have you ever slept in a wal-mart parking lot?

hey bro you have to check out urbancamping on youtube or serch website like startpage search urban camping
awsome tips good for anybody really
and hey
idk if you got some artistic talents to persue this might be the perfect time for that-cuz your OP was moveing and would call you a skilled writer
s&f-late

reply to post by Mrgone


Im in a K mart parking lot.. No i have been close. Wish you well

Good Luck OP!

Don't let the nastiness of some on here get you down! Some people really don't understand what it's truly like when you're long term unemployed and down on your luck. Call it ignorance, call it lack of empathy. They don't understand, and will never understand.

I can really relate to your story, I've been unemployed since November 2010. I have a BA in Communications (granted, not the best Degree in retrospect), and have not had any hits or any real returns on any job prospects in over 6 months. I've been denied for jobs posted for High school Grads, denied for minimum wage jobs, and it seems the only job responses I receive now are spam...

So I feel your pain.

I've lost my Apartment, sold off most of my possessions on eBay, went through all of my savings, and at the moment have about $200 in my bank account. Just before I started living in my car/ friends couches, I moved back home (thankfully I still had that as a fall back, despite how low it is). Two months ago, my state ended Extended benefits, despite being one of the worst hit states in unemployment, many were cut off their benefits and erased from the unemployed data.

So I'm selling off everything else I have (and with the help of a few private loans) will attempt to start my own business. If I'm unemployable, then I will be my own boss.

What is going on with America?

It almost seems like we're not qualified enough for Jobs that that fall into our ranges of capability, we're over qualified for minimum wage jobs so they don't even respond, and we now have the "mark" of being long term unemployed so we can't even get interviewed; When we do we're passed on. I'm 32 years old, have a clean record, a College degree, Management experience, and you would think I was a 70 year old ex con trying to break back into the job market after a 40 year stint in prison...

I also have several friends going through the same situations... It seems desperate, and there's talks that were going to go into a 2nd recession, so who knows...

In my home state Rhode Island, to give you an idea of how bad it is, The Fire Department had 50 positions open up, over 3000 applicants showed up. The question is really, what's the true unemployment numbers (far greater then what's being reported obviously). There's many more of us out there, than the media and unemployment data are saying...

Don't give up, there's always hope. Even when at your lowest, just remember there's millions of us out there going through similar struggles. Eventually there will come a breaking point if our society continues down this path. I just hope it gets better soon, for all of us, before we reach that point...

So, again, good luck to you OP. There are many many more like you. You are not alone.

Ive been looking for a full time job for 3 years, handed out over 100 resumes my resume is as good it could be for my current situation (im a 21 year old highschool dropout, didn't have any parental guidence from ages 17-21). Just letting you guys know, the "Overqualified" thing doesn't seem to really exist, as i can't even get a dead end job highschool drop out job !

Anywase i would love to to back to school but im only working part time, if i try to finish my highschool, then go to college how am i going to support myself? You gotta have money to go to college but you gotta go to college to have money it seems...

I could just go back to hustlin; da block.... atleast i would go back to having a job where i get treated with respect.

I've been there op,just hang on...The most important is never to give up,keep yourself hygenic and apply at as many as you can.And don't let the "we are not hiring" get you down....Also you might wanna try some "off the book" jobs at night especially in restaurants(at least you won't have to worry about food)...Oh and also look on craigslist for on-site super positions for apartment buildings as they offer free apartment...
I slept two months in D train in NYC back in 2009 and looked for work during the day.I ended up with 2jobs and 3hours sleep a night while showering at a local gym until i got back on my feet.So yes there is still hope..


Most of all GOOD LUCK

reply to post by Mrgone

It's a sad state of affairs when this happens to someone with your resume and background and just goes to show it can happen to anyone.
I am sorry for your predicament
Do you have family nearby?Friends that could help you out?Any fellow ats'ers nearby that could give you a hand up?Does the department of Veteran affairs have any programs for ex military in need?

I have a feeling the sorry monsters that run our system are looking at their last days of comfort,they are the ones that should be sleeping in a parking lot not the hard working people of this world, we the people built this country.

This should anger everyone to stand up and do something about these criminal banksters they should all be in prison.

Apply for welfare and public housing.

This is the sort of situation it was meant for. Why should the benefits go to worthless bloodsuckers who are just being lazy, when it could be going to good, honest, hardworking people like you who just need to get back on their feet? Once you've got the "four hots and a cot" covered, you can be safe and secure until you get moving again. It sounds like you have a good resume, I'm sure you'll find a job once you're in a position to look for one again.

