I think if I had to move and set up my gear every day, I would retire. Friday I played for a nursing home, which I haven't done in quite a while. I have two sets of everything, so I loaded up my "stuff" from home, drove 30 minutes, unloaded, put stuff on dolly, pulled it inside, set it all up.
Then I played for an hour, and enjoyed it a lot. Then, pack back up, load into the car. By then it was time to go to Ernest's, where I work. Drive 20 minutes to there. There was a special party in the main dining room, so I got DickieT, to cover me in the lounge, using my p.a, which is already set up. I had to set up the second set of gear, which I had in the vehicle, in the dining room, and then play for three hours, 150 people.
Then of course, pack up and put the stuff back in the vehicle. Then I went into the lounge and people were demanding that I do a few songs, so I played the last half hour there.
I was so tired at the end of the night, especially after Ernest fed me, that I had trouble staying awake on the way home. The one great thing is that the "guys" at Ernest's load and unload my gear. Best $5.00 I ever spent.
The point is that the one-night, or one-day jobs, from now on will have to pay BIG money before I think about doing them. The NH paid $100., then wanted a W9 to turn in, and I have to wait a month or so before getting paid.
This nursing home is a HUGE, high-end facility, with their own Chapel, Medical Center, choice of rooms or apartments, first class all the way. They could easily afford to pay a decent price, but "corporate" has them on a tight entertainment budget. Of course half the people that play there do it for free, to "help the old people". Although they think they are doing a good thing, they are only "helping the rich people"!
To top it all off, I dropped my Tascam digital recorder out of my pocket while loading at the NH. Broke the screen, so it is toast. New one arriving Tuesday. So if you add it all up I lost money on the NH, and to top that, I'm not even going to send them a W9, and I will tell them, this time was free, but don't call me again!
O.K. Rant over. Ten years ago I did four NHs in one day, in a town 100 miles away, and it didn't bither me a bot. At least I made a LOT of money that day.
Getting old requires patience and a sense of humor.