Dealing with unemployment - anyone else?

[IvonaDestroi]

Let me just add a footnote to what crazycanuck has said.

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's hypocrisy.

Selling out isn't about conforming a bit on the outside so you can keep body and soul together and, more important, PAY THE PEOPLE YOU OWE.

Selling out is about lying, cheating, and stealing. It's about lack of integrity. It's about selfishness.

Is your sense of self and integrity is so shallow and poorly rooted that it can be damaged by moderating your appearance so you can get a job and pay your bills? It's a shame if so.

If you want to talk about ethics, then don't try to paint the fact that you are running out on debts you ran up in good faith as if it's a great adventure of self-expression and "being true" to some higher good.

When you borrow money and then don't make a good-faith effort to pay it off, that's stealing. That's lying, because you are going back on the agreement you made when you borrowed the money. That's a lack of integrity, because you are willfully breaking the promises you made. That's selfish, because you're taking off to play when what is needed is to work and pay back the people you owe.

I think credit card companies are one of the greatest evils on the face of the planet, and I haven't had a credit card in 20 years. But the truth is that you took out those "high interest credit cards", no one forced you to take them and, more to the point, USE them. You took out those student loans, there was no corporate enforcer standing with a gun to your head forcing you to do so.

If this conversation has become about "hair color", it's because you have made it THE issue. Not us. You're the one who thinks that changing the color of your hair is somehow going to soil and dirty your soul.

In a sense, you're right. You're hair color really DOESN'T matter, in the greater scheme of things. And SINCE it doesn't matter, it shouldn't matter if you change it so you can get a job and pay your bills.

It all sounds very high-minded. But in the end it's an excuse to run out on your responsibilities. Because you are too inflexible and rigid to even consider moderating your appearance - which is, after all, even LESS than skin deep, being that it's ALL surface stuff - you are unlikely to get a job to pay the bills you ran up. Running off to Europe isn't going to change any of the societal ills you are complaining about, or do a thing to pay off any of your bills. Flying on the plane means you are partaking of the evils you blame on McDonald's and Starbucks; riding trains on your "Euro youth pass", hitching rides, you're partaking of the benefits of the society you decry; even eating food that you didn't grow yourself means you are benefiting from the evil, evil, horrible society you think the world has only recently become.

What was that? What's the definition of hypocrisy?

You don't fight evil by running away. You fight evil by starting with the small evils that we meet in every day life. You fight evil by not lying; by not cheating; by not stealing; by living up to the responsibilities you took on, by keeping your promises. Even when it's hard. Even when, horror of horrors! - it means wearing clothes you don't like.

It's not about not drinking Starbucks Coffee. It's not about not eating at McDonalds. It's not about, thank god, eating out of dumpsters from some warped sense of moral superiority.

You fight evil by resisting it in your daily life.

You don't start on a global scale; you start with your self, your own life. You start by keeping your promises.

You start with the woman in the mirror.

And if that takes actual, real sacrifice, then you make that sacrifice, such as, say, by facing your responsibilities and doing whatever it takes to get a job and pay your bills instead of taking your security deposit and going gallivanting across Europe. Talk about exploitative; you want to go on safari, LOL! And one of the MOST exploitative industries on the planet is the very fashion industry you so badly want to plug yourself into.

You know, joining the peace corps not only permits you to be of service to others - REAL service, not the lip service of withholding $5 for a double chocolate mocha latte with extra foam from Starbucks - it also puts your student loans on hold, giving you some legitimate breathing space while you figure a few things out. It gives you the opportunity to right some of those evils you talk about so blithely in the abstract, only up close and personal. It would give you some badly needed experience with the real world and the people who actually HAVE to live in it. It would give you experiences that could not only lead to personal growth, but to learning and honing skills that will be useful in a wide variety of job situations. Maybe working for an organization focused on righting some of the BIG wrongs you talk about. It might serve your soul better than becoming just another fashionista, don't you think?

