GFM Update

By Circe -
Direct financial news: Thanks to a GoFundMe, I have pre-paid three months of anything that will let me do that. At the very least, I will have phone service through this debacle. The city I'm in has just signed an eviction moratorium of its own, to be in effect until the health department says it's safe to turf people again (so, probably April~June). I'm calling legal aid to check, but given that every two miles is a new ZIP code in MA, and that no one sane would rent to me on my current (lack of) income, my best bet may be to stay exactly where I am until someone finds a way to remove me. I just got in touch with the person who was paying utilities and I'm going to try to negotiate paying THEM for it all, so I'm not subject to all the fees involved in transferring everything into my own name. 

I've been referred to some other, smaller funds, but to be honest, I'm not sure what to apply for. The problem that I have is not a temporary matter of "I need to pay the gas bill this month" but a structural matter. I do skilled professional work in a large number of fields. And I'm trying not to sound full of myself here, but a lot of them are fields which require not just education and experience, but a certain amount of innate talent or inspiration. I am not really fungible: I execute a lot of projects that have been designed entirely in my head, and exist in no one else's. The people who value my work don't have enough money to shovel it at me on the regular, and the people who have that kind of money systematically devalue any kind of work that isn't their own. I'm not physically capable of doing a lot of the generic gruntwork people normally resort to, especially under the conditions it normally happens, which people should not be reduced to anyhow because it's degrading wage-slavery. It's been a problem my entire adult life, and no amount of "COVID relief" grants will fix it. 

Other news: There IS a way to fix it long-term, at least sort of. The best thing you guys can do for me right now is direct people to the work I'm still able to do, which is showcased on my Patreon, here on my blog, my Facebook, my Insta,and now my Twitch channel. A friend has recently contacted me asking if I'd like to be a researcher/regular guest on their Twitchcast thing; no money YET but hopefully some money as soon as they hit affiliate status. Another friend just let me know the animatic for a pitch pilot I did some voice work for is coming along swimmingly, so hopefully I'll be able to show that off soon. 

In the meantime: #happyratmas. I've decided that it's going to be Ratmas until 2021, because Og knows 2020 blew goats and I want something at least marginally happy to think about. Celebrating Ratmas involves being warm and comfortable, and never being more than slightly peckish at any time. Food is the one thing I have more than sorted, so the rats and I can be under seven blankets and full of random snacks for the remainder of the #12daysofratmas, no problem.


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