Days 1-30: August 1-31, 2009

On Friday, August 1, 2009, I became an esteemed alumnus of Georgia State University. A few weeks after that, I decided that I should write a blog about my first 100 days after graduation, much in the same vein as my friend/roomate/brother-for-life Michael J. Brewer. It wasn't until a few weeks after that (i.e., now) that I actually got off my depressed and lazy duff to actually sit down, collect my thoughts, and put them together on this page in front of me. So, it is because of that procrastination that days 1-30 are going to be in one post, which day one having it's own special "Preamble" posting.

But why have I been feeling so lazy and lethargic you ask? Simple. Life after college hasn't been all that it was cracked up to be. To put things into perspective though, I'll have to go back a few months.

On October 31 I was laid off from my 18 month job as a temp worker at the Coca-Cola Call Center. I worked with this real ghetto/janky Temp Agency called Corporate Temps. I applied for Unemployment Insurance and was approved, but Corporate Temps appealed and won, causing me to lose my UI. I appealed that decision and subsequently lost that one too. Luckily for me though, momma didn't raise no fool and I had about 4 months of savings stored away. Just when my money was running low, I finally found a Part-Time job that would work around my hectic school schedule. It was for a website called The Kidz Connexion, where I was hired as a Content Manager. The owner informed me that I would be paid weekly at a rate of $11 per hour for 20-30 hours per week. In September, the job was to go Full-Time with a salary and benefits. It looked like I had landed a great gig and had narrowly averted joining the growing list of new unemployed graduates by securing a fantastic post-college job. I learned of the position from the Georgia State University Career Center website, and asked one of the job counselors there about it. He assured me that all jobs are verified by the center before posting.

Kids post journalistic articles on the website, and it was my job to edit them, in addition to various research, public relations and marketing, and other random tasks as assigned by the website owner/creator and her adult son. After she pushed back my start date twice, I began to get to work. A month later, I had been paid for only one week. I called and emailed repeatedly about my being paid, but the owner stopped answering all communication and has seemingly dropped off the face of the earth.

After informing the Career Center about the debacle, I got another job with an Atlanta politician's campaign. Ironically, I got that job via the Career Center website as well, and was assured by the Center that lighting wouldn't strike me twice. Ironically, the job with the candidate was supposed to pay $600 per week starting last week in July/first week of August. Once again, I have yet to be paid...

So essentially, I was supposed to have two separate jobs that were supposed to provide me with a post-graduate position/pay, and both have fallen through. Thankfully, my folks have been helping me out and I've been on Food Stamps (EBT) since June. Without that, I wouldn't be able to eat. On top of that, The Georgia Department of Labor is trying to force me to pay back the almost $4,000 in Unemployment benefits I received. I'm still fighting for a waiver, but so far, they think that me paying back the money would not be a financial burden to me...I think there is some corruption/unethical practices going on over there, but I digress.

So, the first 30 days after graduating on August was filled with a mad search for paying work. I've scoured various newspaper classified, monster.com, hotjobs.com, and even the GSU Panther Career Net (again). I've even scoured Craigslist. However, I've stopped going to the popular classified listing site because I've discovered that most job postings that seem legit on Craigslist end up being total scams and/or multi-level marketing timewasters. For instance, I've applied to Administrative Assistant jobs on Craigslist that pay reasonably well ($12-18 per hour depending on the posting). But when I email my resume, I end up with automated responses from automated emails, claiming the owner lives out of the country in places like Estonia, and/or to send money to certain address to pay for the background check, or shipping materials, or whatever.

One day, I finally got a call back from an actual company in Atlanta called Extreme, Inc., who wanted to interview me for an Account Manager position. The Craigslist posting seemed legitimate, and the salaried position paid between $32,000-$35,000 a year. Excited, I set up an interview time, only to discover via a google search of the company that they sell an AT&T phone package door-to-door, and that the "salaried" position was actually commission. As I vented my frustration on Facebook and Twitter, some of my friends informed me that they too had fallen victim to Extreme, Inc.'s false advertising in the recent years, and that one of them even did the door-to-door selling for about a week before calling it quits.

