Another day, another issue... Now it seems my plans of going back to school at a tech for graphic design, might not happen. A few days before the very first semester begins.
I think I've mentioned this before, but being as I employ a graphic designer at my work under a different title, if you've got a modicum of skill already I'd make a few samples and just start applying for "associate/Assistant" positions in marketing work or for businesses in general that do a lot of advertising. I mean it can't hurt right? The person I employ presently never finished school and only took a single design course ages ago, but she's literally an integral part of my organization. She didn't make very much starting out because it was a gamble, but as a rule I try to hire edge cases that might just need a shot, because being a smaller non-profit I can never pay anyone what they're worth so I have to rely on loyalty and perks to retain skilled employees.
I hope things work out though and you can get the courses you need - I know lots of places demand them
I also know photographers tend to either be themselves graphic designer OR employ, on a piece basis, graphic designers, so that might be another avenue too if you've already got some skill They just want like wedding album decorations.
I don't typically post in this thread, but I'm sorta pissed off enough to do so at the moment. My cousin's two-year old daughter was recently diagnosed with cancer. She already has a myriad of health problems, and the best case scenario is this little girl is going to have to go through 18 months of chemo and radiation to beat it. But that isn't why I'm turning to this thread.
My mom's side of the family is incredibly large due to her coming from a family of ten children (the youngest, my aunt, is the grandmother of the girl in question). I have 27 cousins, 7 other surviving aunts and uncles, god knows how many spouses and second cousins. I always assumed we would give a shit enough to help out in a situation like this, but that is turning out not to be the case.
My sister (who is closest to my cousin whose daughter is sick) set up a Go-Fund Me page with a modest goal of $10,000. My cousin had to quit both her jobs, she simply can't do anything but take care of her daughter 24/7 for the immediate future. It started off ok, and I initially thought "oh, this will hit the goal no problem". And then.....nothing. We can see who has donated (and everyone knows the situation by now and has to have seen it on Facebook). My aunt's life-long best friend gave, we got a big donation of $1000 dollars from someone in our hometown, and some kindness from total strangers. But almost no one from the family has even given so much as $5. 2 other cousins besides myself donated. None of us are exactly swimming in loot, but we all gave $50. I sent my sister another $100 to give to her personally this weekend. I told my aunt last night I'd try give my cousin $50 every 3 or 4 weeks going forward (if I can afford games I don't play, I can afford to not buy them anymore and do this instead). But I have two uncles at the very least who are loaded with cash. If I had their kind of money I would cut a $1000 check as quick as I take out the trash, and give it less thought. But there has been nothing.
I don't know if it makes me mad or depresses me. I thought for sure we'd see everyone chip in and give $10, $25. And it just died on the vine. It makes me question everything I thought I knew about my relatives. I don't understand how random strangers can give $50 sight unseen and my aunt's brothers and sisters won't throw in $50 or $100 to help her only grandchild, especially since my aunt is by far the youngest of the 10 and I would have imagined they would at least feel some kind of paternal instinct to help her daughter get through this. It upsets me deeply that no one is stepping up to help. I can't stand it that people will leave meaningless platitudes and "likes" and "prayers" on Facebook and do nothing of actual substance to help out. It's all talk to make themselves feel better and no action.
For the record, I am not looking for people to donate, but if they would like to, I will send them a personal IM with the link. But again, not my intention at all.
Why do you need people to donate for chemo and radiation therapy? Sounds like you're living in the United States or another such (third world) country without a proper public health insurance?
Why do you need people to donate for chemo and radiation therapy? Sounds like you're living in the United States or another such (third world) country without a proper public health insurance?
It's not that, the money is simply so my cousin can get by for the next couple of years with her bills outside of the medical realm since there is simply no way she will be able to work. Her daughter's other medical issues (which involve digestion and severe acid reflux) only complicate things. In one sense, she is actually lucky in that the child's father's military insurance will take care of that portion of it (many don't have this). We were simply hoping the family would chip in some small amount to help her cover rent, food, etc for the next 18 months to a year. She is going to have to move close to the hospital to make the treatment feasible. There are many people who DON'T have the luxury of having the medical portion covered. There are probably people in worse situations. I am simply disappointed in my relatives.
