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Back In The Good Old World

Day 152. I have two more severance paychecks and a month of healthcare left. Then I pivot to NYS Unemployment, roughly $1600 a month or about $5K less than my severance. Holy shit. I’m on the cusp of withdrawing money prematurely from my 401K so we can continue to live here. It doesn’t make me happy. With the fall arriving and winter around the corner I’m sinking into a very real existential despair. Not a single bite on any of the numerous job applications I’ve sent. I feel old and washed up. I try to stay upbeat, figure out a plan and a way forward - go back to school, finish my degree; get voiceover training; learn coding, etc. But I really just want to retire. The only reason I haven’t done so is we can’t afford it.

I’ve had a precipitous fall. Getting back up on my feet is testing the grit, resolve, resilience and determination I thought I had in reserve. They now teach courses in all the above. Maybe I should take one? This job loss and subsequent status loss knocked me on my back. It’s easier to sink than to swim and that’s proving out. A part of me feels forty years of working is plenty (my first job was at 16). But what do I do for money? Do I exhaust my 401K?

What about “old age”?

Day 157. I am entirely banged up. TW18 was held Saturday. TW - or Waitstock - is an annual party I’ve attended since the 90’s. It went fallow for many years because we lost the location - a farm in Poughkeepsie - but was relocated three years ago and gets bigger every year since. I am now a host and my job is to set up a low-power FM radio station (above and below) and run it for the twenty-four hours of the party, from 6 AM Saturday morning to 6 AM Sunday morning. This year I was up at 4:15 AM Saturday and finally checked out around 3:10 AM Sunday morning. I got four hours of fitful sleep, then headed back to the big barn where we set up WAIT-FM and began tearing down, which - for me - is a far worse process than setting up.

I’m exhausted. My throat is shot. I feel like staying in bed today or watching TV. But my car is loaded with all the crap I took up there. Not ALL of it. Some of it I sent back with friends.  And I have the post-TW blues. There’s such a big buildup to the event, then it’s over in a day and that’s that. I wish I’d taken more pictures, including some shots of our sweet travel trailer and the fantastic spot we put it in. We had a mountain view (below).

I better start unpacking the car. It’s going to take awhile.

I’m back. I unpacked the car but couldn’t muster energy to put away anything but clothes and check my phone for new messages (there was scant AT&T service in our part of the Hudson Valley). Sixty-seven emails, three or four texts and one recent phone call materialized. I checked the phone number, didn’t recognize it and thought “Robocall”. Then I noticed a voicemail and read the transcription. It was someone calling about a job I’d love to get. I listened to the voicemail and dialed the number, thinking I’d be leaving a message. The person answered. The hiring committee wants to speak with me on Tuesday. This is good news.

I’m spending the rest of the day figuring out how to approach my first interview since the Apple Store debacle in May. I don’t want to say too much about the circumstances but it was exciting to get a response, even if I don’t have the exact qualifications they seek. They must know that: my resume is not at all padded. I’m trying to stay calm and should probably stop reading the job description over and over. During Waitstock, Buddha pulled me aside and gave me a whole pep talk in response to something I said during a Job Story episode. I was debating with myself about applying for jobs with requirements “outside my skill set”. Buddha said...

“All job descriptions are aspirational. They’re written for the perfect candidate and they’re never going to find someone perfect. You should be applying for those jobs.”

We’ll see. I still feel I’m lacking in any number of areas but they are calling me. Do they call everyone? What will they ask me? How many people will be on the phone? How will this all play out?

Day 158. I am way behind on the newsletter and podcast. Both are usually out by now but all the Waitstock work has thrown my schedule way off. I spent yesterday taking it easy. Now it’s time to buckle down.

An update: my phone interview took place. Beyond my horrific laryngitis, for which I kept apologizing, I think the interview went well.

Fingers crossed.

Job Story #21:

Job Story #21 is all about my recent "Intro To Voiceover" class. You'll hear me in the car on the way to Waistock, talking about Voiceover Class, some actual readings from same and an original song from 1991 about a co-worker. I wish I could've built a longer episode but between Waitstock and my voice being shot, it wasn't going to happen.

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.
Mad Daddy Anniversary Special - Oct. 13

I'm heading to Cleveland to be part of the super-cool Norton Records Mad Daddy Anniversary Special. If you're in the area Sat., Oct. 13th, drop in and hang out. Or is it the other way around?

Miriam Linna of Norton Records will also join Rex (WFMU) 1-3 PM Eastern time on
Fool's Paradise his Saturday! Tune in as Miriam and Rex gab about legendary disc jockey "Mad Daddy" Pete Myers on this dark anniversary marking the 50th year of his passing. Norton will issue a very limited commemorative purple wax souvenir Mad Daddy memorial single which will be available at the big Franklin Castle event in Cleveland on October 13. It will of course debut on this special broadcast, as will the new Norton seven incher on Ohio kings the Choir. Rumor has it that guitar god Wally Bryson will be checking in to be sure both sides get action at the station! New Norton vinyl sides from the Real Kids and the New York Dolls will get a sampling, and we'll get a rundown on what's going on at Norton lately!

Casino Night @ Guttenberg Arts - Oct. 20

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
Manning the Waitstock Spit, July 19. 1997
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.
Chris T.
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