Unemployment Sucks; or You Should Really Give Me A Job

Over the past two years I've seen things I never wanted to see, like my mom dying; I've done things I never thought I'd do, like flipping my car into a river off of a dirt road (and then having the ability to walk away without so much as a broken bone!); and endured more than four months now of unemployment while not qualifying for unemployment insurance. None of my jobs have ever been full time for more than maybe two months. That's the problem with retail and gas stations- the work's not steady. So I've pretty much constantly been part time, barely scraping by, but I've always scraped by.

Unemployment is a lot like depression in my experience, and since I'm dealing with both currently it's a lot like having two obnoxious, unwelcome guests who just won't leave. I've got 168 hours every week, and literally nothing to do with most of them. Yes, I probably sleep roughly 40 of those hours away, but that still leaves 128 hours of nothing. 

I could write, but the anxiety of not having some form of actual income keeps me from writing more than a few minutes at a time. I've filled out more applications than I've ever cared to even know exist, and I've even taken to touring ALL of the local parks and just chilling in the parking lot in my van, watching the world go by. It's a very boring existence, not having a job at my age. 

This time, I'm not so sure it's gonna happen. I've been unemployed since February 27th after my former boss and I had a bit of a falling out (The nitty gritty is I quit after working there on again/off again for six years- didn't quite think that through but in the end it is better for my mental health that I not work there anymore) and have literally covered Fridley and the surrounding area with my resume and application. I've got a craigslist ad (it's funny, and desperate. You can see it (And reply to it!) here:http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ank/res/3765054944.html) and I've also got an indiegogo campaign. 

For those of you who don't know what indiegogo is, it's a crowdsourcing platform for just about anything (legal) you can think and do. There's people raising money for surgery for their pets, for chemotherapy for their mothers, for comic book series, for schools to teach kids about their heritages, and for lonely writers from Fridley, Minnesota to try to extend their existence on this rock. Of course, my campaign fits into that last category.

There's only 18 days left on my campaign, and as optimistic as I'd like to be about its outcome, I highly doubt it's gonna get much farther than it has. Which is why I figure I have nothing to lose by posting it here. Maybe my hometown can prove that Minnesota Nice is actually a thing (although really, if you think about it, it isn't.) http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cedarcrest-series/x/1618499

There are some really swell perks you can get for donating various amounts to the campaign, all the way up to the highly coveted (Yet largely unreachable) "I'll be the victim!" $1000 level which earns all other perks AND your name (or a name of your choosing) as the victim in an upcoming book in the series.

Also I would like to announce that I'm working on another book series set in Fridley. Hoping to release the first book within the next 6 months. I will post here when I have more details.

As the Vlogbrothers would say, DFTBA, Fridley.