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61. November 2, 2025
It is 8am and I stumble out of my bed. It is Sunday morning and I have to get ready for church. I have been a church pianist at a presbyterian church for 7 and a half years now, ever since we moved to Texas. I am sleepy and tired. I barely slept last night. Maybe 2 or 3 hours max. This happens to me nearly every Saturday night. I work myself up with my crippling performance anxiety and then I cannot sleep. It doesn’t make any sense. The older I get, the worse it is. Why? I do
Jarka Woody
Nov 45 min read
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61. November 2, 2025
It is 8am and I stumble out of my bed. It is Sunday morning and I have to get ready for church. I have been a church pianist at a presbyterian church for 7 and a half years now, ever since we moved to Texas. I am sleepy and tired. I barely slept last night. Maybe 2 or 3 hours max. This happens to me nearly every Saturday night. I work myself up with my crippling performance anxiety and then I cannot sleep. It doesn’t make any sense. The older I get, the worse it is. Why? I do
Nov 45 min read
60. (Which) Mr & Mrs
I have lived with the Woodys for a while now. They are kind people and they seem to be ok with my constant presence. However, I still yearn for independence. I am an adult and I need to take care of myself. I am so done depending on others for everything. I do have my library job and I add another job as a dining hall dishwasher to my resume. It’s still on campus and I am still making just the minimum wage. But by combining both of my jobs, I work around 30 hours per week and
Nov 38 min read
59. A curfew, a hearing aid, and a cop
I get a job at the school library and I love every minute of it. I make minimum wage which is $5.15 per hour but I don’t care. It’s money. For the first time ever, I am able to make money on my own. I am not allowed to work off campus with my current student visa status. That would require another permit from the Immigration office. A work permit which I don’t have yet. One step at a time. Besides, I love my little library job. I get to know many people, students and professo
Nov 17 min read
58. Almost normal
It’s December and my first semester at NGCSU is pretty much over. I have been staying with Dr. Jones’ family for several weeks, while he has actively been looking for a place for me to live. Dr. Jones and his wife have 5 children, ranging from 5 to 14 years old. They are squeezed into a very small modest house but they happily make room for me too. They are sweet and kind to me. But mainly, I am not hungry anymore. Mrs. Jones is a stay at home mom and she homeschools her chil
Oct 317 min read
ABOUT ME
My name is Jarka Woody Pederson, although for this blog I just want to be called Plain Jane. Reading and writing is my therapy and this blog is to compile all of my thoughts in one place.
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