Check out these doing business as images:
Man in Hat
Image by larryosan
So I took this at century 21 the discount store near the WTC site. The store is doing a booming business as it is right where the tourist buses drop off everyone to visit the site. And I think the store and the bus companies have some arrangement to drop tourists at the store. Anyway they are doing quite well.
Now I ended up there because we had gone to visit the new WTC information center. It was open specially for residents of lower manhattan. A preview for people who lived in the area. But we were bumped for some diplomat from Poland. So the special preview for the people who had been displaced and been poisoned by the foul crap in the area plays second fiddle for important people. Of course my opinion of this operation is they are no more than a glorifyed version of the tragedy book salesman that work the area like busy little cockroaches eating the leftovers from the visitors. These people just happen to have a storefront and more access to saleable material.
Done enough
Image by melissajonas
A friend asked what I was "doing" these days. I'm currently unemployed--no paycheck, no benefits, no office hours, no business cards. No conversations, no lunches, no identity.
This is a choice I made when we decided to remodel. It's cheaper and more practical to have me working at home full time than trying to juggle this project and an outside job. But how do I explain this on my resume? How do I answer the question "what do you do?" Especially when the people asking knew me as a midwife, or a fundraiser.
I'm performing the role of general contractor for a major remodel project: lining up subs, coordinating schedules, ordering supplies. I'm also responsible for skilled labor tasks, mostly plaster repair and painting. I clean, I organize, I oversee the big picture and the tiny details. I budget.
This is a struggle for my identity and my sense of self-worth. I'm lonely, I miss having my own money, and I'm tired of trying to justify what I'm doing. So I've pulled away from social interactions so I don't have to.
