The Great Depression Depression

Gordon Davidescu wrote this article.

In theory, it was all supposed to go a certain way. I was supposed to have everything in my apartment packed and either shipped, sold, or eliminated in other ways. I was supposed to stay with a friend on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for a little while until I found my own place to live, and then I was going to live there. That is how it was supposed to go, but that is not at all how it went; life has had other plans for me thusfar.

About a week and a half after I arrived back on the East Coast, I received a call from my principal client with whom I have done the majority of my work. He sounded upset. He told me that I would not be receiving my direct deposit the following day as I had been doing every week for the previous four or so years.

He said that he didn’t know when he would be able to pay me in the future, though it might be in a month or two; the key word being maybe. Within minutes of my getting off the phone, I was bawling. I was hysterical. I absolutely didn’t know what to do. I was completely counting on getting that deposit every week as I had been for so long, and I just didn’t’ know what to do other than cry.

I went to my friends for advice and they had different things to say. They gave me advice for searching for work and that I should take on temporary work if necessary to pay the short term bills. I searched through online ad after ad and responded even to a few ads that seemed just a little fishy – and it got worse when I was asked to fill out completely unrelated forms about whether I wanted to attend online classes at online universities – what did that have to do with doing work at a front desk?

On the plus side, I did not get any courier service job offers for heirs of Nigerian princes, so I think in that regard I made out pretty well.

The second slap to the face came in two forms: one from my former cable and internet provider, and one from the apartment management company where I used to live. The cable and internet provider wrote me a not so friendly letter advising me that they had not received my cable box and modem and that they were going to charge me a little over four hundred dollars for the pair. This was extremely curious because I had arranged to have those items picked up by a courier service and I had the receipt confirming that they had picked them up.

I called up, just a bit angry (yet not wishing to pour out any anger upon the mere messenger of the company) at what seemed like a completely unnecessary charge being leveled against me when I did everything I was supposed to do. The very kind woman asked me to read her the information on the receipt and then she asked me to photocopy it and send a copy to the company, and they would investigate the matter. I certainly hope that is resolved in my favor.

When I moved into my former apartment four years ago, I gave over a hefty security deposit, the idea being that they would give it back when I moved out after subtracting damages. When I was finalizing the moving out of my apartment, someone from the building came over and I asked about whether I would have to clean the carpet, or other such things and in just about every instance I was told I need not worry.

Well the worry started when I got the letter from the building because it was stated that I owed them over one hundred dollars: there was no refund from the security deposit, only a bill. There was a laundry list of things that were allegedly wrong with the apartment including a three inch tear that I know did not exist and many other things. Being that I am across the country there doesn’t seem like there is really all that much that I can do to rectify this situation, and I might just have to come up with the money somehow.

Meanwhile, this week seems to have been finally somewhat kind to me. On Monday I applied to a company for a technical support position. On Tuesday I was asked to come in for an interview. It must have gone well on Wednesday because a few hours later I was asked to come in for what they called an audit day, and that is exactly what I did on Thursday. It apparently could have been better, but it could have been worse; they asked me to come in again on Friday so that they can get a better idea of my capabilities as a candidate.

Even if this position falls through and I do not get the job, I must push through and pick myself up. Moreover, I really need to get back on the P90X track – has it really been over a month since I wrote about it? I humbly apologize to you, dear reader. I hope to bring you an update on P90X in no less than two weeks. Look forward to seeing it right here!