I wish good public health insurance and social security was universal. If someone's not able to work, like I am for instance, it should be normal all over the world to get a disability benefit. I'd be a beggar on the street if I weren't living in a country (The Netherlands) with proper social security.
@jjstraka34
Have you talked to your relatives about it? Do your uncles know about the go fund me and how it works?
I'm still hoping they reach out to my aunt personally, which we are still thinking they MIGHT do, but seeing as they haven't even CALLED her yet, I'm not really holding out much hope. In my own personal situation with my GF's cancer, I found that it makes people VERY uncomfortable to talk about, which caused me to just shut everyone out completely for almost two years. I've found in my own experience there is a initial "ra-ra kick cancer's butt" phase, and in 3 months, everyone has forgotten about it, and you and maybe 3 or 4 other people are the only ones left to deal with it on your own.
@jjstraka34 , I agree with @chimaera that maybe reaching out to them personally would be helpful. Sometimes people pick up less information on social media than we think, or maybe they don't understand how that funding works, or whatever else.
In my opinion, if we really want or need something, it's very important to communicate openly about it and not think "they should have noticed and offered help". While that feeling is understandable, sometimes explaining the situation and just asking "would you be able to support her a bit?" might be better.
Sometimes people don't even know if their help would be wanted and appreciated, or relatives don't feel addressed by a public announcement, or sometimes they even react with hurt feelings like "Why do they ask total strangers as if we weren't there?"
I don't know how close your cousin is to all those relatives. Do they personally know about the child's condition, do they talk regularly, or do you just assume they should have seen on Facebook?
Another thing, about what you mentioned in the last part of your last post: Sometimes it just makes people uncomfortable because they don't know how much attention is wanted or needed, or they don't know what to say and don't want to be awkward or intrusive, especially if they're not closest family.
I see the same at work when a colleague is really sick, especially with cancer. I work in a hospital, we see such "cases" every day, but people still hesitate to contact a colleague in the same situation, because they don't know if it would be interpreted as inappropriate curiosity. It's difficult.
Of course, that shouldn't be the case if we're talking about grandchildren or nephews.
I hope you find a way to reach out to them personally. It might be easier than you think, and they might be supportive if asked directly. If nobody tries, if everyone waits for the other to take the first step, you'll never find out.
If I was swimming in money, and a relative needed support for the next couple years, I'd send them money regularly as needed, rather than donate up front through online platform.
Well now I feel bad, my mother and little sister are here and my mother is kinda really realizing my... Eating situation, let's just say its not the best but not the worst either. Let's just say sometimes I eat once and sometimes I don't eat at all depending on the amount of food I currently possess and now she is getting worried.
I remember when pops first found out I had to hear the,"boy don't you be doing that mess no more you here, up there with no food." Speech...
I just feel like a weight dragging them down with me as I continue to fail.
Well it's official, I'm no longer eligible for financial aid, so the plan to just get a diploma in graphic design and try to move on from there is basically a no go.
Basically the only way i could get anything is to try to go for my masters in something... Sigh...
Excuse me whole i go read by Edgar Albert Guest poem a thousand times...
'The world is against me,' he said with a sigh.
'Somebody stops every scheme that I try.
The world has me down and it's keeping me there;
I don't get a chance. Oh, the world is unfair!
When a fellow is poor then he can't get a show;
The world is determined to keep him down low...'
so in relative of 10 minutes, to things happen that just completely ruined my day.
Hungry I started to cook, but couldnt find any utensil since two days ago my apart got a thorough cleaning with a lot of stuff getting thrown out. So to try and which move a effing hot skillet and broken off the stove (I couldn't find the one with the freaking handle) I burnt my finger and now it looks like Rudolf's red nose!
