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Alma (Almost) Mater

Day 145. Today is Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. I have a rudimentary understanding of it: God opens the Book Of Life and either writes your name in it or doesn’t while you ponder those you’ve wronged. I’m confused about a few things. If God writes your name in the book is that good or bad? I think it’s bad, correct? Also, do you do anything about those you’ve wronged or the sins you committed? Is there any equivalent to saying a few Hail Marys or what-have-you? #askingforagentilefriend

Last night’s dreams were intense. Were they nightmares? Maybe. I consider those to be the ones that frighten you. If I wake up agitated, breathing heavy, I’ve had one. This was more disturbing than frightful.

In the dream I was back at my former employer, though the office didn’t look the same. A phone was ringing: no one answered it. It was my last day of work and I wandered around in a daze, ending up at the space my desk occupied. It was gone, as was my chair. A single twin-size mattress wrapped in plastic sat in their place. And a desk lamp. A friend’s wife (the friend who got me the job) sat a desk next to mine. I asked her if she knew where my things had gone or where my friend was. She said “No.”

I wandered through the office getting side-eye. The phone still rang. My co-workers - FORMER co-workers - whispered to each other. They knew I’d been fired. Shame washed over me. I couldn’t wait to get out of there but didn’t want to leave without my meager possessions. I needed to locate someone, to ask where my shit was, but everyone turned away. I was damaged goods, no longer worthy of their time. I was now part of the past. The dream ended with me outside the elevator bank, feeling lost.

The phone rang still.

Day 146. I am up earlier than I wanted to be. I had another anxiety-inducing work dream. Is it because I saw that Facebook post from a former co-worker? She must have a new desk because she posted a photo of the view - the Empire State Building - with the caption “Not bad, eh?”

This is the same former co-worker I’ve reached out to several times with no reply. 

That’s the thing about former co-workers: they all offer some version of “Stay in touch!” But it’s just another thing people say because they think they should. They don’t mean it. Once you are gone, you are gone. You might as well be dead. No one wants to hear from you, believe me. They especially don’t want to rehash what happened or gossip about what’s going on now. You have the stink of the loser on you and they don’t want it on them.  I’m guilty of same. I can’t recall any former co-workers I’ve stayed in touch with. 

About the anxiety dream: I was at a workplace, though it didn’t seem like my last job, and had recorded a fill-in show for someone on the air. It was all ready to go but I didn’t know what time it needed to air or who to get it to. I was following someone around and at one point we had to go up stairs that had no steps, just grab rails. That’s when I woke up, a hour and a half early.

Before the shit-ton of noise from the nearby parking lot work began I was able to see Sweet T. off to work, have a cup of tea, check email and compose an email to the Town Supervisor.

Yesterday was an ongoing nightmare of noise pollution. I’ve ranted about backup alarms before but I’m seriously considering trying to introduce legislation to do something about it. Replace them all with backup cameras. Or flagmen. Or something. I found out that the guy who invented this horrid device - Ed Peterson - died in the late 90’s. So punching him in the face is out of the question. He created the alarm because of accidents at job sites in the Pacific Northwest. These things are not about keeping pedestrians from harm. They’re about OSHA and Insurance underwriters.

Enough. I have an interview for Job Story with the author of “Temp” and need to do some more reading of his book. Tonight I also have an “Intro to Voiceover” class at 6 pm.

On my way to "Investigating Voiceover".

Day 150. I am tired. And I just woke up. Had a very busy weekend planning for our big Waitstock party this Saturday. Wore myself down and now I am toast. So I’ll keep this brief.

I have decisions to make about my future and could use help. While I’m home writing and working on audio projects,  I need to figure a few paths to earning an income again. What I’m doing now - sending applications into a black resume hole - is obviously not producing results. Here’s what I’m considering:

Complete my degree. I would love to go back to my Alma (Not So Much) Mater, Montclair State, and major in journalism or communications. It’d be nice to finish up, though hideously expensive. Do I qualify for financial aid because I lost my job? I need to investigate.

Learn coding. The Flatiron School wants to teach me coding and software design. I know there are a shit-ton of those jobs out there but have no idea if I have any aptitude for coding or if it would make me lose what’s left of my mind.

Voiceover Training. I took a 3-hour “Investigating Voiceover” session this past Thursday. I know I can talk for a living and did plenty of live reads (commercials) in my dozen years co-hosting a talk show. My voice is a likely key to future earnings. I don’t know how to navigate the Voiceover/Narration world... and that’s where this place comes in. The day after my class I received this email:

Hi Chris,

Thank you for attending our Investigate Voice Over class! We hope that you enjoyed the class. My name is K. and I am an Education Advisor. I will give you a call on Monday, at 10:30am ET.

