Well, 70 days is 10 weeks (or about 2.3 Months). You have a full month just find a job and then more than a full month to earn enough to pay your bills.

A full-time job is about 192 hours a month (48 hours / week). If you work those hours at only $12 / hour (typical lower-end salary), you will have earned $2,304 NET. Adjusting for income tax withholding (4% tax bracket in Louisiana and 15% federal income tax bracket), you'll have (approx.) $1866.24 GROSS.

(Assuming you actually live in LA and not TX, based off your P.O. Box).

In two more weeks (considering payroll is bi-monthly), you'll have more than enough. Presto, 70 days.

Get a job.

stick your gear in storage (cheap)
go and live in a tent ( Ive done this for a few years, enjoyable moving around, crappy low paying work is easy to find )
you will prolly mature during this time

Quote: Original post by Programmer One
A full-time job is about 192 hours a month (48 hours / week). If you work those hours at only $12 / hour (typical lower-end salary), you will have earned $2,304 NET GROSS. Adjusting for income tax withholding (4% tax bracket in Louisiana and 15% federal income tax bracket), you'll have (approx.) $1866.24 GROSSNET.

Yeah I hear all of you.
And I don't disagree at all.
Only life has hit me with more lemons than I can handle.

Lets start from the top.
I was a manager at CompUSA.
I got injured in the warehouse, and was unable to work for about 3 weeks.
They denied me workman's compensation, saying that I didn't go to the E.R. then it was of no importance. (I had hit my head and nearly knocked myself out in the warehouse..if you care to know more details.)
I quit my job.
I got called to do a large freelance computer job..made 8 times the monthly CompUSA paycheck in a single day.
I paid my bills, and I bought a diamond ring, preparing to propose to the woman I loved.
She left me for another guy just about a week before I had already planned to propose (paid for reservations, and prepaid for a lot of romantic stuff for the occasion)
I went berserk. I nearly committed suicide over the issue.
A few years passed. (made a little income from doing odd jobs..not even enough to sustain anything more than food. I loved off my parents for roof over my head)
I moved into the apartment that my parents got as a hurricane evacuation spot in Texas.
Still depressed and jobless, I sought out work everywhere I could.
I put in application after application, never getting called back.
I kept hearing the same thing over and over "oh we'll call you back." or "I'm sorry, the position has already been filled".
I took a trip back to Louisiana to visit my mom on her birthday.
I lost my car from some bastard's hit-n-run.
I used the little insurance money I got to pay for food and I bought myself a laptop for my birthday because my parents were broke.
I got a ride back to my apt in Texas and begged/borrowed from my sister and my aunt to get money to buy food.
I met a beautiful girl and things were going well..life was great except for being car-less and jobless.
She dumped me 2 weeks ago. I almost jumped out the window over it.
I'm almost over that now.
My parents are months overdue on their rent in Louisiana. My mom (the breadwinner of the family) has no more contracts right now and money is wearing thin..really thin.
Dad got an eviction notice on his door last friday.
We(mom, dad and I) begged extended family members to borrow enough money to pay another month's rent in LA.

My lease was coming to a close, and I had to renew it today.
I have $8 in my pocket. And $10 in the bank thanks to a friend who responded to my online message.

I have been job hunting online, and on foot for 8 months. Why in the world I cannot get a damned job is beyond my comprehension. Some higher power says no? Who the hell knows. I sure don't.

I'm not lazy, I'm a hard working motivated person.
I wouldn't even post the message online if I wasn't in dire need.
I really don't know what I am going to do.
I am NOT going to stop trying to find a job.

No, my CCPS company (sole proprietorship) has NOT been doing well.
In fact I've made next to nothing from it in over 2 years.
I've had not a single bit of work from the website, and the local calls in LA were not enough. I didn't make enough to advertise with signs and stuff, and word of mouth only goes so far.

I _WANT_ to work. I _WANT_ to find a job that pays more than minimum wage (otherwise its pointless since I am about ten miles from anyplace I could even try to work at. walking ten miles a day is a killer. Especially since its ten miles one-way...after work I'd need to get home..)

I need to find a way to make at least $15 an hour, otherwise I simply will not be able to afford even a basic life (need to find a cheap used car, need to pay the stupid outrageous gas prices, and car insurance is a nightmare, food is getting more expensive, and rent and utilities are rising)


So yes everyone, I know damn well that I need to get a job.
That has proven to be more difficult than I'd ever expect.
I've had quite a few jobs in my life.
Unfortunately, many of which ended up being a waste of time. (side note: Vector Marketing is the biggest legal scam ever!)


I have responded to 97 ads on craigslist in the past 10 days.
So far not ONE has responded back.

I have put in 19 paper applications and over 50 online applications for job after job after job.

I am running out of options here.
(And yes, I am in Texas. Katy Texas to be exact. Approx Ten miles southwest of the Katy Mills Mall)


So thank you for your suggestions, but it doesn't really help..actually it frustrates me because I am trying so damn hard to DO what everyone wants me to do, and just not getting anywhere.