After I finished and ate, I realized I left my mp3 on the counter, so I went back to get it, as I was picking it up it fell, the Scandisk popped out, I heard a ding and than it was nowhere to be found. The kitchen light was also off so I have no freaking clue which direction it went. I hopped down on my stomach to look for it and it was nowhere to be found... It could've gone under the fridge, the stove, the dishwasher or any of the cracks on this good forsaken world.
I'm ready to sleep and hope I don't wake up at this point because I'm starting to get tired again.
Don't let the little things break you, @DragonKing. You have already overcome so much in your young life, and you've proved many times that you are incredibly resilient. It takes great strength to keep marching when you're tired, and you have proven that strength more than once.
@DragonKing Backup your files, but don't give up on the laptop. With a lot of care, it could keep working for a long time and save you money on an upgrade for a while. I had a laptop with the same damage, and while I did get a new one, the old one is still working in the hands of one of my cousins, last I heard.
So... I order a completely new scandisk this morning, 1 day delivery but now low and behold what happens, my mp3 isn't charging or connecting to my laptop like it was earlier today...
My unwise habits seem to be catching up to me, and I now have a limited tolerance for what was once incredibly fun. I'm not really unhappy with this, but it definitely is taking some getting used to. I also have huge difficulties with sleeping, which seem pretty stubborn. On the plus side, I'm a better worker, and I'm over all a better person, but this is sometimes very hard to deal with, having my crutches behave like road blocks.
Weirdest example, I have trouble tolerating my previously normal levels of alcohol, but only if I'm not singing. This isn't a huge problem, since I love wine and song an awful lot, but its nice to watch movies while drinking too. I should probably just accept I'm finished with excessive drinking and concentrate on my new obsession, making money... which is very odd for a person who spent +30 years placing about as much value on money as a monk with a vow of poverty. Life is very odd if you think about it.
It's official, I'm a millennial who seems to bring destruction to technology as if I was a boomer.
Yesterday someone sent me the deposited amount to commission me through cash app. Now, I've had the app for a while but never really used it do to the lack of a bank account... Yes, it's been 29 years and I literally just this moment opened a bank account after constant on and off researching what would be better for me, online banking, credit union, or old school banking. Being a millennial, online banking won.
So, after connecting the account to my cash app, I start back looking around to see how I transfer the money out. So I start messing around with the cash out and instantly cash out the money....but to where idk. I didn't go into my chime bank account. The only other options is it went into my pops bank account which was already connected to it. Reason why? Dads a boomer who doesn't know the basics of anything that isn't engineering XD, so I had to play the proxy of sending my brother money for him. Seriously, I can count on one hand how often he has touched the internet...or a computer XD
*takes infinite free shots at my pops*
But this story is about my stupidity, so let's continue...
So either the money went into his bank account, or there seems to be a visa debit card connected to my account, it's not active but from what I just read these accounts do have their own debit card and I downloaded the money in to that card before I ordered it (just did).
You see, this is why I just stick to drawing, at least I know what I'm doing there.
That's interesting. Despite almost everything being privatized here, we do have special disability insurance, and were able to get counselling and therapy for my wife in less than a month. COnsidering our health system here in the US, I doubt these agencies get any more money in our country than in yous. Maybe its an infrastructure problem?
That's interesting. Despite almost everything being privatized here, we do have special disability insurance, and were able to get counselling and therapy for my wife in less than a month. COnsidering our health system here in the US, I doubt these agencies get any more money in our country than in yous. Maybe its an infrastructure problem?
I heard just yesterday on the radio that the psychology branch of medicine is the lowest paid. That may mean less people in med-schools are pursuing that specialty.
Well psychology is not a hard science so it makes since to me that they are paid less than other medical branches.
Psychology may not be a hard science, but in order to be a psychiatrist you have to be a Medical Doctor with all of the same specialization requirements as a surgeon or a radiologist. That same radio segment I mentioned earlier also said you basically have to specialize twice to be a psychiatrist (they didnt elaborate so I dont know what was meant by that).
