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    Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
    Showing posts with label money. Show all posts

  1. On the Path Back (I Hope)

    Friday, July 9, 2021


     







    I have good news!  I’m having a comedy show at The Artist on City Island on Friday, August 6th at 8pm.  It’s been soooooo long.  Save the date, people!  Details to come.




    At the poetry workshop, I presented a poem about another group member.  She felt honored.  The rest of the group thought it was great.  Got a few suggestions to consider.  One woman thought it might be a fun idea for people to write a poem about another member of the group.  Not everyone was ready to be written about.  The reaction was mixed.  I like the idea, but it can get very touchy.  Even giving feedback to each other on the poems presented can get very touchy.

     

    I’ve heard comics joking about poets, and poets not particularly liking the character of comics.  I have a leg in both worlds.  I need both and love both.  Like a child of divorce, I hope they both can get along.

     

    My friends and local store clerks have been so wonderful to me.  I needed credit for the last few days, and they were generous and trusting and kind and patient.  I thank God/dess for the angels on Earth very often.

     

    I bought a $2 scratch off ticket, and it won $5.  Yay.  On a very broke day, that ticket is going to rescue me.  I don’t cash it in right away.  I hang onto tickets like that.  When I have only a jar of pennies, a $5 win is helpful. 


    I hope so much that I can earn money again.  I pray the Delta variant doesn’t F us up for another year.  There are people who really helped me get through this financially awful time.  I’d love to be able to show them my appreciation.

     

    I still have debts to pay off.  Plus I’d like to be able to help the person who I put on this Earth if there’s need.


     

     

    Constant love to CGG-M ❤💕❤

    Mindy Matijasevic

     

     

     

    Posted by Mindy Matijasevic at 11:16 PM | Labels: , , , , , | 7 comments | |

  2. Some Things Are Good

    Friday, February 28, 2020












    Hi everyone who reads this.  I appreciate your time and interest.  Now that I finally am feeling decently regarding all I went through for several months with lung issues, I have to be concerned about coronavirus with a piece of shit in the White House.  Goodness!


    Now, onto other news:  Last week I was booked for an acting/photoshoot 
    gig.  I was to show up, and after the paperwork, I would have my pic taken for a game that involves cards.  The ad wanted someone in my age range and who is a cool person.  I consider myself a very cool person.  But the guy wanted to speak on the phone first.  So I braced myself for “cool” to mean something else.  In my experience, “open-minded” has sometimes meant “open-legged” so I thought I should check.  I asked if this was something involving nudity.  He assured me it did not.  I showed up, did the paperwork, and when it was my turn, I was sat in an office and photographed.  Then he asked me to pick up the scissors and open them, then point them at the photographer as if I was threatening to stab him.  I thought of someone I am angry at and let my face follow my thoughts.  He took a couple of pics.  Then he said, “This is great.”  I was done.  I got paid $100 for less than five minutes.  I wish I had more like this.  I really need more like this.


    I headed straight for the bank, deposited the check, and went on my way.  At home I sent him an email thanking him and letting him know I’d love to be considered for any future work.  If this was a regular thing, I’d be financially better than I am now.  It is amazing how fast $100 goes.  One bill and one bottle of wine, and it was gone.


    My buddy and I did some work in my apartment.  It took hours.  We got a 
    big item out of my apartment.  I am now dealing with many piles.  I already got a bag ready for the shelter in my neighborhood.


    Been having weird dreams.  My ex-husband was in one.  A former co-
    worker was in another.  They were all disturbing. 


    I went to a comedy show to support a comedy friend.  He treated for 
    everything including dinner afterwards at the Olive Tree in the Village.  Just what I needed.  I had a good time.  All the comics (some very new) were good.  I even decided I’d contact a few for my show on City Island.  I don’t know if they have enough material yet, but they were all good.  By “good” I mean not just funny, but funny without being hateful.  No one put down those of us who are already down (women, gays, homeless, etc.)