Look, I have 20 years experience programming.
If anyone wants me to write some code for them in exchange for the monetary help, I am more than willing to oblige.
If you want help with a project, be it code, tiles, textures, project management, custom tools, web design, pretty much anything.
I am willing to WORK hard for the money.

I would LOVE to help out more people on these forums, and if I can find a way to keep my life from turning into chaos, then I will have the time to do so.
I was unable to respond to these messages until now because I don't have an internet connection at my apt. I need to travel places to find a wifi spot.
And well travel is difficult.
I'm at my sisters (she has internet) right now and will likely be back here in a few days.


Thanks again to everyone out there.

I understand how you feel.

I used to build houses, and work at car washes, too.

Currently I'm employed as IT executive, but things are not too good, as I'm working at a financial company, and these are rough time for everyone, specially financial company.

Anyway, I really do hope you will get a job soon. I myself is currently moonlightning to get extra income.

There are really tough times.

Quote: Original post by tstrimp

Quote: Original post by Programmer One
A full-time job is about 192 hours a month (48 hours / week). If you work those hours at only $12 / hour (typical lower-end salary), you will have earned $2,304 NET GROSS. Adjusting for income tax withholding (4% tax bracket in Louisiana and 15% federal income tax bracket), you'll have (approx.) $1866.24 GROSSNET.

Whoops. My mistake. I should have re-read all that before posting...considering I worked on payroll software. [embarrass]

Quote: Original post by zedz
stick your gear in storage (cheap)
go and live in a tent ( Ive done this for a few years, enjoyable moving around, crappy low paying work is easy to find )
you will prolly mature during this time

This suddenly explains everything about you. [headshake]

Quote: Original post by Programmer One

Quote: Original post by tstrimp

Quote: Original post by Programmer One
A full-time job is about 192 hours a month (48 hours / week). If you work those hours at only $12 / hour (typical lower-end salary), you will have earned $2,304 NET GROSS. Adjusting for income tax withholding (4% tax bracket in Louisiana and 15% federal income tax bracket), you'll have (approx.) $1866.24 GROSSNET.

Whoops. My mistake. I should have re-read all that before posting...considering I worked on payroll software. [embarrass]

What is the name of your payroll software?
I'll give good word-of-mouth about it at the company I work at *grin*

Quote: This suddenly explains everything about you

:) wanderlust is in my blood, actually the ~5 years I spent travelling from 19-23 were prolly the best of my life (until now)

I was in a worse situation, my mother had schizophrenia and home schooled me and my two sisters while my father was very violent and drank a lot but it was not much of a problem since he worked all day at a minimum wage job. I met a girl through one of my friends and we became very close. My mother and father did some crazy things which kinda made her scared of them and our house was such a mess that I could never invited her over.

So anyway, both of my sisters didn't have any form of ID, a high school diploma, had never gotten their licenses and they were much older then I was. My girlfriend was also cheating on me with some random fat guy and my mom kept inviting her places.

So when I turned 18 I knew I had to do something to get out of there and went to live with a friend and his family. I knew my mother would never let me so I told her I was going to spend the night at his house and the next morning I called her and told her I was staying there.

Basically she disowned me and when I would call she didn't let me speak to my father and would hang up the phone. Anyway I had no ID, no car, no high school diploma. I forged paper work to get my ID and I got a job at a fast food place for $6.50/ hour I walked 5 miles to and from everyday. Shortly after I got a job loading boxes for $8.50/hour and also had to walk 8 mile to and from.

I worked 6 and a half hours at one job, then 4 and a half at another and walk for 2 and a half hours a day. I felt like I was going to die, quite literally, I got a bicycle which helped some but it was still awful. I put a down payment on an apartment and that day when I was going to my night job some woman hit me from behind, while I was knocked out the woman and her husband lied to the police and said I ran a red light.

I owed $15,000 in medical bills, had no health insurance, had broken 5 bones and probably about 25% of my body had the skin road burned off. I qualified financial aid so I only had to pay for the ambulance and the orthopedics I had to see but the woman's insurance company wanted $2,000 for her wind shield. I didn't have any money left after paying for the orthopedics, so I was unable to hire a lawyer. I told them to sue me which I was hoping for so I could get a defense lawyer and then they backed down because they knew they would lose...

I was fired from the fast food job but the box loading job said that I could come back when I got better. After a month I went back to work even though I was on so many pain killers I hardly remember anything, I still had to walk 5 miles to work and back. After a while I healed, I now have a car, a GED, I'm going to college and I now get paid $13/ hour.

So what I'm saying is despite how bad things may seem there is someone out there who has it worse then you. You just have to keep trying and things will get better!

Also I may know how you can at least make some money, are any of these addresses close enough for you to walk to?

14415 Owen Tech Blvd.
Austin, TX 78728

909C Avenue C
Denton, TX 76201

350 S Adams
Eagle Pass, TX 78852

815 Grant St
Laredo, TX 78040

1827 W. Gentry Pkwy
Tyler, TX 75702