As for the "right-now," consider doing cleaning jobs, yard work, or other similar "day work" type jobs where you can get paid in cash at the end of the day. You can get food donations from most churches, the Salvation Army, soup kitchens, etc.

My girlfriend lived in a Jeep with her ex-boyfriend for several months. She had nothing. She lost her kids, made mistakes, and hit rock bottom. She's doing so much better today, you'd hardly believe it was all part of the same life story.

Once you're in a position to rent a movie and watch it, you should watch "The Pursuit of Happiness." You'll be able to relate to it a lot!

Good Luck OP having the only view available be that of Wal Mart you could get Subconsciously drawn to it. Just trying to lighten the mood seriously good luck and don't let the police find you.

You have 2 options, maybe 3.

1. Use that full tank of gas to drive to the midwest and find a job there, believe me there is plenty of work to be found in this country. It's no ones fault but your own that you live in California. Not trying to blame you for that but it certainly isn't anyone elses fault you live there.

2. Use this opportunity to become a truly free individual. Start to really enjoy life, don't take the little things for granted anymore. Money doesn't make one happy. Things don't make one happy. Houses don't make one happy. Didn't they teach you how to camp and hunt a little in the military? If not go rent a book from the library and learn how to do it. Everything you need can be found in nature. Debt and money are make believe things, they aren't real, they don't have any value or lack there of.

3. Whine and bitch about the economy and the bad position you have been put in (really put yourself in, emphasizing that point because you are the only one that can get you out of this, you might as well realize you were the only one to get yourself into it too) and hope that the donations you might get when you set up a paypal account will get you through the next month or 2 and then wonder what you are going to do after that.

Sucks man, but there are plenty of people that are either in your boat or close to it.

Then there is the rest of the WORLD that lives like this every day, every week, every month, every year, every generation. We are fat and lazy, the rest of the worlds population somehow makes due without grocery stores, T.V.'s, Air conditioning, a home, etc.

Are you a hard man or are you a whining cissy? I think I know the answer to that, and you probably do too even if you don't realize it.

Man up dude, and take care of yourself. If you can make it to Omaha Nebraska I can feed you and give you a tank of gas and a place to sleep. I believe in you, just believe in yourself.

I just want to try and put some of this in context. Millions of people live in shacks they build with refuse they find laying around. They live in those while they hold jobs, have kids, fall in love, go to school, I mean they LIVE in them. Full time their whole lives, they have no hope to ever live in a house with 4 walls and a foundation. They would probably consider your current life style a refreshing vacation. You have LOADS more already than most people that are alive today.

Think about that.

reply to post by Mrgone


I'm sorry to hear that. I was kinda in the same boat when i was a kid first moving away from home had 1 kid at the age of 18 and a 2nd when i was 20 then agian when i was 22. But when i was around 19-20 i seen it coming so what i did is i bought a pick up truck sleeped in the bed of my truck and during the day i would find pallets to rebuild for free and sell them back or i scraped or worked on a farm. my state i was not doing very good so i had to move to a different state it took me about 3 months before i could move my girlfriend and kids but it did take after a wile. there are jobs out there. and it sucks to have to take some of them but you need something that is going to pay. goto a temp agency. find a big farm see if they might need a hand. try people to people, hud, habitat for humanity. some states have a lot of help agency's i would give them a shot. If your white your probably not going to qualify though.

Yes I have and oddly enough I worked in the same industry as you, and am I vet also. I used to be a Freelance Effects artist. It was rough but doable in the L.A. area up to 2008. Between the downturn and places like Vancouver, Louisiana and London giving out Tax incentives the work pretty much dried up. A lot of studios have set up shop overseas and just maintain a store front in L.A. now.
I once asked Dennis Maureen, the Head of Industrial Light and Magic, what we as artists could do about it. He just asked me "Are you single and do you have a passport?"
Needless to say not what I wanted to hear.

I left L.A. and recently went back to do some freelance there. I slept in my truck trying to save a few bucks since I did not want to set down roots again until I knew if I had more long term work. Turned out the show got canceled and the work went away.
This past spring I saw entire families sleeping in cars in the shadows of closed and empty big box stores.
I would see five or six cars parked around at a distance from each other and I admit it was depressing.
It was like seeing people living in the bones of old dead dinosaurs.

Since your half way there you may try to look for work up in Vancouver. I've heard they have set up so many studios up there now they are almost hiring anyone that can push a mouse. It's worth a try.