    If you didn’t already put this on your calendar, March 20th is my show on 
    City Island.  I guarantee a very good time!

    https://www.facebook.com/events/656573055114577/




    Big love to CGG-M.  💕

    Posted by Mindy Matijasevic at 11:04 PM | Labels: , , , , | 5 comments | |

  3. When I Have Money...

    Tuesday, March 21, 2017









    When I have enough money, I tend to have toilet paper, tissues, and towel paper.  When I don't have enough money, I typically have one of those things serving many roles.  Also when I have enough money, I put my refund bottles in a shopping bag and put it outside for those who rely on it for income.  If I see someone collecting cans and bottles, I hand them the bag directly.  And when I'm not with enough money, I refund the bottles myself and use each nickel.



    I had a real fun time at Red White & Brew in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn last Wednesday.  I will admit that I was the oldest person in the room.  Still, I felt warmly welcomed by host Vincenzo Bracale, the bartender, and the audience.  It's a long trip from where I live, but I napped on the trains, so it was okay.  I had a decent set, it seemed, from the feedback.  The bartender knew how to make my Long Island Iced Tea, so after two, I had to rely on the audience feedback.  They called my set "great."



    That film I thought I was in next weekend, I don't know what has happened with that.  However, I have an audition on Saturday for an acting role in something.

    I received an email today saying I won $100 on www.gsn.com which I will receive in 3 to 4 weeks.  I know I will need it whenever it arrives.



    Excuse me. Signing off now to get some toilet paper, so I can blow my nose.

    Posted by Mindy Matijasevic at 9:00 PM | Labels: , , , , | 5 comments | |

  4. Post-Blizzard Laughs

    Tuesday, March 14, 2017






    I've been financially limping along, but thanks to angels in my life, I have been able to eat.  

    The good news is there will be a small raise in my salary, I'm performing comedy in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn this Wednesday evening, and I might have a paid acting gig in two weeks.  Not a big amount at all, but something.  I feel a bit hopeful again.  The role is that of a widow named Carmen.  I can do melancholy.

    For those of you who are in Brooklyn or willing to travel to Brooklyn, I'll be performing my stand-up comedy on Wednesday, March 15th, 9pm at Red, White & Brew, 8910 5th Avenue in Bay Ridge.  It's free.   I don't know what other funny people are on the line-up.  I know it's no cover and no minimum.  Come have some post-blizzard laughs on me.

    https://www.facebook.com/redwhitebrewbklynny/




    Posted by Mindy Matijasevic at 5:40 PM | Labels: , , , , , , , , | 1 comments | |



  5. One night I had a wonderful dream.  My son and I were being affectionate, hugging, snuggling cheek to cheek, and he said in my ear, “I love you, Mom.”  I felt so happy.  It felt so real. 

    The next night I was going to a reading from the NYC Writing Project which is connected to the program where I work.  They had held a program for teachers who identify as writers.  At the end, they were having a reading at KGB Bar on East 4th Street.  I wasn’t part of the program, but I wanted to hear the writers and support the NYC Writing Project.  The reading was free.  That helps.  I invited a few people, but only one planned to join me.  Somehow from the way he expressed himself, I got the feeling he wasn’t that into going and would not show.

    I took the 4 train which is an elevated outdoor train in most of the Bronx before it goes underground at 149th Street and the Grand Concourse.  I texted my son and told him about the dream and how good it felt.  After I rode several stops, a woman ran on screaming and then ran out another door.  My heart started racing, sure someone was after her or that a rat was involved.  I’d be screaming like that if a rat was near me.  So I was frantically looking to see what the problem was.  She got back on and sat down.  Suddenly she was up and screaming again.  She went into another car of the train.  Next to where she had been sitting was a pigeon, alive and well.  I laughed with relief that it was just a pigeon.  It seemed harmless compared to what I feared.  I’m sure I wouldn’t have felt so calm if I were feeling followed by it, but compared to a human attacker or a rat, it seemed so innocent.  It chose to ride the train.  It walked around mostly under the seats.  I began to see things from the pigeon’s view and assumed the bird was scared.  The train wasn’t crowded, but things could get hysterical if the pigeon started flying around.  One man tried to grab it.  Maybe it was to set it outside at the next stop, but I didn’t know the man or if he’d hurt the bird.  I was glad he didn’t catch it.  