All this talk about regretting things undone is silly; you're 25 years old. You have plenty of time to work, meet your responsibilities, save up, and go on safari some other time when it won't mean ducking out on your debts.

Ok, I have no idea where on earth you got that I didn't intend to pay off my debts. The whole point of saving up for a couple months includes an amount I'd set aside for credit cards (I'm looking at like $50 - $100 a month total for credit cards, and they don't have balances that are THAT high- they're not maxed out or anything). I just havn't been able to pay them lately because of the starving student syndrome and subsequent difficulties in finding work (which i am still looking very hard for). I'm doing everything I can be doing, so don't get the impression I'm ducking out. I have every intention of paying this stuff off.

With student loans they dont even start charging you for 6 months after you graduate, so I don't have to start those payments for 5 more months, and after that they said I could easily defer further if I needed to, although at that point I should at least cover the interest payments.

Hypocrasy in politics- not getting into it. I never used the word "sell out". I don't use that word and honestly I dont really believe there is such a thing.

There are many contradictions in life. An anarchist in a capitalist society still has to survive within that capitalist society. That causes many contradictions and requires much compromise. That doesn't mean their political views and beliefs have to change. You can believe whatever you want, you have that right. I have the right to believe in different things then you do. We all have that right, so like I said, lets just agree to disagree on that for now.

You can't boycott everything, but you can at least boycott some things. I try to keep 2 major food corporations on my boycott list at all times, and they change once in a while. Right now it's starbucks and mcdonalds. Something is better then nothing, is my point. I still have to stay alive in this world you know. And I'm not saying everything in this society is bad either, or that i lie cheat and steal. In fact those kinds of actions are probably just as against my ethics as they are in yours. . I honestly have no idea where you're getting all of this from.

Maybe if you pulled that stereotype that you have of me out of your head we could have a reasonable conversation... you just seem really prejudiced as if you have some knowledge of how "my kind" of people are... I'm not most of the things that you just described, and it bothers me that you would judge me right off the bat like that.

[ZenSojourner]

Ok, I have no idea where on earth you got that I didn't intend to pay off my debts.

From your very first posting:

"So here I am. My 2 very high interest credit card bills have gone unpaid for 3 months. My unemployment ran out, and can not be extended. My bank account is almost empty."

Then later:

"I have a friend that did this quite regularly to England and was deported a few times back to the U.S. (free trip home?) "

in response to the suggestion that you pay some of those bills off with your security deposit instead of kiting off to Europe:

"Europe would be paid by the deposit I get back from moving out, which is just enough for a ticket. hence the 30 day notice."

Since you don't have a job I'm curious as to where you're going to save anything up to put towards this stuff. I hope you get a job, I truly, truly do, but in your subsequent postings it seemed that you were making it very clear that you intend to leave to go "on safari" just as soon as ever you may so you can get a Youth Europass before your birthday in a few months.

If you DO intend to buckle down and pay stuff off, that's great. More power to you. Wonderful. But you keep changing what you are saying so it's a little hard to keep track of your actual intentions, especially when coupled with statements about how you may not even come back from Europe.

As for the issue of who is and isn't a sellout, don't be disingenuous. You didn't use the exact term, but every time you talk about changing your appearance in order to get a job, you make it clear that you think it that if you were to give up your pink hair, it would impinge on your integrity, and that those of us who have made such compromises have compromised more than a little surface appearance. That's the definition of being a sellout. I'm not the only one who has used the term in response to your statements, so let's drop that bit of high dudgeon right now.

As for my alleged "prejudice", LOL! Do you HAVE a "kind of people"? I have never made any statement that wasn't DIRECTLY based on what you have said on this forum, which, I might add, has changed with whichever way the wind seems to be blowing. It doesn't apply to anyone else. Only you and the words coming directly out of your mouth (or keyboard I guess I should say, LOL!)

As for not wanting to get embroiled in a "political discussion of hypocrisy", you're the one who started in with the holier-than-thou posting about the evils of society, not drinking Starbuck's coffee because they support slavery, etc. etc. etc. I have no idea where that came from but it was obviously important to you since you went on about it at some length.

