A little over a year ago I was fired from a job I'd held for 7 1/2 years. It was a job I felt comfortable with and was content to keep things the way they were until I decided to retire. So being fired from that job came as a shock, to be sure.
I was not in a position to quickly find a new job. I had lost my ID years ago while in Boston, and the comfort the job provided me with gave me confidence that I wouldn't need it. I procrastinated. Even after my brother died and I was forced to take a bus to Tucson because I didn't have a valid ID, I still put it off.
Well, being fired turned out to be a great motivator and I got right on it, but you see, it's not like I could go out and get the ID replaced, because Florida wants you to provide your birth certificate, and I was not born in the US, though I am a US Citizen. So I had to send off to the State Department for a copy of my FS520, or some such form, and guess what? They're short staffed due to Covid, so they said to expect it in 6-8 weeks!
In the meantime, I'm doing what I can to generate funds, because the last paycheck had come and gone. I did use some of that to hire a lawyer, because my employer discriminated against my age, but that wasn't forthcoming immediately, so I put up a GoFundMe page, and got a few dollars to keep me alive until then.
Long story short - Too Late! I finally got my ID on August 1st. I got a payout for my lawsuit a few days later. Yay! Windfall. I applied for unemployment, yay, regular income!
Boo! My landlord wanted $4000 in back rent and fees. Debt collectors wanted their share, and the money I had collected was gone.
I had been applying for jobs, had a few nibbles, and nothing solid. I , er, persevered. Food budget was non-existent. and now we come to the worst possible way to lose weight. I half-starved myself.
I found a part-time job in December and made enough to put me off unemployment, but you know that's not enough. I had help from the government to pay rent for a few months, but you know that's not enough. I got more help from family and friends but that WASN"T FUCKING ENOUGH.
So finally I found a full-time job working from home, doing pretty much what I did before, and I find out the contractor I work for has a different type of payroll system where they keep your paycheck an extra two weeks before they pay you. I didn't know that was even legal, but this is America. So, I find a decent job, but I still have to wait longer to get my money than normal.
In the meantime, I'm starving myself. literally days at a time. I finally get paid the first time, poof, rent and phone bill take it up and I barely have enough to order some groceries. No problem, I'll keep starving myself.
Second paycheck comes, Poof, it's gone, with upcoming rent and other things. I'll starve myself a little longer.
But Michael, what about Food Stamps? What about Food Banks?
Food Stamps are set up to help people who are homeless or families. I didn't qualify for either. Food Banks don't deliver. Period. I did my research.
So finally the third paycheck arrives, the first that wasn't going to be devoured by rent, and I went apeshit over food. $200 worth of food, and one more thing: a battery for my scale, which I haven't used in over a year.
Last time I went to the doctor I weighed in at 270lbs. Thursday when I weighed myself with clothes on, it was 202lbs. Later I weighed myself without clothes and found I was 183lbs. So I was able to do in a year of half-starving myself what I could not do with all the diet and exercising I had tried to put in the previous 30 years.
Kids, don't try this at home.