    At the next stop, the bird seemed confused by which side the doors opened on.  When people came in, the bird cautiously stayed away, so it remained on the train.  I was having anxiety for the pigeon.  I don’t love pigeons or hate pigeons.  I just didn’t want any sadness that could be prevented.  It was for my sake as well as the pigeon’s that I needed to do something.  It walked under the seat of the man who had tried to grab it earlier.  The man didn’t realize.  A woman near me laughed.  I told her not to let him know the bird was there.  The bird went to the door as if it knew that the door would open.  But I knew on Burnside Avenue the other side would open.  The bird seemed to be a walker, and I was afraid that the time it would take would get it caught in the closing doors.

    I got up and when the doors opened, I stood in the doorway holding it open and motioning the bird with my paper to come this way.  The bird decided to trust me, I guess, walked near me and out onto the platform which was still outdoors.  I felt good about that.

    One of the things that felt good was I felt I had power to do something.  I struggle with depression, so feeling that way is significant to me.  During my marriage, asserting my personhood would inevitably lead to an argument or some passive-aggressive silence.  After a long time, living like that takes its toll.  So this experience was not only good for the pigeon; it benefited me too.

    The reading was fantastic.  My friend didn’t show, but I was kind of ready for that.  The pieces shared were great.  One woman read about her mother’s thighs.  The closeness and love made me recall baths with my mother, me trying to count the freckles on her back.  The closeness with my own precious son.  I deeply miss the genuine relationship we had.  During the reading, I grabbed a napkin and my pen.  In the very dimly lit place, I drew.





    A few days later, at the subway station, I stood in front of the booth to add money to my MetroCard.  When given a choice, I still prefer a person over a machine.  At my feet was a crushed bill.  I picked it up.  There was no one on line in front of me, so whoever dropped it was gone.  It was a $20 bill. 


    See how connected this all feels to the last blog I shared?  More next week.



    FYI:  I'll be performing comedy Wednesday, Sept. 21, 8pm at the Village Lantern (NYC), 167 Bleeker Street, in Sarah Garner's show!  No cover charge. 1 drink min. Would be glad to see you there laughing if you can make it.


    Posted by Mindy Matijasevic at 12:00 AM | Labels: , , , , , , , | 3 comments | |

  6. Appealing to Your Eyes and Ears

    Tuesday, January 22, 2013



    I am in a financial crisis, more than the one I normally live in.  Normally I have two jobs to maintain my meager income.  One is more part time than the other and breaks for month-long and longer periods throughout the year without pay.  That 2nd job should be for extras or savings and not needed for basics, but I haven’t reached that point.  At both of these jobs, I teach adults who are returning for their basic skills.  It is very rewarding work for me.  My students and I do well together.  They love that I’m a regular person.  I love that I don’t have to be anything other than myself.
    


    I’ve had jobs that I disliked, and that feels horrible in every way.  Doing something that feels good to my insides is very important to me.  I walk to my main job, and it’s a short train ride to the 2nd job.  There’s no costly dress code at either.  Many things are good.  However, I typically have to find other work to fill the gaps.
    I have a lot of proofreading experience.  I spent four years working weekend nights at a financial firm as a proofreader (to get rid of ‘marital debt’ before separating); I’ve worked at law firms, an advertising company, a court reporting company, and for various published creative writers on a temporary basis.  I am conscientious and take pride in doing a good job.  So, dear readers, if you or anyone you know needs a proofreader, please contact me.
    Over the years, I have also posed for artists to help fill the financial gaps.  I’ve posed at art schools, private workshops, and for individual artists.  By "artists," I mean those drawing, painting, or sculpting.  As far as photography goes, I’ve done that dressed.  The only exceptions were one woman photography student who needed a nude model specifically for an assignment on shadows and how light hits the body, a videographer who uses moving beams of colored lights on the body, a woman who was photographing breasts for a breast cancer awareness project, and a woman photographer who was working on a specific project that intrigued me.  So as far as photography goes, it’s dressed or on a case by case basis.
                                                                                       
