Turkey Revisited

Posted by matt On December - 9 - 2008

Turkey and CDs

A broken CD drive, no jobs, no shows, no money, and cold weather… I’m sort of grateful to have leftover Thanksgiving turkey to be eating. After all, struggling’s exciting. Isn’t it?

Turkey and fermenting sweet potatoes! Mmmmm… my Aunt Dina in Connecticut told me on Thanksgiving that my life is exciting. She’s right I suppose but I doubt if they thought that I’d be eating our Thanksgiving leftovers for about two weeks after the holiday. Never the less, I’m glad to say that even in a world where everyone from the sales clerk at CVS Pharmacy to the CEO of Starbucks is quick to tell you how bad the economy is, it still seems the world has a fascination with those who struggle. Even this week’s Ugly Betty (which I watch on my laptop — one of the few possessions I own) touched on the subject — Betty and Amanda almost lost their apartment when they were robbed by two guys who took them to eat at a fancy restaurant then stuck them with the bill after meeting them at a gallery opening that had free food (the initial attraction). Anyway, people are fascinated by those who struggle. And when we’re single and chasing our dreams in the big city we certainly do encounter lots of exciting things. But lately I’ve really been struggling.

For the past three months I put in 60 hour weeks in real estate, only managing to get to a few auditions. October went really well and at the end of the month I thought I was going to have a nice chunk of money in the bank come December when auditions picked up. But at the end of November, after I paid back the money I’d owed from September, my pockets were bare. I’d not made a single transaction in November. So I set out to find another survival job Read the rest of this entry »

Stocks Turn Around, So Do I

Posted by matt On October - 13 - 2008

Doors Open, Breathe… Breathe

I gasp for air and grab a new piece of driftwood to take me to shore and remember that when one door closes another opens.

I bet you thought I’d forgotten about you. Well I’ve not — about two months ago I entered real estate school in New York and since recieving my license I’ve been working 12 hour days fairly regularly. I got tired of being poor. The rationalization for starting a career in the middle of a busy audition season was that I needed to if I was going to be here for the next busy audition season. At the end of my financial rope, I experienced regular hunger pains and dizzy spells. My closest friends were the creditors that called to torture me about my financial obligations. Though once a normal part of my life, New York City — at least as I was experiencing it, made these responsibilities seem impossible to meet. I was drowning in a sea of debt, hunger, and loneliness.

So it was time for a new plan. I tried applying for unemployment. Having been fired from a crappy restaurant, I figured I was entitled to collect on some of what I’d paid in taxes. Alas, the bureaucracy is not set up to help anyone who really needs it. After a month, I’d still not recieved a check. To this day, I’ve not seen a cent. So I borrowed the money I needed to get into real estate school, and the money I needed to pay part of my rent (I still owe the other hundred dollars which I used on food). It was a new financial low for me –no credit cards, no cash, and a heaping dose of humility.

I delved down into my soul and found Read the rest of this entry »

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