A Year in Pictures of Working

Job # 10: Temp

I remember moving to Chicago straight out of grad school and thinking things were going to be much easier than they were. I thought I'd get a job easily, not one that I loved or what I'd be doing forever, but something good and high paying, immediately. Instead, I spent months temping a little, but mostly sitting in the tiny apartment I shared with N at the time, depressed, waiting for the temp agencies to call me.

It was at this time that I got seriously addicted to playing "The Sims." It's a "life simulation" computer game. You have little people, and you build them houses, and you make sure they feed themselves and sleep and make friends and go to work. I'd get up in the morning, get on my computer, and usher my simulated people through their daily lives, until they had lots of nice things, friends and promising careers. I'm sure you can fill in the other half: I had no money, few friends and no job.

# posted by Arnie : 2:16 PM