By any chance can you mention what studio or film you worked on?

Just wanted to write some thing in the original posters defense. It's very hard to get a job in this industry. Depending on what you do in it you need to know something about art, science, anatomy, physics, some programing and scripting, Color theory, Cinematography, acting, animation not to mention knowing 3 or 4 very specialized programs. And you can't just hand out resumes. You need to have a demo reel that shows you know how to do the work. If they are looking for someone to make a Zebra and all you have is cars on your reel you won't get hired.
The hours are long, usually 10 to 16 hour days. I once put in a 28 hour day. And I've done 16 hour days 7 days a week for 3 months. There is no health insurance, unless your staff. Most of the time you work a few weeks of really long hours then your laid off and have to find another gig.
So why do it?
Well they pay can be rally nice as long as you get overtime. And your work gets seen by millions of people. Your lucky if you get your name in the credits though. There is no union and usually no recourse if you get screwed. VFX studios literally come and go. Out of the 20 places I have worked
6 went bankrupt, 5 moved overseas and 9 did not keep a permanent staff on hire.
But if you do land a staff gig you usually can make a pretty good living.

So do what you have to do to get by at the moment and keep trying.

So I am working through a lot of responses and updating all of you who have been quietly following the situation today. I have noticed that many people have lately been just reading the original post then responding without reading through the rest of the thread. When you do that you may repeat other's advice which is OK or you may miss the updates as to my progress. Here is where I am today.

Shelter
I have been able to stay at a friend's apartment on her couch. She lives alone and has stage 3 Breast Cancer for which she can not afford the treatment and refuses to put her two brothers into debt over. Of course we are all rooting for her but it is for her to decide the direction that her life takes. She may need to move in with her Brother's family soon. Last night I got a new glimpse of her condition when we were both in the kitchen and she asked me how much potatoes I wanted. Her voice was weak and we were both facing away from each other so I turned to ask her about the portions and that is when I noticed that she had a hold of the stove and was slumped over the edge. I caught her from behind just as her head went for the range. I laid her down right there and assured her that she was OK. She had insisted that if anything like this happens that I was only to call for help if she could not respond. For ten minutes she lay on the floor wincing in pain. I kept track of her pulse which never rose above 78 and checked twice to ensure that her eyes dilated. After 27 minutes I let her sit up and drink some water. After that I did the cooking. She said it was the third time in a month that it had happened. One poster above had stated that I should not panic about MY situation because I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I believe that last night I was.

Food
It turns out that my friend, lets call her Teri, has a monthly food card from the state. She earns buy sitting her twin nephews and by cleaning some of her friends places. The card is actually more than she needs in a month so she has been going down at the end of each month and taking the remaining credit on the card and buying food for a local food bank. We have known each other for a few years and we both have joked about how careless and ruthless she is. Turns out she has been hiding quite a few secrets about being one of the more kinder people that I know. She has made it clear that as long as she can I will not go hungry. Believe me I am returning that favor to her in other ways that I can. If she is really going to refuse treatment then she will need some one around.
Also, there is a Franz bakery outlet 1 mile from her place. I have started checking their shelves every few days for really good deals. Between there and the apartment is a farmers market. It is the cheapest one that I have ever scene. Some of the food is just about to rot but what does that matter if I eat it immediately?

Searching for Work
The local Worksource for Washington State has good directions to point a person in but I already check their job list daily. I post for jobs from there but the ratio of posting to receiving a reply is very poor. I stay on it. Many great suggestions have been made from posters on here. Too many to list. If you made a suggestion you can be sure that I have given it much thought. One guy even suggested re-enlisting. I had started the process last year and was under the impression that my recruiter and I missed my deadline. This is in no way my favorite option but I will look into it again for the sake of my children. I will also try a different recruiter since the last one may have been a knucklehead.
Yesterday I locked my key in my car, instead of panicking I stood and though of what I should do. After all, I am exactly where I am supposed to be right? I came up with a plane. I went over to the nearest and largest construction site in the area and knocked on the boss's trailer. After telling him that I needed two feet of metal banding he had it brought to me. It took about 30 minutes to get my technique right and I went straight to the apartment, got a copy of my resume, down to the store and bought a 6 pack of beer and brought them back to the Boss. I made my pitch to his assistant because the boss had gone home for the day. She looked over my resume and told me that she would pass it on. She said the beer was a nice touch and we laughed about it being the best way to bride a construction worker. No word from him yet. I am going to stop by again later on today.
Lastly, I am set for a few hiring seminars for Veterans within the next few weeks . I have never been to one. I am not really sure what to expect.

continued in next post...

reply to post by Mrgone


You should write a book on your experiences, call it "Living in a Wal-Mart Car Park"

reply to post by Mrgone


Life is like that, you really don't know what you have until it's all gone. The truth is that you are now richer in much more than material wealth, because the material wealth has been removed form your life you are now taking notice of the right things in life like the people around you.

