Girl on the Brink: Surviving Desperate Times with Desperate Measures

Day 20 — Dirty Jobs

I think my ex is coming unglued. This morning, he smiled wide when he told me this neat trick you can do with TiVo and Netflix. If you’re unfamiliar with TiVo and Netflix because you’re poor (probably an extra expense you should do without), then let me explain. If you already know about them, then […]

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Day 19 — Legit Jobs on Craigslist

I’m back in job-hunting mode now that I’ve finished a small freelance assignment. Freelancing in today’s market brings chump change. It’s not a time to start if you don’t have an established clientele. Nonetheless, I appreciate the extra few hundred dollars I earn each month, which I’m considering not reporting because the amount is so […]

Day 18 — Fired, Part II

First, I got fired by my company. Then, I got fired by boyfriend, and he did it in such a classless way—by email—after almost two years of being his lover and friend. In both cases, I was left shattered and emotionally distraught, like I didn’t see it coming. But I had, sort of. With my […]

Day 17 — Grrrs and Growls

The most humiliating thing I did today was to take the X2 bus from the Gallery Place Metro to attend D.C.’s “job club” in Northeast Washington. I had failed to appear on two other occasions because I couldn’t face going down to the unemployment office again. The office is depressing and smells like Pine-Sol. Everything […]

Day 16 — Neutered Reality: It Bites

A cat’s life isn’t so bad. Mine get fed every day, sometimes twice. I change their litter, with Fresh Step, and keep their water bowl filled. When I’m away, I have a stable of cat moms who like to come over and play with them. They turn my house into a cat-toy testing facility and […]

Day 15 — Here Kitty, Kitty

I have a money-saving secret that would be too selfish to keep to myself. Since there is no Medicaid for animals, and maybe there should be because I’ve noticed that poor people seem to have a lot of pets, you can still spay and neuter your cat for less than the $250 a Northwest DC […]

Day 14 — Date Fair

  If employers can have job fairs, then why can’t I have a date fair? That’s right, I’m going to contact all the Match.com guys who want to meet me and invite them to my stand-up comedy show at the Topaz bar in Washington, DC. They all seem interested enough. I imagine they’d laugh loudly […]

Day 13 — Dream Jobs Part II

Some jobs are to fantasize for. They’d bring me instant fame, lottery-like income, enough to fly to San Juan, Costa Rica, and drive to Quepos to see if the hot proprietor of a hotel I stayed at while married still remembers me. He’s got to be rich as hell. Speaks Spanish, too, and that would […]

Day 12 — Aim for All-Cash Deal

Untangling your relationship with your former employer can take several weeks, if not months, if you don’t roll over and do what the HR person says, which is to sign the severance agreement right away because, after all, the package is so generous, how could you possibly turn it down? Actually, they want to get rid of you as fast as you