However, when I'm talking about hypocrisy, it has not a thing to do with politics and everything to do with your continued insistence that appearance IS integrity (and no wonder then that you are going into the very shallow and self-focused fashion industry). You give us a long posting about how wonderful the opportunity is to go traveling, and I would agree with that - if it weren't for your previous statements about not paying your bills, not having any money to pay your bills, and using what cash in hand you're about to receive to go to Europe rather than paying your bills with it.

Throwing up strawmen and making ad hominem attacks (about us being too conservative; making condescending remarks about how we remind you of your fuddy-duddy mother who thinks you're going through a phase; calling me a bigot; etc etc etc) isn't going to change anything that's gone on here.

For example:

"well, you know, your generation probably had much more conservative attitudes then my own. For you, this type of thing is probably considered an extremity of some sort, a youthful and unrealistic phase in life that one will eventually "snap out of".

You have to understand that as time goes on, things that were previously considered exotic quickly become socially acceptable. You remind me so much of my mother, with the idea that that it's just a childish rebellious attitude to grow out of. 10 years later it's still 'just a phase'..."

Can't help it, I think it's REALLY funny that you're telling some of US what happens when time goes on, LOL! On top of that there are a lot of people involved in this discussion who, if they weren't exactly instrumental in developing the punk movement, at least grew up with it. The fact is that it IS an extreme of appearance, just as Amish dress and comportment is an extreme at the opposite end of the spectrum. One's not better than the other, nor worse either; but being extremes, there are consequences to adopting either one.

You posted looking for sympathy, and believe it or not, you got it, in spades. But you need to take at least some of the advice you've been given about how to dig yourself out of the mess you're in. You asked for it, after all. But then you blew it all off. And these women don't deserve to be blown off.

Again, if you ACTUALLY have a workable plan to pay those bills before you go, that's great. You didn't communicate that to us, quite the opposite in fact. If you've got $100 a month in credit card payments to make, and you're 3 months behind; if you're going to be gone for 5 or 6 months; we're talking on the order of $1000 for credit card payments alone. In the absence of a job, I'm wondering where that's going to come from.

I hope things work out for you, I truly do. All I can say is that they're more likely to work out if you WORK at MAKING them work out. Maybe you're doing that, but that's not what you've communicated. What you've communicated is that you're behind on your bills, you have no income, you have no job prospects, you have no interest in doing anything to increase the chance of getting a job, you're going to use the only cash in sight to run off to Europe, you don't want to wait to go because you want to get out there before your birthday so you'll still qualify for a cheap train ticket, you only need a one way ticket because you're assuming you can get deported home, but that doesn't matter that much because who knows, maybe you won't even come back to the US at all.

It's not prejudice or judgmentalism that is behind the comments you've been getting. It's your own words.

[Jones]

If you can't pay your credit cards, even short term you should call the company's and tell them. Some times they will give you a break with late fees and such.
You really can't claim you are doing all that you can do to find a job if you refuse to change your hair color. There are many places that will not hire people with "unnatural" hair color, even in the bay area and they may never tell you that is the reason they didn't hire you.
Good luck on the job hunt I hope you find something soon.
Jones

[fastdogs]

wow, zensojourner, great post. I started to reply a few times, but you all are doing great with advice, whether it's wanted or not.
I know from a later post that the OP isn't really needing a job (going to europe), but if I were hiring and there were two applicants- one dressed like she had a chip on her shoulder and one dressed like she wanted a job, I guess I'd hire the person who made an effort to get ready for a job interview.
I've never worn the clothes I interviewed in since, but you better believe I wanted to look just as professional as the other people interviewing, even if it's for a job where we'll wear scrubs most of the time.
I hope you get over the idea that your whole "self" is based on how you look. I won't tell my sister, so proud of her thick auburn hair, that she's somehow not true to herself since the chemo.
vickie

[redrhodie]

I think the thing that seems to have been lost is this thread is the main problem--there are no jobs. The crummy, low level, unskilled ones that students have always counted on for a paycheck are all filled. I might add, the better paying, skilled, white collar ones are disappearing, too.