Comments
Sigh.
I hope things work out though and you can get the courses you need - I know lots of places demand them
I also know photographers tend to either be themselves graphic designer OR employ, on a piece basis, graphic designers, so that might be another avenue too if you've already got some skill
My mom's side of the family is incredibly large due to her coming from a family of ten children (the youngest, my aunt, is the grandmother of the girl in question). I have 27 cousins, 7 other surviving aunts and uncles, god knows how many spouses and second cousins. I always assumed we would give a shit enough to help out in a situation like this, but that is turning out not to be the case.
My sister (who is closest to my cousin whose daughter is sick) set up a Go-Fund Me page with a modest goal of $10,000. My cousin had to quit both her jobs, she simply can't do anything but take care of her daughter 24/7 for the immediate future. It started off ok, and I initially thought "oh, this will hit the goal no problem". And then.....nothing. We can see who has donated (and everyone knows the situation by now and has to have seen it on Facebook). My aunt's life-long best friend gave, we got a big donation of $1000 dollars from someone in our hometown, and some kindness from total strangers. But almost no one from the family has even given so much as $5. 2 other cousins besides myself donated. None of us are exactly swimming in loot, but we all gave $50. I sent my sister another $100 to give to her personally this weekend. I told my aunt last night I'd try give my cousin $50 every 3 or 4 weeks going forward (if I can afford games I don't play, I can afford to not buy them anymore and do this instead). But I have two uncles at the very least who are loaded with cash. If I had their kind of money I would cut a $1000 check as quick as I take out the trash, and give it less thought. But there has been nothing.
I don't know if it makes me mad or depresses me. I thought for sure we'd see everyone chip in and give $10, $25. And it just died on the vine. It makes me question everything I thought I knew about my relatives. I don't understand how random strangers can give $50 sight unseen and my aunt's brothers and sisters won't throw in $50 or $100 to help her only grandchild, especially since my aunt is by far the youngest of the 10 and I would have imagined they would at least feel some kind of paternal instinct to help her daughter get through this. It upsets me deeply that no one is stepping up to help. I can't stand it that people will leave meaningless platitudes and "likes" and "prayers" on Facebook and do nothing of actual substance to help out. It's all talk to make themselves feel better and no action.
It's not that, the money is simply so my cousin can get by for the next couple of years with her bills outside of the medical realm since there is simply no way she will be able to work. Her daughter's other medical issues (which involve digestion and severe acid reflux) only complicate things. In one sense, she is actually lucky in that the child's father's military insurance will take care of that portion of it (many don't have this). We were simply hoping the family would chip in some small amount to help her cover rent, food, etc for the next 18 months to a year. She is going to have to move close to the hospital to make the treatment feasible. There are many people who DON'T have the luxury of having the medical portion covered. There are probably people in worse situations. I am simply disappointed in my relatives.
I'm still hoping they reach out to my aunt personally, which we are still thinking they MIGHT do, but seeing as they haven't even CALLED her yet, I'm not really holding out much hope. In my own personal situation with my GF's cancer, I found that it makes people VERY uncomfortable to talk about, which caused me to just shut everyone out completely for almost two years. I've found in my own experience there is a initial "ra-ra kick cancer's butt" phase, and in 3 months, everyone has forgotten about it, and you and maybe 3 or 4 other people are the only ones left to deal with it on your own.
In my opinion, if we really want or need something, it's very important to communicate openly about it and not think "they should have noticed and offered help". While that feeling is understandable, sometimes explaining the situation and just asking "would you be able to support her a bit?" might be better.
Sometimes people don't even know if their help would be wanted and appreciated, or relatives don't feel addressed by a public announcement, or sometimes they even react with hurt feelings like "Why do they ask total strangers as if we weren't there?"
I don't know how close your cousin is to all those relatives. Do they personally know about the child's condition, do they talk regularly, or do you just assume they should have seen on Facebook?
