Hi. Welcome to the apocalyptic world we live in. I’m writing this from the epicenter of pestilence and disease in the United States (aka NYC).
Several million people were recently laid off amid a whole pandemic with no severance or safety nets recently — I’m one of them. I hope that some of you reading this aren’t among those laid off but considering how bad it’s gotten, I know some of you probably are.
Here’s a quick guide I wrote for others to follow. Use it if you’re unsure about how to handle some logistics behind your layoff.
Now that I’ve been forced back into freelancing at a time when tons of media companies are also laying people off and cutting their freelance budgets… I’m scared. Shit is getting really real.
That doesn’t mean I won’t continue to freelance. I need to. I don’t have a choice. IDK if my unemployment claim will be accepted, and neither do the millions that applied last week. For anyone who needs help navigating freelancing, Study Hall is an amazing resource and mods have been great about keeping everyone up to date about the state of media right now.
On the bright side, I wrote an article for City Limits about the ban on visitors in NYC nursing homes. So I at least had something to do while I contemplated having to give up my apartment, and other things I’ll need to do while I ride out COVID-19 with the rest of the city.
That’s it. That’s the newsletter. Tip your delivery people. Wash your hands. Stay inside.