My America's Got Talent Adventure Part IV

So after the summer of 2008, things got really bad. I wasn't eligible for unemployment. I scraped by somehow. I briefly made a few dollars at a local coffee shop and won't go into that. It was a bad experience. I sang at the Tarpon Ice House for tips. Those customers don't tip. They would rather save their $2 for another beer. The owner of the Tarpon kept assuring me the Winter Texans would come to the Tarpon. I was too naive and stupid to know the Winter Texans don't come to the Tarpon. Many nights I sang for beer. No one can survive on that. It was right by the Roach Motel where I lived at the time so there was a convenience factor. The daytime gigs I was doing came to an end as it was now the slow season. I survived on food from the Presby Church Food Pantry. I was not making it. Somehow, I got lucky and even tho there were no jobs on the Island, I got hired at Whataburger. I no longer had to depend on pennies from the Tarpon Ice House.

Work at Whataburger was brutal, but I got food at half price. We also would eat on the sly. There were discarded pieces of burgers and food that were unservable that I fed to my dogs. I would go by the Stripes before closing and they would give me corn dogs and burritos they were going to throw out and I fed those to my dogs. The work was brutal at Whataburger and they worked me near to death it felt like. My feet everyday felt like they were at risk because of my diabetes.

Even tho I had applied at the Condos since a year before, I always felt like the Manager just didn't like me. They were in a bad place staff-wise and even tho I felt the dislike, she hired me for the graveyard shift thanks to Luis. The details of that job are mine to know and I really don't want to go into how terrible the management and a front desk bimbo were to me, so I will keep those to myself. I had moved from the Roach Motel by then so things seemed to improve just because of that. I had applied for food stamps and medical help from the county and since I onoy worked 24 per week, qualified. T

I discovered the B Bus. One fine February day, I fell on the sidewalk. I messed up my face rather badly. It was one big scab. My arms, hands, and wrists were hurt. My front tooth twisted sideways when I fell on it. I broke my nose even tho the ER people wouldn't xray it, I knew is was broken by my blackened eyes. I was badly hurt and had to cancel a gig. The rest, I did all ugly with my injuries and whispers that I must've been beaten up. My face healed surprisingly fast. I started getting treated more aggressively for my diabetes. I have a nice doctor. He started me back on my anxiety meds. We worked on my diabetes meds.

They employed me from Jan to Aug of 2009. They cut me down to 8 hours per day and I had to find something else or I wouldn't make it. That's how they fire you here in Port A sometimes. The GM and the Manager accused me of stealing computer printer ink! That's how ridiculous and horrible those women are.

I was also working at a restaurant as a hostess part time. I want to keep that to myself also, but I managed to piece together money somehow and survived. When the slow season came in September that disappeared as well.

I applied at a new coffee house and was hired. There were problems with a manager I call the Nazi Troll. I was so stressed out as a result of her mistreatment, I ended up in the ER with serious diabetes problems. They fired me for calling in sick even tho I only missed work because of my 2 ER visits. Besides that, I never called in and was never even late. This time, I qualified for UI Benefits. I worked there from Aug to Oct 2009.

I have been surviving on that. This is where I am today. Surviving the Slow Season til Spring gets here and hopefully Luis and I can get some gigs and I can get a job that pays enuf for me to survive.

Then, sometime in late 2009, I got another letter from AGT.