Being in the arts, I have many friends who are being hit really hard. I'm thanking my lucky stars to still have work right now. One of my friends, who is a college professor, and has work in museums, is trying to get a job at a grocery store. Her husband's company has laid off 75% of its workers. It's unlikely he'll be employed much longer. They have a baby. They need health insurance, which she doesn't get working part time.

Ivana, I'm glad you see your options. You will get through this.

[IvonaDestroi]

From your very first posting:


Then later:


in response to the suggestion that you pay some of those bills off with your security deposit instead of kiting off to Europe:


Since you don't have a job I'm curious as to where you're going to save anything up to put towards this stuff. I hope you get a job, I truly, truly do, but in your subsequent postings it seemed that you were making it very clear that you intend to leave to go "on safari" just as soon as ever you may so you can get a Youth Europass before your birthday in a few months.

If you DO intend to buckle down and pay stuff off, that's great. More power to you. Wonderful. But you keep changing what you are saying so it's a little hard to keep track of your actual intentions, especially when coupled with statements about how you may not even come back from Europe.

As for the issue of who is and isn't a sellout, don't be disingenuous. You didn't use the exact term, but every time you talk about changing your appearance in order to get a job, you make it clear that you think it that if you were to give up your pink hair, it would impinge on your integrity, and that those of us who have made such compromises have compromised more than a little surface appearance. That's the definition of being a sellout. I'm not the only one who has used the term in response to your statements, so let's drop that bit of high dudgeon right now.

As for my alleged "prejudice", LOL! Do you HAVE a "kind of people"? I have never made any statement that wasn't DIRECTLY based on what you have said on this forum, which, I might add, has changed with whichever way the wind seems to be blowing. It doesn't apply to anyone else. Only you and the words coming directly out of your mouth (or keyboard I guess I should say, LOL!)

As for not wanting to get embroiled in a "political discussion of hypocrisy", you're the one who started in with the holier-than-thou posting about the evils of society, not drinking Starbuck's coffee because they support slavery, etc. etc. etc. I have no idea where that came from but it was obviously important to you since you went on about it at some length.

However, when I'm talking about hypocrisy, it has not a thing to do with politics and everything to do with your continued insistence that appearance IS integrity (and no wonder then that you are going into the very shallow and self-focused fashion industry). You give us a long posting about how wonderful the opportunity is to go traveling, and I would agree with that - if it weren't for your previous statements about not paying your bills, not having any money to pay your bills, and using what cash in hand you're about to receive to go to Europe rather than paying your bills with it.

Throwing up strawmen and making ad hominem attacks (about us being too conservative; making condescending remarks about how we remind you of your fuddy-duddy mother who thinks you're going through a phase; calling me a bigot; etc etc etc) isn't going to change anything that's gone on here.

For example:



Can't help it, I think it's REALLY funny that you're telling some of US what happens when time goes on, LOL! On top of that there are a lot of people involved in this discussion who, if they weren't exactly instrumental in developing the punk movement, at least grew up with it. The fact is that it IS an extreme of appearance, just as Amish dress and comportment is an extreme at the opposite end of the spectrum. One's not better than the other, nor worse either; but being extremes, there are consequences to adopting either one.

You posted looking for sympathy, and believe it or not, you got it, in spades. But you need to take at least some of the advice you've been given about how to dig yourself out of the mess you're in. You asked for it, after all. But then you blew it all off. And these women don't deserve to be blown off.

Again, if you ACTUALLY have a workable plan to pay those bills before you go, that's great. You didn't communicate that to us, quite the opposite in fact. If you've got $100 a month in credit card payments to make, and you're 3 months behind; if you're going to be gone for 5 or 6 months; we're talking on the order of $1000 for credit card payments alone. In the absence of a job, I'm wondering where that's going to come from.

