Adventures in Commuting

Note to self: A banana at the bottom of a messenger bag is never a good idea.

Adventures in Commuting - Day 3 NYC

Snowing this am, so I took my car to the bus station but wasted so much time trying to find a place to park that it was more effort than walking the .68 mile to the bus even in the snow. Left work @ 5:10 so I THOUGHT I would catch an earlier bus, but the line for my bus was snaked throughout Port Authority. Announcem...ents just said there was 30 minute delay with no explanation, so I waited & waited.

The guy in front of me was about to have an apoplectic fit. The veins on his neck were protruding and he was seething with anger as he watched all the other lines moving, but not ours. I contemplated eating the formerly hot pretzel that I was bringing home to Albert, but decided it would be too much work to get it out of my bag to bother with it. The line finally moved and once again SRO on the bus, so I took my place and braced myself for the ride.

Let me tell you about SRO on a bus. There isn’t a hell of a lot of space to stand, and of course the bus is jerking all over the place. They don't have straps to hang onto so you either grab the handle at the top of the headrest where someone is sitting or you hold onto the overhead compartments meant to hold bags & packages. Hanging onto the headrest is intrusive to the person sitting. Holding onto the compartment forces you to hang over people, so you’re pretty much SOL no matter what.

So this guy sitting to my right has his cell phone in the outer pocket of his coat and it starts ringing. He attempts to get his phone and in the process grabs my ass because we are in such close proximity. It was an accident, but I whipped around and glared at him. He apologized profusely and sheepishly answered his phone. Don’t worry, when the bus jerked to the right my hand slipped off the compartment and nailed him in the head pretty hard. What? It was an accident.

Adventures in Commuting - Day 2 in NYC

Day 2 in NYC went much more smoothly than day 1, but mostly because I slept well last night. A woman passed out on the bus ride in and was unconscious on the floor of the bus, so that was kind of exciting...I leaned against a building and only noticed the WET PAINT sign as I walked away. Luckily the paint was dry! Coming home I got standing room only on the bus and that was bizarre. Work was good today and now I am off for a drink with my friend.

Adventures in Commuting - Day 1 in NYC

Let's see...I had like 3 hours sleep the night before I started my new job; was on the 6:25 am bus to NYC; had to pay $122 cash for a month bus pass cuz the debit card machine wasn't working; some guy told me I was beautiful; I was asked for directions & was actually able to give them; I lost a shoe on 34th St and got a free lunch. All and all,... not a bad first day at work...Now I am going to bed!

Whats Up?

Craziness, that's about all I can say. What hasn't been up??? I bummed around trying to make a living freelance writing and just couldn't make the money I needed to make to continue paying my bills, so I did the next best thing. I took a job making a little money and continued freelance writing and working on my novels.

Yeah, I get very little sleep but I'm writing a hell of a lot so its been working. Then I get a call from a former colleague of mine asking me if I want to get back into directory publishing. What did I have to lose by meeting with him to learn more, right?

So the job is in NYC. Would it be worth it financially for me to make such a move? I'd sure have less time to write than I used to have, but I decided that I could not pass up this opportunity, so I am working in the big apple!

Freelance

I've really gotten into freelance writing over the past several months, and have taken quite a few jobs. In fact, I finally decided to take the plunge and quit my part-time job at the Office Supply Superstore. I know, I am crazier than a shithouse rat, but what the hell? It's a gamble, because Staples was a steady paycheck, no matter how small, I knew I was getting it every week. With freelancing, you never know where or when your next job is coming.

So I would like to take this opportunity to thank the County of Bergen for making my life so miserable that I had to quit. Oh, and I didn't just give two weeks notice and leave, oh no. I went home at lunch and never went back. My resignation letter, office key and id badge was thumbtacked to my office door. I've got style, 'ya know?

Anyway, fool that I was, I thought I'd have no problem finding another job. Hell, anyone can get a job in retail, right? Yeah, but have you ever filled out a retail application? They seriously want to know your previous salaries and such and when they saw $70,000 they were like, "and you want to work for $8 an hour?" Yeah, I had a hard time. Luckily my best friend is a store manager at the Office supply superstore and she hired me. I guess she would categorize me as a pity hire, but damn it, I did work pretty hard...some day...hee hee.

Rejection

I know that I simply need to develop thicker skin, but getting rejection after rejection from literary agents is tough. Writing the book was the easy part, but finding someone to represent me is proving to be even more difficult than I had imagined.

The worst part is that the rejection letters are pretty much generic. Each literary agent had their own set of rules to follow. Most merely wanted a query letter and no sample chapter, so that is really frustrating. They haven't even read the first chapter of my novel and they aren't interested.

Maybe it is hitting me so hard because I was turned down by yet another prospective employer. I am getting interviews, and I am getting second and third interviews, but I am not getting the job. The funny thing is that these aren't even fantastic jobs or anything, but when I find out that they didn't want me, it hurts.

Really, this type of rejection is becoming a bit of a bore. I am ready for an acceptance of some sort. Anyone? Buehler? Buehler? Anyone?