So why is it that the week you’ve been laid off, the people from the alumni association of your college call you and hit you up for money? I swear to god, I had the exact same conversation with a guy from MICA in 2001. I almost felt bad for the dude, too—some earnest, nice-sounding kid with a midwestern accent. He got through about half of his shpiel, to the point where the words ‘donation’ and ‘generosity’ come into the prepared speech, when I had to cut him off and tell him, “I got laid off last week.”

I’d hate to think I scared him away from a career in the visual arts…