I hope things work out for you, I truly do. All I can say is that they're more likely to work out if you WORK at MAKING them work out. Maybe you're doing that, but that's not what you've communicated. What you've communicated is that you're behind on your bills, you have no income, you have no job prospects, you have no interest in doing anything to increase the chance of getting a job, you're going to use the only cash in sight to run off to Europe, you don't want to wait to go because you want to get out there before your birthday so you'll still qualify for a cheap train ticket, you only need a one way ticket because you're assuming you can get deported home, but that doesn't matter that much because who knows, maybe you won't even come back to the US at all.

It's not prejudice or judgmentalism that is behind the comments you've been getting. It's your own words.

Ok, I see the confusion here. The bill thing - I couldn't pay them because I needed food at that time initially. That does not mean that I do not intend to pay them when I can. Guess what? If you're in another country, theres a thing called a bank account that makes it possible to pay off bills even if you're not there!

The point of looking for work is saving up for this trip, part of saving up includes an amount set aside for at least 4-5 months of bills. When I get a job, I will put money into a "saving up for europoe" account, and part of that will pay the bills while I'm gone. Right now my first paycheck will be enough to get me all caught up on those, and since I won't have rent to pay, that is exactly where the entire thing will go. Then I can use the next check for saving up more for bills, and that check will probably cover the next few months of bills, my payments shouldn't bee too high after I'm caught up.

Only after that does saving up ticket funding/spending money come into play. I'm getting super cheap tickets thanks to my aunt, so I don't need more then a couple months to save up enough. 5 months is plenty of time, if I can get work soon. Make sense now?


Politics and hypocrasy again- i'm keeping this short because I'm really tired of talking about it and it's sort of irrelevant. I explained the starbucks thing because I was trying to explain how this is all one, big, giant lifestyle that I've had since I was a kid. I was trying to give you a background on why my hair was important - because it's part of that giant lifestyle. That was the only reason I put it in there, because it's hard to explain without you guys knowing what goes on behind all of that.

you can use the term sell out all you want, that is your perception of how you think things like this work. I don't use that word and never did.

I know you think the fashion industry is shallow. Believe me, you should have seen some of my classmates!!! I'm not going for the Gucci side. I'm going for things along the lines of Blackspot shoes, No Sweat apparel, and Global Exchange.

At what point did I use the term "bigot"? I did not. Please stop quoting things that I never said.

You can quote my exact words, and you will notice that many things you are saying are conclusions you drew from what I said, not the original statements. I also never called my mother fuddy duddy... Are you kidding?! My mother rocks so let's stop with bringing her into this and calling her names.

ok, enough with the negative... can we stop this now it's getting ridiculous. I didn't come on her to argue. Just because I don't agree with everything you say does not mean I'm not listening or thinking about it.

You have made a few really good points that are probably right, but it's hard to talk with you when you keep putting words in my mouth and using your conclusions as if they were my statements. Take a deep breath, all you are doing right now is putting me on the defense. Does that make you feel better? I certainly don't feel better when I walk away from this thread now, do you?

people read what you say and think that is what I said to you. It's not, and they are getting a completely wrong impression. You are using your conclusions from my statements as fact, when really that's never what I said at all.

If you would please stop doing that I would appreciate it. I do want to talk to you and I do respect your experience. But not if you're going to act like this then that makes it impossible.

Whew! ok enough of that, alright? Now then, I agree with you on the following points:


I should have been more specific on the bills thing.

you do have to MAKE things happen. Which is exactly what I am trying to do here.

Amish and Punk are both extreme and niether is better then the other. In fact, if you think about it, Amish people are almost like anarchists. Minus the religion, that is. I think we could learn a lot from them and how they live their lives. Because both are at extremes, they do have consequences. As I've said before, I'm willing to accept those consequences.

What I am dealing with here is a result of those consequences at a minumum, because the look is really not what bothers employers out here. Like I said, the customer base for many places I've applied includes people with wierd hair and tattoos (extremely common here), so it can actually be an asset to identify with that customer base as an employee.

