At first there were three

In the fall of 2008 I went from being unemployed to working three jobs.

I was offered a teaching position at a community college, a dance instructor position at a gym, and reference librarian position at an academic library. All three of them fell into my lap as I hadn't done much in the way of applying for them.

The first, the community college, emailed me among many others based on an application I put in more than a year prior for the library. Because of my master degree in English, I was qualified to teach at the community college level.

The second, dance instructor, came about by having a conversation with my trainer, who also scheduled the group fitness classes. I was training in order to build upper body strength for my ballroom dance hobby. Their latin dance instructor was leaving and they needed somebody new. I was hired soon after telling him that I could teach.

The third, as reference librarian, I took over from a colleague of mine who was leaving the position. It was easier for the library director to hire me (after interviewing!) than open the position to applicants.

That fall was extremely busy. I had two 11 hour days and two 13.5 hour days because Monday through Thursday I was commuting between two jobs. I was always at work by 8 or 8am and home around 10pm or later. I was constantly planning for classes, grading papers, and making notes about what in my curriculum needed to be changed. It was an extremely stressful four months.