As you said, you are in the right place and I believe that as well.

I can relate to you, I have lost nearly everything financially, kept my marriage together (just) but I am in debt to the tune of $3 Million Dollars and there is ZERO chance I will ever crawl out of this hole but I tell you something, being broke, I have not been this happy in years.

I have a genuine smile on my face and I have noticed my humanity is starting to flourish again, I am taking notice of the small things in life and try to be more friendly with people. A smile is one of the best forms of charity and when you don't have the distractions of this worldly life you tend to show your honesty much better.

I don't believe in bad things, I just count them as a blessing and a lesson in disguise.

to Mash3D,

I wanted to thank you for pointing out what you have in regards to our industry. I don't mind letting you know where I worked. Omation Studios. The project was Barnyard the Movie. I was a Technical Director with Team XSI and our job as a team was to create a pipeline for the entire studio to streamline the artist to technician flow. In that capacity I would rig models using JScript, instruct Maya Users on where the button they were looking for was, Composite shots for the final render process and work with the producers and the camera angles of every shot so that the scene could be optimized for efficiency. One poster above called me lazy, stupid and a bad decision maker. At least you know what it takes to do all of that. Lazy and stupid couldn't work in that environment. I am named in the credits and very proud of that.

Before anyone asks why I don't get a job somewhere else, XSI is a very expensive software package that animation houses tend to shy away from. It costs ten times more than Maya per computer using it. 200 employees running 400+ computers at around $5000 per license. This means most smaller companies don't want it no matter how powerful it is. The difference in power and ability is like saying I drive a Honda but would prefer a Mercedes. I have heard of companies in Vancouver that use XSI but my Demo Real is a little outdated. And I am a little out of practice with XSI. It is like anything else. You must be up to current trends to stay above the rest. I spent four years at the box store full time. It doesn't leave a lot of time to study the latest updates and train yourself in the newest tools. I have something up up here...XSI Animations I did Mine are the hammer drop, pendulum, slingshot and building demolition.

I need to log off of the Library computer in 60 seconds so I will continue this post in a second.

Post continued....

Now I have also been blown away by the amount of people here who have come to me through PM with suggestions and offers of lending me a hand. I am just blown away. I remember that I was once very upset about some of the trolls on my threads, thinking that they almost number 1/3 of the posts and that this must have been what ATS had become. When I wrote this post it was a weird sort of self abuse moment where I thought, well lets see what I can be called that I haven't already thought of myself. I have been wrong and I a humbled by all of you. When I do get things straight, I will be writing a thread about the humanity that I have witnessed here.

Lessons

As I have walked around looking for work near Teri's place I have passed many people on the street walking as well. It has not rained here in a while and most people look happy to be in the sun. I have been greeted with smiles as people pass by as well as the occasional "good day" Can't do that from a car. When I tell someone to have a good day now I really mean it.

There have been mentions about feeling blessed for a loss of my possessions. Being an amateur sculptor I do miss my tools. A lot. I worked with metal and wood. All of that is gone for now. I love working with my hands in the evenings instead of watching TV and I miss that very much. I have been thinking of alternative things to work with for now and trying to get creative.
I miss seeing all of my kids's stuff on the fridge. Pictures, drawings, the funny things that we would hang up at the end of a day. I miss sitting around and playing xBox with my son. It was a great way for us to bond in the evenings while his sister read. I miss watching her read quietly on the big chair in the corner.
Some have suggested that things being gone means I am better off since things tend to possess people. I didn't have that much to begin with, just my tools and my bed. A sofa and a small tv. A laptop and a desk to work on. Still have the Laptop. But it is 10 years old. I am running software on it from 2005 since I don't think that it would handle any upgrades well. Can still write stories on it though.
I am grateful for Teri. And my kids having a place to stay with the Ex's Parents. They are fine and know very little about my situation since they need to focus on school and get the best start possible for when they graduate.