     

               
    Once again, dear readers, if you or someone you know needs an artist’s model, please contact me.
    I’m also not above clerical work, helping clean out a closet, doing coat check at an event, just ask.
    My 2nd job is starting up again this week, but I have gotten quite backed up on bills and acquired new debt to compound old debt.
    Of course, a paid poetry, comedy, or acting gig would be fantastic. 
    I can be contacted at mindyinthebronx@gmail.com.  Thank you.  I mean that.

               

    Posted by Mindy Matijasevic at 1:30 AM | Labels: , , , , , | 0 comments | |

  7. A COKE & A...LESSON?

    Saturday, December 1, 2012

    By Lisa Harmon

    Word pad, is this what it has come to?!? For some strange reason (time) I can't install MSWorks 2000 on this 2012 laptop! Can you believe it! A mere thirteen years later and microsoft expects me to pay for software again! Isn't he the richest guy in the world? Brotha can you spare some software for a struggling artist? (Artist, ha ha, so you're an artist, not just a plain old garden-variety wise-ass? Definitely not! I am totally such an artist! I feel things more deeply! Trying to keep a straight face.)

    I just spent two grand on this laptop could ya throw in a spell check? Hello, Mr. Gates???? No such luck! I have to type my blog in Wordpad! Does this qualify as "white people problems"?

    I guess I have to bite the bullet and spend some more money. Why do I hate spending money so much?

    I imagine the main reason is my upbringing. My grandparents were always around when I got home from school. One day I was in the kitchen with my best friend, Christine. I poured us each a glass of coke. My Pop comes in and YELLS (in an extremely George Costanza's father type of way including the high pitch and breathlessness) HEY THAT SODA'S FOR YOU AND YOUR BROTHER. WE DON'T BUY SODA FOR THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD!



     
    Well, due to the fact that at that time I had a brain and working nervous system, I just wanted to crawl under a rug and die! Right at that moment! To say I was embarrassed is an understatement.

    But here's the thing - I used to eat dinner at Christine's house all the time! And I ate what they ate - I didn't have to drink tap water or share scraps with the cat. And nobody got yelled at!

    That is just one example of the many "money-saving tips" that were yelled at me over the years! It was constant. And even though I do spend my money more than my grandparents ever seemed to spend theirs, there is still a little voice in my head that tries to stop me each and every time I open my wallet!

    Oh COME ON FOR CHRISSAKES! Apparently wordpad doesn't have edit, undo. I need that in my word processor! Keeping up with technology is a pain in the butt!

    I just had the thought that an undo button for real life seems like a good idea. That lasted for a split second, till I realized all of us would have been undone by our parents, except they would have been undone by their parents, and so on, and the human race would have ended right then and there after Adam and Eve and Steve.

    Another reason its hard to spend money is because then you have to WORK and get that money back. I know. What a bummer. I'd rather just do without! Unfortunately there are some things I just can't do without. Like tampons, rolling paper and weed. However, there are many, many other things I can do without. I can do without all those decorative pillows that you're supposed to put on and take off the bed every night! Who came up with that idea? Another plot to separate me from my money. And also to keep me in the dark about what our government is doing! While I'm busy making and un-making the bed, who knows what nefarious plots are hatching right under my large Armenian nose?



    It is a conspiracy, I tell you! So don't drink the Kool Aid. Spending some money is ok.  But make sure you live within your means. Forget trying to impress people. Hold on to your hard-earned shekels. When the ca-ca hits the fan, you'll be so glad you did. Oh and if you come to visit me, please bring your own damn soda!

