I would like to thank all of you on this site for everything you’ve done for me: after many delays due to renovations and the removal of wasps, I have moved into an apartment. The power was turned on yesterday. A few days ago my futon arrived; in a few weeks, I will be the owner of blankets and a pillow. After that, I plan to purchase a pot or dutch oven and some cooking utensils.

In shopping around for the above, I’ve come to realize that I have no idea what a ‘good’ price for anything is. I realized that I think virtually everything is overpriced, even in second-hand stores and thrift shops. While I know that inflation is a thing, I think much of the problem is due to the fact that I haven’t used American money for a significant purchase since the Bush administration; all of knowledge of dollar-values is nearly two decades out of date.

I have secured a good job with a revised start date of the 2nd of October. The company has a rather draconian social media policy; unfortunately I can’t go into specifics here.

I plan on having a thank you/ house-warming party for those of you in the city at some point. There will be booze. I’ve never thrown a party that wasn’t for a fraternity, so any tips or ideas for what you guys might want would be appreciated.

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Since coming to live in this apartment, I’ve noticed that there is a constant state of precarity among working neighbors. This workers’ precarity is different from that of the unhoused. Among the unhoused, there was a sort of precarity of comfort; a sense that things wouldn’t or couldn’t get much worse. Among the workers, there is a tangible sense that one false step could be the end of everything they hold dear: the loss of a job, the loss of housing, the loss of family or children; perdition is only a mistake away.

I have a neighbor, a single mother, who works a full-time job. She is afraid to file for welfare because she thinks she might lose her job if she “admits” (in official/government documents) that she’s having trouble making ends meet. She’s been seeking help from a certain church based charity, but they are slow to approve applicants.

I think part of the reason she’s afraid she’ll be fired for applying for welfare, is because she works around money (as in hard cash). She’s convinced her boss will think she’s either actively stealing or has a good reason to steal, and fire her as soon as he finds out she’s applied. I don’t know about privacy laws regarding welfare applications in the US; I don’t know about employment laws; I thought welfare in the US handout to corporations– that it was designed to keep wages low by providing just enough to survive and maintain a steady pool of low-wage workers. I don’t know if her fears are legitimate, but I do know they’re very real.

I’ve given her part of my food. I had to convince her that I was a vegetarian/ vegan and that I had stockpiled canned meats (tuna, chicken, sardines, and SPAM) and dairy products (macaroni and cheese, dried eggs, and powdered milk) from food dispersals and care packages. Thankfully she accepted the food, so I know her children will be fed for the near future.