I’d had such high hopes after last summer about returning to work and getting back on my feet. You may recall that thanks to Manolo and Agustín I was able to spend much of last August in Málaga and Zahara de los Atunes recuperating from the effects of four months on chemo, so by September-October I felt quite ready to get back to work. I thought I’d be able to line up enough English classes to live on while I worked on my other various projects – the big plan was to diversify so that if/when I got sick again there would be at least some work that I could do from home in my pyjamas. Plus I was ready for a change after teaching for almost 20 years, and it also seemed wise to not have all my money making eggs in one basket anymore … boy, was I ever right about that last one. Because it turned out that the teaching market had really bottomed out and I was unable to find enough to live on, especially as I was also helping Nog get teaching work too. And then this summer I lost the apartment next door and the small monthly income from that. So, it’s been a very long and difficult year, but it looks like things are finally coming together…

In some ways, not having a full schedule of English classes helped me focus on my other projects: tapas tours, the online store, and developing my own social media “brand”. Then last spring I got the part-time job managing Victoria’s social media stuff, which ended up covering the loss of the apartment income. And lately there have been more tapas tour bookings, which makes me hopeful about this turning into a regular source of income. The store is also a viable operation as I have it all set up and ready to go thanks to Taliesin – in September I plan to “stock the shelves” and open in time for Christmas shopping in October. Meanwhile, a job I had applied for last May came through while I was away in Málaga last week. I’d actually given up on that one but it turns out I am now the new Seville Expert for an online travel website (!) and they are going to pay me an advance to set up my page with them (!!!).

More on that last one once I get some stuff written, but that was such unexpected and happy news. I mean, there I was in Málaga enjoying a cold beer outside in a pretty square when a call came through telling me my application had been reviewed and that they wanted to offer me the position. I have a sneaky hunch that my friend Annie (who is their Madrid Expert) put in a good word for me, as they usually only hire professional writers. Which once again confirms that Twitter is far from a “waste of time” because that’s how I met Annie and heard about this job in the first place. In fact, there have been so many positive connections made in the past couple of years thanks to my participation on Twitter that I couldn’t even begin to list them. Just goes to show that social media tools are all about how you use them. I’m also reminded of that quote “I’m a great believer in luck – the harder I work the luckier I get”, as it seems that all the “unpaid” work I’ve done this past year is finally starting to pay off.

And so, here I am back in Sevilla with a good four “cancer free” months ahead of me until my next PET scan, and I am going to make the most of them. This new writing job is going to be huge in terms of time as the deadline to have it all finished is the end of November – and there will be a lot of research and writing involved. I’m hoping that between my few English classes (which should resume in October), tapas tours and my social media job, I’ll make enough to get by on until the advance comes in. But I am feeling very optimistic – and relieved! – that I am almost back on my feet again.

And I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me over the past couple of years, both financially and emotionally. I honestly wouldn’t have made it without you.