It's been a rough couple of months, money-wise, since my last temp job ended abruptly last September.
But things improved. In early January, one of the staffing agencies had a data entry job starting in a few weeks, with the possibility of continuing further. Interestingly enough, this agency was the first one I signed up with after leaving Plum, and this was the first lead they had for me that panned out...a year later.

The job was some basic data entry, QA stuff for a mental health clinic to make sure the clinicians were caught up on paperwork. The pay is good, the location is one I know well as it was down the road from my first apartment in Maine. Literally, right down the hill.

There was a learning curve to figure out the software and enough of the paperwork to give accurate info but the staff is super cool. The other temp who started with me didn't last long, after a week he bailed (whether for a better job, or he just didn't like this one, we never knew), but it worked out for me.

The supervisor asked if I'd continue the assignment as their "tech guy". Part of it would involve creating templates for forms and reports in the software as well as basic troubleshooting for their computers. I was initially hesitant, not sure if my technical skills were up to par, but as it turned out their requirements were more "computer savvy" than "sysadmin". That I am capable of doing a factory reset on a laptop, connect it to the wifi, set up admin and user accounts, clean off the bloatware and install company required software, means I'm more than qualified.

The work so far has been great, the staff are awesome. There's no metrics and no customer interaction. And with the "promotion" came a nice raise, so I am finally able to dig myself out of the financial hole I was in. And be able to add more cool stuff to my resume.