well then

[ontology]

Talked to parents about The Great Escape last night; it went both better and worse than I expected, but the best part is that it's over and I don't have to think about it (or panic about the bit where I have to talk to people on purpose about a specific thing, which sends me into fits of terror no matter how benign the subject or how intimately known the people). Most of the "worse" was me not being nearly as eloquent or sense-making with my mouth as I was in my head, and my body's inclination to start crying before someone's even had time to drop the proverbial hat. All that to say -- I almost have a plan. I think.

So: parents largely supportive, if somewhat taken aback, I think. Dad is going to teach me to drive, and start investing in the small economy car we've been talking about getting for the last year (cannot learn on Mum's car for it is broken; cannot learn on Dad's car for it is a hippie van of hugeness). I am going to study the driver's manual, and make up catchy songs to make me remember everything if I have to. Apparently one can learn to drive and get one's license in a few weeks if one is diligent and learns well? I was always under the vague impression that it took months. I think having bicycled on main roads so much will be at least a little helpful -- cars are entirely different, of course, but I've internalised a lot of rules and knowledge of how things work.

I am also seeking out-of-the-box ideas for making money; Dad suggests I have at least a thousand saved. This is laughable with my current job or lack thereof (stilllll on the payroll! but aside from my name being on it you couldn't tell I worked there), hence the rather mad ideas I am coming up with, including but not limited to selling plasma to the Red Cross (you can get about thirty bucks in a week) and donating my body to Science. Which, um, sort of appeals to me, actually, in an Adventure sort of way. There's nothing right in town, but I'm looking into Pittsburgh and State College next. Dad did some of that years ago -- he had to wear some kind of patch for some drug they were testing; I don't remember anything else -- and, you know, I'm young and healthy and weird side affects aren't going to be hugely problematic to my life at the moment (I mean, unless they make me go insane or break out in giant puss-filled boils, or both), and I have the time and freedom to stay at a hospital or some such for several weeks if there's a sleep study or some such I can participate in. It is quite possible that this could take care of all of the necessary money in one go: and, as I said, it kind of appeals to me in a weird way. I like new experiences, helping scientific advances is nifty, and money is pretty nice. So, yes, that's what I'm looking into at the moment.

Haven't talked to the other parts of the plan -- relations and Susu -- yet, so we'll see where that gets me.

Am I really doing this? I must be mad.

Comments

[aohdwyn.livejournal.com]

I actually did both the plasma donation (totally worth the time, as you can sit and read while you donate, and (in my experience, anyway) one doesn't feel faint afterward, having gotten one's red blood cells back. The only unpleasant bit (depending on how you feel about needles) is how COLD the saline they suspend your blood cells in is when they stick them back inside you. Bring a sweater, no matter how warm the day is. I always spent a few moments shivering violently, during re-insertion.) and the trying-out-medical-experiments bit. Well, I only did the one, and it was totally easy, and I didn't experience any weird side effects, at all (of course, for all I know, I was on the placebo...) It was a pill for stomach problems (I was having a lot at the time, I'm pretty sure stress triggers my IBS) if I felt stomach pain, I would take a pill. Every evening, whether I had taken a pill or not, I would log on to the website the researchers had set up and fill out a short questionnaire. This was for, oh, a few weeks? Anyway, at the end, I had a physical, filled out more paperwork and questionnaires, and then got a check for a few hundred dollars. Not an unpleasant experience, and it helped me pay rent that month, so.

I guess what I'm trying to say in my tl;dr way is: these ARE real ways to make money, and I survived doing both(I donated plasma for several months, if I hadn't moved away from the donation centre in DeKalb [and the only one I know of] I'd still be doing it) with no ill effects.
Is it possible for you to get ahold of the school papers of local universities? I know I found the advertisements for both the plasma place AND the scientific study I participated in the NIU school paper -- college students are the prime targets for these things as they are young, healthy, and very, very broke, usually.

A thousand sounds like a good buffer; and you'd be surprised how quickly that can evaporate. (Although maybe I'm just bitter because I just watched my paychecks disappear in the usual beginning-of-the-goddamn-month way. =P )

You have some good, solid ideas on how to earn money; the hard part will be implementing them. The current state of the economy doesn't really help much, either. =/ But there's not much you can do about that.

You're a canny girl, I'm sure you'll be able to learn to drive, no problem. You'll find the hardest part is getting an adult driver to find the time to coach you. Are there any large, empty parking lots near your house where you can practice? Have any friends over 21 you can bribe with baked things? (I don't know what it's like where you live, but in IL the person helping the driving learner had to be over 21 and with a license of their own.)

[lady-moriel.livejournal.com]

Wait, you have IBS too? Not that I should've known that, I guess, since we only have mutual friends and haven't actually talked, but...y'know.

[faeriemaiden.livejournal.com]

My father donated plasma when I was about six, which is why it came to mind... of course it was a lot more humiliating for him, as he was in his mid thirties with a family and we were so desperate for money that he turned to desperate things. (I've learnt a lot about weird, especially temporary, jobs from my father, whose willingness to do whatever it takes to keep his family safe and fed kind of awes me -- scientific studies, delivering phone books, selling promotional crap on street corners... the older I get the angrier I get -- he has a freaking MASTER'S DEGREE! Which he bloody well earned by being intelligent and hard-working! Quit screwing him over, universe of employment!)

Looked on Boston Craigslist, and the job market is definitely better than in my town, especially in the ratio of "jobs available" to "jobs I can/will actually do" (here, there's a lot of factory work, some fast food but not much, esp. as two restaurants just burnt down in May, so everyone from there needed new jobs, some educational stuff I'm not qualified for, et cetera). Sure, everything's wicked expensive, but I'd be living with people (I hope) who would supply me with basic food, and big cities have better opportunities for purchasing inexpensive local food and things like that. (OR TRADER JOE'S OH GOD I HOW I MISS YOU. Dad tells me it is also an excellent place to work for, so that's high on my list if Susu's doesn't work out. Panera is apparently quite good also? My father also mentioned that as crazy as it sounds, applying for a Panera job with a short essay on how much I love it and how we always scramble to find one when we're in a city because we just love and miss the cinnamon bagels THAT MUCH -- anyway, that this would actually maybe help? I dunno, he's worked a lot of jobs, so I reckon he'd know... Think outside the box, self. You're pretty good at doing that for a lot of mundane things -- now work at the really important stuff.)

My father has offered to teach me to drive as soon as we have the third car, so that should be good. Dad can get very cross and impatient, but he's a pretty good teacher-of-stuff. He may also make me bribe him with baked goods, though. Or demand them after the fact. I'm sure there are empty parking lots somewhere, though I can't think of one just now. Um... what about supermarkets and things? Some of ours are twenty-four hours, but not all of them -- do the parking lots clear out after hours? Oh well, I suppose he'll have the solutions for that.

asjshg donating my insides. :/ I'm really glad I've had blood drawn once -- when I was being diagnosed with depression they did blood tests to see if I had any medical issues that might be exacerbating it; I was clean, but blimey, I spent like two weeks dreading the taking of my blood! It wasn't so bad, though, and I don't remember feeling especially bad afterwards... of course plasma is a little different, but. *shrugs* Honestly, I'd rather a bit of pain than work a dour sort of job for a few months.

Being a grown-up is so weird.