So, after weeks of job searching, running out of money, and getting chewed out by my credit card company for non-payment, I began getting more and more depressed. To add insult to injury, my father decided that I wasn't worth keeping his promises to. In January, he had promised to buy me a brand new (not used) car and pay my insurance for the first six months as a graduation gift.

Instead, he opted to buy HIMSELF a brand new Ford F-150 while still keeping his Volvo, which is paid in full. In July he called me to tell me he was going to test-driving a 1993 Toyota Corolla that ran apparently ran well, despite having racked up 151,ooo miles. Oh, and it had a new paint job...as if that made it a stellar buy. Needless to say, I didn't accept that offer and our already rocky and tumultuous relationship (if you can even call it that) has been DOA ever since.

So, even though I am the only one so far to graduate college, I am the only one still catching the bus. Of course both my parents drive (and they've worked hard for what they have). My father bought my younger brother a car when he moved in with him (as a means to buy his love after years of abandonment, neglect, and physical abuse no doubt) and paid his insurance every month, and helped my step-sister (who was addicted to drugs/alcohol, and still may be) get 3 cars and paid her insurance. Why 3 you ask? Oh, she crashed all of them, the last one while driving drunk on the Freeway. She's 19. But what do I get? Another monthly Marta train/bus pass.

In August, my mother tried to buy her friend/co-worker's government vehicle (they both work for the Federal Department of Justice). It was a 2000 Ford Explorer in excellent condition with only 32,000 miles on it. It was a steal. Unfortunately, my mom (who was going to borrow some of the funds from my dad apparently) lost the week-long online auction.

So needless to say, being on Food Stamps (again), jobless, broke, and without a car has left me feeling incredibly depressed and like a loser. I worked so hard to graduate, only to end up with less money and resources than when I transferred to Georgia State in January 2008. I alson need/want new clothes, new shoes, a car, better food, new...EVERYTHING. One of my good black boots literally broke apart one day while out with a couple of friends, and I have no real professional clothes anymore. Not to mention, most of my summer stuff is either old, tattered, or stained (as I've had them for YEARS).

I feel as if I am so much further behind everyone else, including the new batch of Freshman that have moved into the city/schools this year. It's ironic that I wasn't before, but now I am embarrassed and ashamed every time I walk down the street with sweat dripping from my face and soaking through my shirt as a car full of 18-year-olds speed past me. Also, I've been so sad and forlorn since graduation that I haven't had the motivation to actually get up and write for my Georgia State TV show "Transferred" during the little free time I've had when not job hunting.

I've also neglected my duties as Life Section Editor for YBE Magazine (Young Black Experience), aka www.YBEmagazine.com. In fact, I was supposed to write an article about the difficulties today's newest college graduates face as they enter today's unstable job market. However, I've been in too much of a funk about my own circumstances to want to actually put my dark thoughts on paper. Ironically, that is something my roomate MJB told me was the reason he stopped writing in his First 100 Days blog (he graduated from Morehouse in May).

But that's all changing. As a matter-of-fact, being broke, bored, and sad is why I am here writing my first blog entries. So, in that sense, maybe it's a good thing. And on the bright side, I started a Part-Time job this week as a Confirmer at The List, Inc., which is a Market Research firm in Atlanta. It pays $10 an hour, at 20 hours per week. Ironically, it's the same job I worked at before I started at Georgia State. But hopefully, it will only last a very short while, and it will keep me from having to move back with my momma in Virginia. Don't get me wrong, I love my mother with all of my heart, but when you finally graduate college, you want to move into your space, not back home.

Also, my mother has bought me a 2001 Kia Rio to get me around town until I somehow can get a better car. Hopefully, it will last a while and won't need any repairs. I'm nervous about the car because it has 162,000 miles on it. But hey, it's the best my mother can do at the moment. This just means that I will have to get my own car, which is fine.

I'm not usually one to purposely depend on others for things I want/need anyway, which is why the past few months have really been a downer for me. But like I said, things are looking up. A car, a part-time job and possibly another one, and great friends are giving me a brighter outlook on my post-graduate life. I've also FINALLY started this damn blog and will finally MAKE time to write the final episodes for "Transferred" for GSTV. I also hope to gather the money to take a GRE Prep course before taking the exam. I'm hoping to get into Grad School next fall. So, here's hoping the next 30 days get even better. Now back to my Saturday night anime on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. "Big O" is on...