Evolving.
Unemployment blog: Day 36. Have taken to wearing no underwear in hopes that will go through underwear more slowly, thereby saving self laundry $. Also is bloody hot here. Scarcely goes below 100 in daytime and below 70 at nighttime. .

Magazines not buying my articles. "Ran that one two months ago" (No you didn't, liar; am not stupid, do in fact read magazine back issues for that very reason) "Like your style but we're just not interested right now" Actually, am making those up: rejection slips come in the form of pre-generated, pre-cut slips of paper in SASE envelopes that say, "Thank you for your interest. At this time, we do not need/want/care for...." etc. They might as well say, "Fuck off. You're a crappy writer and are wasting our time."

*sigh* In spite of commando front, laundry basket is piling dangerously high. May topple over and consume bedroom soon, possibly smother me at night. Hmm. Wonder if should visit parents and use their laundry? What self-depricating 24-year-old wouldn't?

Comments
on Aug 11, 2004
Well, sounds like you're having a tough time there....and the no underwear thing is kind of hot.......I'm sorry couldn't resist...but good luck trying to get some kind of employment....it appears to be a kick in the pants with the laundry thing too....

Wishing you well,
~Zoo
on Aug 11, 2004
All I can say is enjoy the breeze

Best of luck with the employment issue. Death by laundry strangulation wouldn't really make a great 'E True Hollywood Story' so I reckon going to the folks would be a good idea (nb: swallow pride before you go. You'd hate to choke on that as well!)
on Aug 11, 2004
I was asked to write a few articles for a magazine that was restarting in my area... with a decent pay check at publication clause... well, seems they didn't sell enough ads, and they folded right after the last deadline. That hurt.

Trust me, I feel your publishing pain. I know all about the slips and the boilerplate responses... they suck. I still remember the first time I got a hand-written rejection... and its sad that getting a hand-written one was so much better for my ego than the other ones.

Sometimes I think I would prefer an editor to tell me to Fuck off... because nothing makes me want to do something that someone telling me I can't, the whole "I'll show you!" thing!
on Aug 11, 2004
history person:

The crappy slap in the face for me is that I've been the editorial intern who's had to wade through slush piles and I know, arrogantly or not, that my writing is better than 90% of what I saw back then.

I've never had a hand-written rejection, so you're up on me there. I have, however, gotten a personal e-mail, or else someone sends out pretty damn convincing form e-mails.

Keep writing. One of us'll get published someday. Until then, I'll be suffocating under a mass of laundry and be found, weeks later, half-eaten by wild dogs....oops, that's another story.

-A.