This morning,I woke up and had an automated message on my phone that said I needed to certify with the Department of Labor for my “unpaid waiting week” in order to begin receiving unemployment benefits. Unpaid waiting week. I love the terminology. I’m not saying that I live paycheck to paycheck, but seven days without income does change things a little. It would for you, would it not? Even if you are the type of person who is fortunate enough to possess a little cushion, an “unpaid waiting week,” can make your cushion thinner than a matzoh. Twenty-five percent of your rent payment and car payment, a week of groceries and child support plus this, that and the other. I’m not entirely certain how much that will diminish my savings, but it’ll be substantial.
I chose to roll with all of that because it’s just one of those occurrences in life that one can not do anything about. In 2017, I could’ve gotten a job with any LTL carrier, I just happened to pick one that had one tire in the grave and the other 17 on an oil slick. The thing that is upsetting me the worst is that I have non-refundable airfare to Venice that, most of you know, I bought almost a year ago. Now, according to the Department of Labor, I can not leave the country and collect benefits. If I try to, I might possibly be “imprisoned.” (Their words, not mine.)
So, that would be no unemployment and no side work and, once again, I’d have to come up with a portion of rent, car payment, child support and incidentals plus there’s the hotel, the food and everything else I’d need in Italy. I simply can not absorb another “unpaid waiting week.” So, it’s addio dolce Italia.
I have gotten numerous calls about jobs and went on a couple interviews but there’s nothing that seems feasible at the moment. I was offered a gig at a lumber facility driving a flatbed in NYC, Long Island, Maine, Virginia etc, but I am not qualified to do this work and my license is the principal source of my revenue. So, as much as The Department of Labor would recommend taking anything that’s thrown my way, I have to be intelligent about what risks I’m willing to take. They are a government machine that was not built to understand nuance and strategy. That’s really my department.
I will, however, give the NYS Department of Labor some props for the way they changed their rules regarding part time work. They will now allow a person to work up to 10 hours without reducing their weekly benefits. That’s a huge plus. Somehow they must’ve realized that $420 a week was a bit below poverty level for someone with children. Or someone trying to keep a houseplant alive, for that matter.
It’s kind of sad, because I was really looking forward to seeing Italy once in my life, but even a guy like me, a guy who amazingly landed on my feet in the face of the unthinkable, was not destined to go through this without some sad consequence.
Last night, I tried to get in touch with the company I bought the plane fare from and that, in itself, was pretty annoying. You had to “chat” with a machine and then wait for a human being to show up. The first time, I stepped away from the computer to tend to the dough I was kneading for bread, and I missed the guy. So I had to sit there for 42 minutes until Ayman Emam showed up. He said he could only give me a credit for the plane fare minus a $300 penalty from the airline and $125 change fee from his company. Given that I got such a good deal on the tickets, that leaves me with about $200. Still, though, I assumed it was going to be a complete loss, so I will survive.
There’s one irony in all of this: I picked up a few hours of part time work at a food wholesaler by my house. The language everyone speaks there? Italian. So maybe I won’t be walking the cobblestone streets of Venice, but I will be immersed in the sounds of Old Italia and I began taking language lessons online with a tutor. Perhaps, by the time I do get there (say, next year, for instance), I will be able to order and grab an Uber without being one of those annoying Americans who expects everyone to know English.
I read last night that Yellow has requested 92.9 million dollars on their bankruptcy decree to pay all 30,000 of us the vacation pay they owe us. That would be fabulous, but I am not counting on it. The only thing I’m counting on is my own resourcefulness to get through this without missing a single rent payment or electric bill and, thus far, I am on track to make it.
Which reminds me: I can not thank all of you enough for the generosity you showed me when I mentioned that I lost a few paid subscribers. That money, from those of you who signed up, dropped into my account on Wednesday and I can not explain how much it helped. I love each and every one of you in a special way and, although I spend more time alone than the average person should, I don’t feel like I’m alone. You guys are like family to me.
I feel a bit guilty about simply writing about my job and income struggles, but I think inherently there might be some value in it. I think it’s very important to show the human side of life with all of its attendant difficulties–especially if we can be resilient enough to survive the worst of what it has to offer without folding up and calling it quits. It’s 4 a.m. and as soon as I finished with this, I am going to go back to work on another short story and I’m going to write a couple of query letters to agents about my novel.
The show must go on.
Addio dolce Italia. Ci vediamo l’anno prossimo.
F*ckin unemployment. Ugh. My partner was laid off and out of a job for five months and while we were grateful for it, it was still a pain the ass.
Major bummer about Italy. I hope that another opportunity comes up for an even better trip before too long. Italy is on my list too. I received my very first passport in the mail two weeks into the pandemic, right in the midst of lockdown. I still have yet to use it. Holding out hope that I’ll have an opportunity before it expires! 😉
Hope this week brings you some small joys Billy!
I see the light in this. I just know it will work out better than driving a monster on the highways. Getting that part time job is a plus, not just some income, but immersing yourself in Italian that the folks speak. I had 5 years of Spanish- grade 8-12. I knew how to ask people how they were, their name, where is the bathroom, library and may I have the check. This job will use different skills. More writing time, opportunities to get paid for writing and maybe more music jobs. I bet I am in a tie with you on the most alone time. 😎