Real men (boricua men) collect unemployment

Well, I'm about to become a real certified BORICUA, I will start the process of collection of unemployment benefits. I keep thinking about that old song by El Gran Combo; "que bueno es vivir asi, comiendo y sin trabajar". I wish it was easy but it ain't; after 18 years getting paid by newspapers, not having a routine kinda sucks.

Since my dismissal I've been walking to the beach everyday and drinking gallons of Medalla. Now I'm starting to get a lil' nervous. Yesterday I spent well over 4 hours trying to decide which Apple laptop to buy. My current powerbook is not sturdy enuff to depend on. It's basically an internet surfing machine. I only had a lil' bit of cash in my checking acct to get by until the next paycheck. I spent $900 on a used MacBook. I really wanted a brand new MacBookPro but no way I could afford that. Today I'm posting my Hasselblad gear, a rarely used iPod mini and some Canon accesories on eBay to make up for that money I spent on the laptop. I may even sell my Ellsworth mntn bike, I can fetch 1k for it @ least. I have a few other things I can sell. That's one of the only good things about buying a lot of crap. I'm lucky I decided to buy a 5D before moving here. At least I have one body and the glass I need to work. I have to get a 2nd used body but I'll get by with a loaner from a good friend from here.

I found a cheap one way tix to Miami and I'm flying up next week for I dunno how long. I wanna be with Isaida, being alone and not working is not good. There I will sell my iMac which doesn't get used much and I'll leave the old PowerBook for Isaida to use in the meantime. My parents agreed to take care of Mija for me while I'm gone. I had never asked anyone to care for my dogs but now I can't afford to lodge her in the $20/day clinic. There's also the issue of my convertible bug to deal with. On my last trip to Miami I had it towed to a shop where they are finishing the restoration work on it. I think that will cost me an additional 2k. I left a 1k deposit when I took it there. I HAVE to finish that job and then I'll decide if I sell it or ship it to PR. Isaida will need a car and I can give her my Subaru and I can drive el volky. Not sure what I'll do.

Now to the positive, my biz partner and I are getting together today to iron out some final details on our freelance biz we're putting together. I wanna launch soon, maybe January. From MIA I will fly to NYC to see agency and magazine folks and introduce myself and show my work. I think I have a good chance of doing some corporate and travel gigs from here as well as some entertainment stuff. I've met some folks over the years and now I'm gonna knock on their doors. I think w/a lil bit of this and some of the freelance stuff we'll do here I'm gonna be fine. I have my fingers crossed that Isaida will land a gig here, we need her benefits to make it without tapping into some accounts we don't wanna raid. Of course, this is not the best time to be starting a business but I have no choice. If we had children I'd probly be working in Wal-Mart right now...

Wish me luck.