Another thing, about what you mentioned in the last part of your last post: Sometimes it just makes people uncomfortable because they don't know how much attention is wanted or needed, or they don't know what to say and don't want to be awkward or intrusive, especially if they're not closest family.
I see the same at work when a colleague is really sick, especially with cancer. I work in a hospital, we see such "cases" every day, but people still hesitate to contact a colleague in the same situation, because they don't know if it would be interpreted as inappropriate curiosity. It's difficult.
Of course, that shouldn't be the case if we're talking about grandchildren or nephews.
I hope you find a way to reach out to them personally. It might be easier than you think, and they might be supportive if asked directly. If nobody tries, if everyone waits for the other to take the first step, you'll never find out.
I remember when pops first found out I had to hear the,"boy don't you be doing that mess no more you here, up there with no food." Speech...
I just feel like a weight dragging them down with me as I continue to fail.
Basically the only way i could get anything is to try to go for my masters in something... Sigh...
Excuse me whole i go read by Edgar Albert Guest poem a thousand times...
'The world is against me,' he said with a sigh.
'Somebody stops every scheme that I try.
The world has me down and it's keeping me there;
I don't get a chance. Oh, the world is unfair!
When a fellow is poor then he can't get a show;
The world is determined to keep him down low...'
Hungry I started to cook, but couldnt find any utensil since two days ago my apart got a thorough cleaning with a lot of stuff getting thrown out. So to try and which move a effing hot skillet and broken off the stove (I couldn't find the one with the freaking handle) I burnt my finger and now it looks like Rudolf's red nose!
After I finished and ate, I realized I left my mp3 on the counter, so I went back to get it, as I was picking it up it fell, the Scandisk popped out, I heard a ding and than it was nowhere to be found. The kitchen light was also off so I have no freaking clue which direction it went. I hopped down on my stomach to look for it and it was nowhere to be found... It could've gone under the fridge, the stove, the dishwasher or any of the cracks on this good forsaken world.
I'm ready to sleep and hope I don't wake up at this point because I'm starting to get tired again.
My garbage A broken laptop just fell to the ground and now this
Weirdest example, I have trouble tolerating my previously normal levels of alcohol, but only if I'm not singing. This isn't a huge problem, since I love wine and song an awful lot, but its nice to watch movies while drinking too. I should probably just accept I'm finished with excessive drinking and concentrate on my new obsession, making money... which is very odd for a person who spent +30 years placing about as much value on money as a monk with a vow of poverty.
Yesterday someone sent me the deposited amount to commission me through cash app. Now, I've had the app for a while but never really used it do to the lack of a bank account... Yes, it's been 29 years and I literally just this moment opened a bank account after constant on and off researching what would be better for me, online banking, credit union, or old school banking. Being a millennial, online banking won.
So, after connecting the account to my cash app, I start back looking around to see how I transfer the money out. So I start messing around with the cash out and instantly cash out the money....but to where idk. I didn't go into my chime bank account. The only other options is it went into my pops bank account which was already connected to it. Reason why? Dads a boomer who doesn't know the basics of anything that isn't engineering XD, so I had to play the proxy of sending my brother money for him. Seriously, I can count on one hand how often he has touched the internet...or a computer XD
*takes infinite free shots at my pops*
But this story is about my stupidity, so let's continue...
So either the money went into his bank account, or there seems to be a visa debit card connected to my account, it's not active but from what I just read these accounts do have their own debit card and I downloaded the money in to that card before I ordered it (just did).
You see, this is why I just stick to drawing, at least I know what I'm doing there.
I heard just yesterday on the radio that the psychology branch of medicine is the lowest paid. That may mean less people in med-schools are pursuing that specialty.
Psychology may not be a hard science, but in order to be a psychiatrist you have to be a Medical Doctor with all of the same specialization requirements as a surgeon or a radiologist. That same radio segment I mentioned earlier also said you basically have to specialize twice to be a psychiatrist (they didnt elaborate so I dont know what was meant by that).