Originally posted by BDBionic
Firstly... pixxxel... "Brian" is an exotic name?!

Secondly, J...

On the list of people from whom you'd want to solicit relationship advice, I'm near the bottom. Smack dab between that Republican Senate candidate from Illinois who dropped outta the race because his freaky kink fetish excursions with his ex wife got exposed and Catherine the Great.

On the job front thingamajigger - and let me preface this by wise words from my father to the effect of "Don't ask for advice unless you're ready and willing to hear something you don't wanna hear" - though... when all else fails, go retail.
There's gotta be something around. Anything. Sometimes you just gotta swallow your pride and take whatever job is available. And I don't mean sellin' your ass on the street or kidnapping babies for scientific experiments. I mean none of us are above making frappachinos or folding clothes when we have to.

I learned that myself when I made the decision to leave the government/security industry and try my luck at the Internet... only to find myself going from folding dotcom to dotcom during the bubble burst, college educated, a flashy and fancy resume and having worked jobs overseeing subordinates and had multimillion dollar government contracts and corporate decisions made based on my opinions... to working at The Gap. Because it was a guaranteed job when I needed something to keep myself from atrophying, getting caught up in lazyness, feeling unproductive, getting anxious and to help pay the bills as my savings dwindled.

Despite the fact that I had a bazillion great ideas in my head at the time and an endless list of things that would make me rich in my pocket, none of those were paying the bills. The Gap did. Though only for a week because I got hired somewhere else I'd applied to awhile back right after I started working at The Gap. But it was the willingness to take that step down in the first place.

This industry has no shortage of people who financed their own businesses and great ideas by working some shitty ass jobs in the meantime. And getting up, getting dressed and going out to a job everyday is an invaluable motivator. It might not flood your bank account with loads of dough, but it'd be a commitment that'll help get you up and on your feet. And a lot of your other anxieties and frustrations - with b/f, with home, with glasses, with self - will start to sort themselves out or fall in to perspective at least when you're able to produce a paycheck every 2 weeks.

My 2cents.

"Brian" as a name, was more for the "hot" definition than "exotic".

And about work, since I really didn't touch on it in my advice, I would have to agree with what you said to Jay. There is ALWAYS work available. I work fast food, which isn't as glamorous as the Gap, but it pays my bills, and I hate to admit it, but I've had this job for almost 4 years, since I was 16. And I take pride in the fact that I know people who have had a new job every month, and I have worked the same job (albeit with promotions) for 4 years, working hard and never losing face. And it irritates me when people say, "I would never work fast food, I would never do someone elses laundry, etc. etc." Because some people don't have the option to not have to work fast food, or not have to do someone elses work. It's like someone saying, "I could never live on the streets and eat out of a dumpster." If I was in that situation, I sure as hell would be diving in there for something to eat, because sometimes you have NO choice. At my job, I have to clean up after other people, I have to take out the garbage, I have to clean up the bathrooms when people overflow the toilet, it's not glamorous like I said, but it's a job, and I get paid for it. And right now, it's putting me through college, and letting me experiment with adult webmastering without having to worry where I'm going to live, or how I'm going to eat.

And I know I've gone off on a tangent here, but the point I was going to say before I stepped onto my soap box was, fast food places (such as the place I work) are always looking for employees and ALWAYS hiring. Fast food has the WORST turnover of any industry (meaning, we hire/lose more employees regularly than any other business you're going to find). This is attributed to a lot of things, but mostly because it's highschool students to apply, wanting a job, but realize they don't want to work, or people who start working, and think they are too good to flip a burger. But these jobs are not really that bad, except the pay is minimum wage, but if you're serious about improving your situation, it's a start. I would suggest going into fast food places, applying, and if possible ask to speak to the manager (not a shift leader, crew leader, or whatever the hell the titles are for the glorified crew members are), the manager. And just because they're not hiring today, doesn't mean they won't be hiring tomorrow, take it from a guy who has had to train over 20 people in the last few months, there will be a job opening soon.

I hope I didn't ramble on too much, the tiredness is started to get to me. Need to go wake up.

Michael