The Reluctant Receptionist

something i didn’t know—something, obviously, no one could have known—when i made the extremely well-thought-out and widely-discussed decision to leave my day job at columbia is that, the week after i went to my old temp agency looking for easy, short desk jobs, the bottom would fall out of the economy. it’s so strange to think that i of all people could be affected by a crashing stock market. i mean, sure, i have some investments, but those were all made for me by my parents and grandparents a long time ago. the only reason i know what i have at all is that a few years ago when i finally started having to do (and pay) my own taxes, i was introduced, over the phone, to my financial adviser, a man whose office is back in ponca city and has handled “my money” since before i had a checking account.

this is real, though, this slump: i worked five days last week and am contracted to work five days this week, but the woman i’ve been filling in for comes back to her job a week from today and i’m once again floating around in tempville. ideally, my agency will be able to place me somewhere else immediately, even if it’s just a for a few days. there’s always hope, although that hope is tempered by the fact that everyone i know who’s temping (meaning, really, every singer i know who doesn’t have a big-time real day job) is out of work. i’m the only one of us with any kind of temp job, and they keep saying things like, “what? you have work? i haven’t worked for three weeks!”

i can’t—none of us can—afford to not work for three weeks. it’s not like i’m going to starve to death or be evicted, but i’m also a lot closer to that line than i like being. i knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, this jumping ship and trying to make it as a singer thing, but i always thought it would be hard on the part of me that’s a wienie, specifically the part that says, i have to practice now!? but i just spent EIGHT HOURS AT A DESK! not the part of me that has to pay rent and bills and can only dream of buying a new winter coat. (i’m not getting all little match girl, so don’t worry. i have a coat. it’s nice. but i am an urban homosexual and i want a NEW ONE.)

so let’s hope we can all pull through this. we will. go buy something.