I don't think it's hindering me quite as much as you think it is. And even though there is a small minority of places that wouldn't hire me based on that, I am willing to accept that as a resulting consequence of my lifestyle.

So the problem here, in a way, includes a minute portion of my lifestyle and a very large portion of places not hiring or having tons of applicants for what few positions are available. Changing my hair won't make a huge difference, I'm applying at coffee shops, tattoo parlors, bike shops, etc... where many employees look a lot like me.

OMG theres a mouse on my floor... Where are those cats when you need them!

Anyways. So let me re-communicate the many misunderstandings here:

I am losing my place next month. That's ok, because I am looking for a job in order to save up some money for Europe (this savings includes bills I'm behind on and future payments on them), and I can save much faster without paying rent. I have quite a few resources here in terms of places to stay in the mean time (Lots of squats, punk houses, etc... ). I'm doing my best to rehome the second cat, and won't let him go to a shelter. And, most importantly, I am aggressively looking for a job to get the ball rolling on all of this.

Alrighty then, I hope this resolved some of the many issues we're having here. I hope that from here on in we can be a little less aggressive and judgemental on both of our parts, ok?

[lph]

You know what? I think you sound pretty dang impressive, Ivona. Best of luck to you.

[ZenSojourner]

At what point did I use the term "bigot"? I did not. Please stop quoting things that I never said.

Maybe if you pulled that stereotype that you have of me out of your head we could have a reasonable conversation... you just seem really prejudiced as if you have some knowledge of how "my kind" of people are...

Bigot is the word for someone who is prejudiced and judgmental. I'm not going to go back and pull the exact quotes, but the whole sellout thing is also warranted, given that it's a synonym for the words/phrases that you DID use. C'mon, you strike me as being pretty intelligent - you know where those words are coming from.

I'm glad you seem to have more of a plan than you at first communicated to us. I still think you are FAR underestimating the effects of your appearance on your ability to get a job, but you'll either find that out for yourself, or you'll find a job. I'm not so wedded to the notion of being right that the latter eventuality doesn't hold FAR more appeal, LOL!

I'm seriously worried about you being homeless and "squatting" on the street and I surely hope that doesn't last long. Homeless issues are something I've been very aware of since the mid-80's and it just keeps getting worse. Even the best of friends will only put you up for so long. I really do hope you find something before feelings of hospitality run out. I've been homeless too, when I was younger than you are now, and it's a dangerous thing. Sometimes people you THINK are your friends will show their true colors when you're down and out and try to take advantage. Just be alert. Hopefully you won't be faced with that sort of betrayal, but be aware of the possibility.

We all wish you the best, whatever else you may think. Best of luck.

[IvonaDestroi]

Bigot is the word for someone who is prejudiced and judgmental. I'm not going to go back and pull the exact quotes, but the whole sellout thing is also warranted, given that it's a synonym for the words/phrases that you DID use. C'mon, you strike me as being pretty intelligent - you know where those words are coming from.

I'm glad you seem to have more of a plan than you at first communicated to us. I still think you are FAR underestimating the effects of your appearance on your ability to get a job, but you'll either find that out for yourself, or you'll find a job. I'm not so wedded to the notion of being right that the latter eventuality doesn't hold FAR more appeal, LOL!

I'm seriously worried about you being homeless and "squatting" on the street and I surely hope that doesn't last long. Homeless issues are something I've been very aware of since the mid-80's and it just keeps getting worse. Even the best of friends will only put you up for so long. I really do hope you find something before feelings of hospitality run out. I've been homeless too, when I was younger than you are now, and it's a dangerous thing. Sometimes people you THINK are your friends will show their true colors when you're down and out and try to take advantage. Just be alert. Hopefully you won't be faced with that sort of betrayal, but be aware of the possibility.