It looks like you did a great job in the class, as we have an initial recommendation coming out of the class to move forward into our full curriculum, working towards 2 demos (Commercial and Narration).

Based on this we are recommending that you enroll in the ABC program with 2 Performance Paths (10 Coaching Sessions) and 2 Demos. In order to find work in more than one genre, you will need more than one demo. Because of the marketability we hear in your voice, we believe you have what it takes to work and record in multiple fields. You have a great deal of potential.

The Cost of the ABC Program with 2 Performance Paths (10 Coaching Sessions) and 2 Demos is $3475. If you register for the program within the next seven days, we will credit the $99 cost of the class towards your program total. If this total seems difficult to pay upfront, let me know, and we can discuss a finance plan.

Thank you again for joining us! We loved having you and look forward to speaking soon.

K.

What stands out in that email for me? $3475. Sorry, I forgot to deduct $99 for the intro session. $3,376. Here’s what I wrote back:

Dear K:

Thanks for reaching out. I’m unemployed and $3475 is more than I paid for my current car. Unless there’s financial assistance or you're willing to barter (I’m an experienced audio engineer), I don’t see how I crack this nut right now.

Are you offering any kind of job placement or something that offsets this high upfront cost, besides $99 off?

Or do you hit folks with this high number first so you can bring in the drop close?

All best,

Chris Tsakis

K. said they don't offer discounts or do barters but can bill monthly. Yeesh.

There is a fourth income-producing idea that’s far more immediate: Drive for Lyft or Uber. I’ve had to take a few Lyft rides lately and I’ve spoken with the drivers. None of them know how much they earn per hour. They’re not doing the math, deducting fuel, lease, insurance, health care costs. I doubt they’re clearing more than they would at Trader Joe’s. They think they have independence but what does that mean if you’re driving around the major metropolitan area in the US, running a constant risk of a serious accident harming yourself or others. Have you seen the way people drive around here? 

I have some figuring to do. It makes my brain hurt. I’m exhausted already.

Job Story #20: A Temporary Interview

Job Story #20 features my interview with the author of the book Temp: How American Work, American Business and the American Dream Became Temporary, Labor Historian Louis B. Hyman. I sat down with him at Cornell's Institute For Workplace Studies, part of its Industrial & Labor Relations School.

If you’d like to tell your Job Story, email it to jobstorypod@gmail.com or submit it on the Facebook Group page for Job Story.

Job Story is hosted by Pippa and available here:

You can call and record a Job Story of any length at WAY-4-JOB-POD (929-456-2763) or a Job Story of 90 seconds or less right here.

Please share Job Story with your friends and family and be sure to review Job Story on iTunes and elsewhere. Until next time, this is Chris T., working hard... and hardly working.
Casino Night @ Guttenberg Arts - 10/20/18

Guttenberg Arts is once again throwing a fabulous party... with gambling! The 2nd Annual Casino Night fundraiser happens Sat., Oct. 20, 7 to 11 pm. There's an open bar,  hor d’oeuvres and  Black Jack, 3-Card Poker and Roulette Wheel games where you can earn chips to win prizes like one of a kind pieces of art by artists Dahlia Elsayed and Michael Covello Odalla, limited-edition prints by artists Jessica Rohrer and Mamadou Sow, theatre and sporting event tickets, gif certificates and more!

Tickets begin at $50.00 (and will include 100 playing chips and one raffle ticket) but like Atlantic City, there’s no limit to your support for the arts. Guttenberg Arts has a goal of doubling the amount of funds raised at last year’s Casino Night event so they can continue their mission of providing public programming that promotes creative thinking and fosters interest in the arts.

Guttenberg Arts is at 6903 Jackson St. Guttenberg NJ, and feature a new exhibition of work by founding member Bruce Waldman. All proceeds are tax-deductible and go towards Guttenberg Arts 2018/2019 programming budget benefiting both practicing artists and the public.

Tickets for the event can be purchased online at guttenbergarts.org/casinonight

Obligatory Throwback Pic
At Bear Mountain, 1993.
JOB STORY: Job Story is on iTunes and SoundCloud. It also has its own email address.
AERIAL VIEWListen to archives from the Aerial View playlist page or via the WFMU iOS app here or Android version here. Amazon Kindle users can use the TuneIn Radio app. Info for other platforms, including Blackberry, etc. can be found here.
 "I'll see you next Tuesday in your mailbox!"
Chris T.
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