Vice has been running a hilarious (and sobering) column for years now called London Rental Opportunity of the Week, which I stumbled on a few days ago; the author is hanging up his shingle and wrote a kiss-off to all landlords everywhere.
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…
Hey, I got hit, too. I claimed “triplets” and immediately was let go. I hate to admit it, but it was kinda fun waving my excuse around like a platinum VISA.