I will continue to let everyone know what I am up to and thank you again for all of the advice. Even the tough love as some of you have put it. I look forward to the day when I am in a position to return the love that so many of you have shown me regardless of even knowing my name. I wish that this sort of anonymous moral support was more prevalent in the world. I have seen times where people freely admit that they troll because it is fun to watch people get mad. If you do this you really should check your hearts. My grandfather was a man of few words and before he died I found out why. He told me that "a man who spoke all the time had little to say and a man who spoke little should choose his words carefully". I was 11 when he said that. I'm 39 now and I can still smell the smoke on his jacket.

I will be back with an update later in regards to the job search today and such. I believe that things are looking good right now. When I leave the library today I am going to smile at every person who looks at me and say have a good day. Probably freak them out but at least some of them will get it.

Cheers

HA!!!!!! Once again my intuition was dead on!!
For some reason I knew you worked at Omation. I worked there when the studio first started up. I used to carpool down every day from Pasadena to San Celemente. That was an hour and a half commute one way.
Not sure if we worked there at the same time though.
I was there From January to 2004 to August 2004. I was in the modeling department, sort of. I was the in between guy for the modeling and rigging department. I would prep the models then hand them off to the rigging guys and clean them up if something was wrong.
What I couldn't fix was them redesigning the characters after entire sequences had been animated.
What they did to everyone at the end just SUCKED.
To bring everyone else up to speed. So they did the film and they were promising everybody years of work. I mean people bought houses down there thinking they had a good deal. Sometimes an animated film may get picked up for a tv series. And that means a good steady income for good stretch of time.
At it's peak the studio had 300 people employed. They busted their butts to get the film done and soon as it was finished they laid off everyone and moved the entire operation to India. And they keep telling them they were going to be working on the TV series right up to the end.

I've done a bit of XSI work at different places. I still like using it more than Maya.
Send me a private message with your email. I know of one studio that uses XSI on a regular basis and one of the the guys I used to work with is a supervisor now at one of the studios in L.A.
I can't promise anything but at least I'll pass along your info with a good word.

reply to post by Mrgone


Mrgone, I read your OP yesterday evening, welled up quite a bit, thought about giving you some moral support, but moved on quietly as I don't have any useful advice for you since I'm in the UK and our systems are different. Besides others seemed to have a better method of helping than I could have done.

But I've pondered your position at work today; you showed very little self pity in your post and maintained optimism in the face of some pretty dire circumstances, the likes of which have always been ever-present for me, though luckily not yet. Another "new media" guy

If it were me, I wouldn't like to even think how I'd react to your situation. I'd panic and probably cause myself to have a breakdown before the first day was out if I'm honest, and would be no use to myself or anyone else.

Your children have a fantastic father who is intelligent, couteous, thoughtful and dignified. You're possibly right to shield them from your situation because if that was my dad I simply couldn't concentrate on college work. However, they'll probably shout at you if/when they learn of your past situation.

If you have a paypal account (or other method), please let me know what your username is and I'll pop something in there. It won't mean you can buy a house, but it might mean a little petrol (gas!) to get somewhere or a meal.

I sincerely wish you well. We all do daft things when we're younger, some of us (ahem) still do

reply to post by SpaceshipDipstick




Thanks. I am...I don't know what to say. I didn't mean to ask for money. Your offer means a lot. I have come to a balance with my resources and I wanted to ask you for something.

I hope you accept my request as genuine. Take what you were thinking about giving me and find the local food bank and give them as much highly nutrient food as it will buy. When you do know that you fed people just the same as me.
Bless you for offering.

OP have you ever thought of homesteading/ going off-grid? I'm 23 years old and have been checking in on this website for 5 years now (finally made an account lol).

Having read alot of stories such as yours, I one day thought of instead of relying on money, I would become self sufficient. It would require a chunk of money to get started but the goal would be to grow my own food, and build my own shelter.

Just the thought of having to depend on a fiat currency to support myself and perhaps one day a family, disturbs me. And it saddens me how so many people in this world think that is the only way to live. I honestly think most jobs are just a modern day form of slavery.

Just a few rich slave masters, with slaves working in the fields doing all the grunt work? Oh no I have a better idea. It's called Free Trade and Capitalism. Now anyone can start their own business then hire a bunch of their own slaves, and pay minimum wage. A friend of mine just landed a marketing job, he had to hold a sign on a street corner all day... (oh no, can't stick our sign in the ground because that's city property. instead lets hire a young kid to be a human sign post. perfect!) ugh....

I just refuse to take part in this insanity.