So here's the current situation I'm dealing with right now. I'm 21 and renting a room in Brooklyn, NY. I was previously working at a non-profit charity helping kids in poverty by getting them sponsors through street fundraising. They have a quota you have to meet (4 a day) and after 3 weeks or so, they decided I wasn't able to meet their standards and let me go. In the mean time, I had been on the streets of Manhattan holding a humorous sign, asking people for money. That was working fine and barely paying my rent ($600/month but I pay weekly to make it easier on myself) until the temperature dropped below 30 and I couldn't stand the cold/brutal winds anymore. I met a woman named Pat one night doing this and she talked to me for a second and explained what she does for a living (debt settlement) and explained what it entailed. She offered me an interview with her manager within the next day or two, which I kindly accepted. I made it to said interview and all went well and I started the next day. Now, this job is strictly commission with no salary or hourly wage. You set the hours you want to work and all the people there are chill. I started doing this last Friday and in the process have almost closed a deal with someone, I'm just waiting to get the e-mail back from her, which could take anywhere from a day to a month. Here's where the trouble comes into play. My rent was due today, my cell phone bill is due tomorrow and I don't have a single morsel of food to eat in my apartment. I also don't have more than $0.50 to my name at this point in time. My landlord didn't call me or anything, but she will soon. When she does, I'm going to explain the entire situation to her and hope she can bear with me on this. She knows I just switched jobs but doesn't know this job is paid on commission though, so hopefully it's kosher with her. I'm trying to find another job right now in addition to the debt settlement thing, but I'm not receiving any emails or phone calls back at all. I've tried sending out resumes, putting in applications, and contacting every job in the "Gigs" section of craigslist I possibly qualify for. Nothing at all. My phone is also off tomorrow, so that doesn't help me out one bit in this whole process. On top of this all, there's some family issues I'm trying to figure out. It seems my family doesn't deem me important enough to contact at all. I didn't receive any calls on Thanksgiving (I spent this with a friend and his mother and sister) from any of my family members, so I went and called my mom, my dad and my grandparents (my direct family). None of them answered and I left voice mails on both their home and cell phones. I still haven't received a call back from any of them. My mom's birthday was yesterday and I again called her home and cell phone and left messages. No reply at all. With all this said, I feel like I'm going to be alone for the holidays, which REALLY depresses me. I can't even afford to go somewhere or at least smoke a bowl on Christmas at this point in time. Thanksgiving was one thing, but please at lease give me the courtesy of a call before the holidays to see how things are going in my life. I haven't done a single thing to harm or offend any of my family members in the past years, so there isn't any reason for this avoidance that I can figure. After typing this all up and realizing everything it's making me sad. I just need advice on this whole situation and how to play it out. I've talked to a few people about this and haven't gotten any sound advice as of yet. Someone please cheer up my spirits and make my holidays a tiny bit better.
I'd smoke you out. Honestly, i can't relate to what you're going through. But i will say this, the holidays are what you make them. You can either put a ton of emphasis or importance on them like a lot of people do... or you can take it for what it really is. just a day on the calendar with small italicized print that says "Christmas Day". It's all just a festivity that mankind has made up for itself and really doesn't matter at all in the grand scheme of things. Yeah, it does suck that your family is ignoring you, but if they're gonna be douches, well then that's their problem. you sound like a great guy, so it's their loss. Considering you've done some charitable work, maybe its time to think about yourself. I'm sure you're aware of some kind of charitable organizations in your area that could help you out. There's nothing wrong with asking for help.
This is what my friend texted me about christmas a couple days ago: i hate christmas. i think it's a huge load of commercial wank that should be chopped off at the knees for everyone over the age of ten. I'll leave out what she said about the ham, because that probably won't help. I know that doesn't help out your situation, but she's right. For a lot of people it's just another day. Many of us have been through poor ass holidays, and they definitely suck... but it's always funny to laugh about later on. I hope the debt settlement comes through for you, and you get some food to eat.
Alright here's an update. My phone was turned on through an EXTREMELY gracious person I hardly know, so that's in order. I went out with my sign tonight and was in one of the subway stations and I made about $20 in a few hours and was about to call it a night when (about 12:15) this Australian gentleman walked up and read the sign. He asked what I really needed help with and I explained it very briefly to him. He gave me $100 and almost brought me to tears. I'm going to give that $100 to my landlord, and hopefully pay her $200 next saturday (I believe I may be able to do so based on a number of factors) and everything should be straightened out. Remember, this is me being optimistic here, so hope for the best. Christmas party at the office tomorrow, which will be a nice gift for me. They're getting it catered and I'm assuming they're going to have a nice selection of pricey liquor, which will be a nice change. Oh and I got a text from a friend I was working at the charity with (he no longer works there due to better opportunities) and he invited me to come up to Jersey with him and celebrate there. Oh how fast things change, eh? My faith in humanity as a whole is changed from when I first posted this thread. I must have some good karma built up somewhere or something. I need to smoke.....isn't there ALWAYS a reason to smoke though
Hell yeah man. Everyone has bumps in the road, but the main thing is you gotta stay optimistic. Seems as though some kind of good karma is on your side. And you always have to remember what Bob Marley once said.. "Everything is gonna be alright" happy holidays bro, have a good one
I just wanted to say its good to see somebody on this forum say god bless you. If your need it, go to a church though ask for some help. I am not saying convert or go every sunday, just ask for help and give whatever help you can in return. And listen. And be open, things will work out. It will at the least help you not starve. And ask your landlord if you can work for them to help pay your rent. hope you have a good Christmas though, if things dont go like you want buy a bottle of vodka(from holding your sign) and find a homeless guy. To share the holiday spirit with Oh and God bless you
I'm definitely going to pray for things to get better for you. You seem like a very good person with great intentions. I'm sorry things aren't working now, but if you keep your optimism and keep at it things will all fall in place. You seem to be working really hard to get shit straight, hard work is rewarded. Good luck and God bless.
Damn man, I feel real bad about your situation. I really hope nothing but the best for you. If you ever make it out to Cali I can get you lined up with a place to stay for a little. As for a job, I am still looking myself. Stay up brotha, PM me if times get rough again. I'll help out
Or a neighbor or two who forgot to lock up their wireless. He might not want to mention stealing internet or not (who knows) but either way it's not to unrealistic for anyone to be on the internet these days. Goodluck with you troubles. I'll def be smoking a bowl with ya in mind today and hoping things turn around. I know how it feels being broke with no money and debt out the ass and it suucks. Just keep looking on the up and up and things have a way of working themselves out if you're willing to try to.
Well, I still have my netbook (my very last "nice" thing) and my apartment does have an open wifi connection coming through. I appreciate this and all of the other comments in this thread. It really makes me feel better. Oh and completely out of the blue, I just got a phone call from my mom inviting me over tomorrow so I'm not alone. That puts me at ease quite a bit knowing I have a family to spend Christmas with. Not to mention a dinner like I haven't had in a while now. Merry Christmas everyone
fuck christmas. i hate watching people stress over something thats supposed to be the most enjoyable time of the year. i dont even celebrate christmas, but everyone around me is in a huge frenzy and under a ton of stress to spend a bunch of money to buy their families love. fuck that shit, if you love someone, buy them something random just because you love them, not BECAUSE its christmas.
Just opened this thread for the first time. I just wanted to say that reading your second update really touched me. Isn't it amazing how much acts of kindness can improve someones life? That Australian man should be given a prize for what he did.
Good luck. I hope you get by. Things are really tough right now, but I hope you have job applications out? Sorry if you mentioned something about it, the middle section of your story was a blur MERRY CHRISTMAS!