We all wish you the best, whatever else you may think. Best of luck.

yea, you know it's not as nice as having your own place but I guess I'd consider it more like being houseless then homeless. One of my best friends right down the street is always down for letting people stay there, he's had a ton of people come and go for both long and short term stints. Luckily for me, he can't stand being by himself so he's always happy to have people over (what I'm more worried about is the constant large groups of people/parties all the time!)

Theres also quite a few community warehouse/venue types of places where I can always crash as well, and also a few friends' houses for a once in awhile thing. So I don't think I'll really have to squat so much, although I do know of a couple places just in case.

Before I moved here I lived in a van for 2 years travelling, so I'm pretty experienced with dealing with the shady side of things. My internal alarm signal seems to work very well. I've been in some scary situations before but I always found a way to get out of them safely. The most important thing is listening to your instinct, which I am exceptioinally good at, so I'm not too worried. I feel like I know how to handle it if I have too.

Amusingly, both my roomates have decided to jump on the houseless train and save up some cash of their own! Apparently it is that bad economically..., A lot of people I know are moving out right now, so, well, at least I'm not alone

[jobob]

I wish you all the best, Ivona. Sincerely.

[Bluetree]

Ivona, let me give you some advice, if I may... I have been in a similar situation as you have. Well, not the houseless part, but the professional/arts/music part.

Deciding a profession in the arts (or any creative field) is a difficult thing. When it comes to your desire to work as a fashion designer, you have to be committed. How much do you want it? You want it bad? Well, guess what... someone is around the corner who is even hungrier for it than you are. You are a situation where there are thousands like you, many whom have more talent, resources, education, connections, charisma and yes, even luck.

But the good news is, in some ways, you make your own luck. You do it by working harder and being tougher skinned than those around you. You do it by deliberately placing yourself in the way of opportunities and opening your mind to possibilities, even if they do not fall in line with your preconceptions.

This is what I did when I was in school and looking for a way to build a reputation: I did stuff for free... lots of stuff... for years.... ***sigh ***
Since I was in a creative-type world (academically and socially) I gravitated towards those with other kinds of talents (those who were as poor as I was) and tried to help them as much as possible. I designed flyers for free, I designed tattoos, I roadied for bands, I put them up on my floor, I did gruntwork for alternative weeklies and freebies, I made friends with musicians, artists, actors, the like. I never asked anything in return from them except the experience I was gaining.

But a remarkable thing happened over the years. Those dirt poor creative-types matured, got jobs and started climbing up the ladder. And when they needed album covers, portfolios, portraits, advertising, etc. they called me. As luck would have it, some of those bands who slept on my floor and played at my birthday parties are now headlining stadiums. That snotnosed college radio kid now has a nationwide show on ESPN. And that young night-school law student now is a partner in a firm and can afford my $10k paintings. It didn’t happen overnight, but it did come together after years of hard work in obscurity.

You may not have a job in your field right now, but that does not mean you can’t be working at it (you’re just not getting a paycheck). If I were you, I’d find those punk bands –*or any kind of alternative musician – and offer to make clothes for them. Not just one or two, but as many as you can. Find those with the talent and drive to be more than a back-yard hero and ask for nothing in return except a promise that they will promote you and your name. Ask them to mention your name on stage, or on their website or on their albums. It's a good tradeoff. Build a reputation and start marketing yourself.

You do not need to invest in the finest materials. I recently saw a show called RuPaul’s Drag Race where contestants vying for the title “Next Drag Queen Superstar” had to make drag outfits out of homely, thrift store castoffs. A few of the contestants showed their savvy and resourcefulness by making some truly spectacular pieces.

It may not work, but you’ll never know if you don’t try. If your designs are good enough, unique enough, people will notice. The cream always rises.

Good luck.




BTW... You might have read Sun Tzu’s Art of War (an ancient military treatise whose competitive strategies as well know in the business world). Well, there is also a book called The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. His publisher says he “lays out the day-by-day, step-by-step campaign of the professional: preparation, order, patience, endurance, acting in the face of fear and failure-no excuses, no b*llsh*t.” I highly recommend it.