    Posted by Anonymous at 3:00 AM | Labels: , , , | 4 comments | |

  8. ADULTS ONLY

    Wednesday, September 12, 2012

    by Helene "Coffee Is For Closers" Gresser



    It's 5:31 a.m., and I should be in the shower right now. My building will be without hot water for a few hours today as they work (once again) on the ancient boiler, and I very much need to have clean hair today. I have to start showing up at my real estate office more often, as working from home means I am out of sight out of mind too much of the time. This means I must dress in my best "Hey, I just happen to be super-polished" professional look and wear lady-heels. And wearing lady-heels almost always leads to gross-blisters, no matter what I do to try and prevent them, and lady-heels also make my wobbly left knee hurt.

    I don't earn a salary, I earn commission from each sale or rental I transact to completion. I don't have health insurance. I am responsible for my own taxes, and I don't have an accountant. I am starting to think that a full-time office job may have to be in my future, and I got my real estate license to avoid being stuck in an office doing filing and wishing I was dead. But being a grown-up means making these types of decisions because the rent must eventually be paid or I'll be evicted. And I owe friends money. This weighs so heavily on my conscience -  along with my cluttered apartment, my bills, my future in NYC - that I am wide awake until the wee hours. It is now 5:45 a.m.

    Often, when I cannot sleep, I walk around my neighborhood, stop in my corner deli, get coffee, sit on the bench outside my building, and watch the morning unfold. Doctors, nurses, and hospital staff amble to Mount Sinai, just a block up Madison Avenue from my apartment. Shirtless garbage men fling heavy, wet bags of leaking garbage into the crunching maw of the garbage truck. Coffee carts are parked on corners and set up for the morning rush. Bakery trucks deliver boxes of hard rolls and doughnuts to the cafes, or set the boxes just outside the cafe doors, and strangely, no one ever seems to steal these baked goods. The boxes are left alone, unmolested. I am also left alone, sitting outside my apartment, while the early-morning people head to work or wheel their hand trucks. Few seem to notice the lady in the pink sweater sipping coffee, munching her bagel, checking her cell sporadically, in vain hope of a text from some other early bird/insomniac.

    It's 6:17 a.m. now. I took a brief Facebook break. I am delaying my shower as long as possible, which is risky, to be sure. I just so hate blow-drying my hair. It takes forever.

    The teevee keeps showing these horrific new anti-smoking ads with hacking, wheezing, dying people. But I am still sneakily smoking to spite them. I know. I KNOW. I disgust myself. That is part of the charm - the defiant self-loathing. God I don't want to have to get another crappy office job, or move into a rented room, or move out of Manhattan. I am determined to make this real estate gig work. I am good at it. It just takes time to get rolling, and I don't have time on my side right now. And if you think I have any delusions of grandeur regarding a comedy career, then HA HA HA HA VERY FUNNY. There, that made me chuckle, that right there. Ah, life.

    Both my cats are snoring as I sit here on my couch typing this. At least they can sleep. I need a cigarette. I need some magical elves to come do my dishes and organize my shelves. That rhymed. I am giddy.

    6:44 a.m: I went for another walk. The sun is rising and the moon is still high in the sky. Dudes with those funny "feet" shoes are heading for their run by the Central Park reservoir. Dog-walking is in full force. More coffee carts are setting up. Now the hospital people are scurrying, not ambling. Custodians are spraying dog pee and garbage juice off their fancy-building sidewalks with garden hoses on Fifth Avenue. I actually looked for fallen cigarettes on the street, I was that desperate for a smoke. No luck. I got chilly (yay, fall is coming!) and had to come back inside to mull my to-do list. I guess the first thing should be a shower. Then sleep a couple hours, then head to the office and get busy.

    Being a grown-up is hard. My neighbor across the way just kissed her boyfriend goodbye as she heads to the subway. It's 7 a.m. Time to shower. The lottery is now at 110 million. My next-door neighbor is rattling my dish cupboards with his exercise routine. I want to sleep. I want to live in a hotel with room service and housekeeping and no jumping neighbors. I want someone else to take care of me.

    7:05 a.m. Time to grow up.

    -HG

    Posted by Spleen at 4:09 AM | Labels: , , , , , , | 3 comments | |