingers crossed!
gonna be a heck of a time getting up so early; good thing I couldn't sleep last night. Maybe I'll be tired enough to go to bed :Y

For sure. You aren't able to get on disability? Have you looked into it?

@vengeance: thanks, i hope so too.

@AshTheAlien: I've looked into it, but even so my condition can qualify, my symptoms aren't "bad enough". I could potentially fight it if I had a disability lawyer, but that takes time and money I don't have, especially with no guarantee of getting approved. Never mind the stress involved. I actually tried this once before after I first got diagnosed (was in hospital for 2 weeks and having a lot of issues for years surrounding that) and it got repeatedly denied. Got a court date, didn't have a lawyer, brought a file with my doctor's notes which was ignored, got told that as long as I can move my arms and legs, I can work, left in tears feeling like an idiot for trying. So I'm a little wary of trying again either way tbh...

@Tsundererra: Yeah, jeez. Our healthcare is in such a sorry state. Hopefully it changes for the better. But get on them Halloween stores while they're still open!
I bet working at a haunted house or something would be even more fun, but I might be too shy for that one... maybe next year.

@Bioshock: thanks. I was starting to worry they wouldn't call, but considering the long weekend, it hasn't been as long as I thought since I applied.

@koneko: I've thought about that tbh, maybe next time I find myself alone in there I'll try to strike up conversation with the "cat wrangler" lol

@Totalanimefan: aye, after several previous failed applications, I'm glad somebody called me back. I have looked into disability, but they have very specific (and if you ask me, very extreme) requirements for my condition which I don't meet. So I'd still be deemed able to work, even if my ability to do my job duties was diminished. I don't believe I could go back to my previous job, but I think I'm well enough to do something a little less physically demanding. So rather than go without work for several more months trying to battle it out and paying a disability lawyer, I'm just gonna do whatever work I can for now and hope things get better instead of worse. I'm on a new medication as of very recently, so it hasn't really had time to kick in yet, but if it works out, I should be fine at least for the next few years.

@Uncledaddy: I worked at a haunted house when I was like 18 and 19, and I was a zombie in a trampoline cage my first time, and an alien chasing people through a corn maze the second time. xD Wish I had the stamina to do it now, but I would probably help out with the make up/blood now. You should try to work at one at least once in your life. There are lots of behind the scenes stuff to do to help out too. ^^

@Uncledaddy: It definitely takes a lot of work making some of the items, but you can learn from the pros of a haunted house attraction. One of the guys who made a lot of our stuff learned welding and woodwork, and he even makes stuff for his LARPing crew. And a lot of the finished props need to be assembled, painted, and positioned, so you can def help out with that to start~

I feel you on not being able to do certain work. I cannot do physical hard/heavy work because it turns out my back isn't strong enough for that. However I get rejected for all not physical hard work I apply for.

@Uncledaddy: I worked at an assembly line. But I also had to do heavy lifting of pallets and stuff. I have a diploma in Graphics Design. But we had a financial crisis when I got out of school. And my job type was not wanted then.