Girl on the Brink: Surviving Desperate Times with Desperate Measures

Day 83 — Business Barbie

My ex said I looked like Business Barbie today when I left for a job interview. Yeah, he was right. When you fit a size 2 figure into a business suit, and wear nylons (he noticed) and pumps, that’s what you get. I also had slightly straightened my fake blond hair and put on some makeup, [...]

Day 82 — Unemployment Nation

Add up the state populations of 16 states—minus minors and the over sixty-fivers—and what do you get? The number of jobless Americans, or 14.5 million individuals, the latest figure released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That said, the unemployed, give or take a few thousand, would occupy the 18- to 64-year-old working populations in [...]

Day 81 — The Busy Unemployed

Faster than the employed file out of office buildings for lunch. Able to leap into closing Metro doors in a single bound. Look! Up ahead of you! It’s your old boss. It’s your ex. It’s the Unemployed! Yes, the Unemployed—laid off from a crummy job and now paddling down Metro escalators with the determination and job skills far beyond [...]

Day 80 — Living with Your Ex

My ex and I had another major blowout. It’s one of the reasons that you should not live with your former spouse. But these turbulent times alter the traditional landscape of how life moves on when there is no money to move forward with. We argued about money, which is one of the many reasons we [...]

Day 79 — Unemployedish

As I was walking past Whole Foods yesterday, a woman with a stud through her eyebrow, butch haircut and tattooed arms just happened to catch my eye. But her turquoise T-shirt with the word “gayish” blazoned over the front (she really could have worn a better bra) stood out the most. I ask, can anyone be [...]

Day 78 — The Reborn Employee

How Ann envisions the new workplace once the recession is over.

Day 77 — Erotic Thought of the Day

I don’t know about you, but those cute little books on thoughts or prayers for a day to help you get through tough-luck times don’t cut it with me. I find them sappy and spiritual beyond my religious upbringing. Look, you Match.com guys, I am not a “Christian woman.” I chewed my communion wafer in [...]