Thursday
Sep232010
No Money, No Music.
Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 4:05AM
Though I am having an incredible time working as an Intern, learning about America in a way I never thought I would, and having some wonderful experiences along the way, I am sadly doing it for free. It's the way things are here; you want to get into a career, you start off at the bottom, as an unpaid intern. It's a privilege just to be in the position I am in, but that still doesn't stop me from wishing I could earn some money. My visa won't let me get a part time job on State Street so I am stuck, living like a true student still, with no income. Nada. Zilch.
Currently, this doesn't mean re-wearing clothes to skimp on laundry, or folding and folding and folding over toilet paper to make it last longer. However it does mean foregoing on life's little luxuries: not much eating out, or going out, unless its for something free; no more going to the cinema; none of this expensive organic stuff at the supermarket- cheap as you can get is what's on our list. And worst of all, no music.
Oh how I used to love walking down to the local record shop after one class in college on a Monday morning to buy the new releases. £30 a week was probably about the average I spent on new cds. Then I started buying vinyl too. Now though, I can't buy any more cds, or even iTunes downloads, for I am poor. I have a nice pile of un-listened to music stocked up, but when that runs out, I don't know what I am going to do. No more splurging online, no more wandering the racks in the 2 local record stores here. I suppose I'll just have to try and steal as much music from my friends as I can. Maybe I should unsubscribe to those annoying Amazon and iTunes emails, which tell me every week about all the great new music I am missing out on.
No money, no music also means no gigs. Despite it's relative obscurity, Madison attracts a large number of great bands every year. I already chose not to spend half of the weekly shopping budget on a ticket for the Gaslight Anthem. In the future, I plan to miss The National, Goo Goo Dolls/Spill Canvas, Stars, Guster, Ingrid Michaelson, Josh Ritter, The Boxer Rebellion, and maybe more. We are going to see Justin Nozuka though, so we can write a review for the Badger Herald. Shame the newspaper is poor too and won't pay for our tickets.
Don't feel sorry for me though. It's a small price to pay for being where I want to be right now. I'll just look forward to the day when I am rich and famous and can walk into a record store and ask for one of everything they have. Heaven?
Currently, this doesn't mean re-wearing clothes to skimp on laundry, or folding and folding and folding over toilet paper to make it last longer. However it does mean foregoing on life's little luxuries: not much eating out, or going out, unless its for something free; no more going to the cinema; none of this expensive organic stuff at the supermarket- cheap as you can get is what's on our list. And worst of all, no music.
Oh how I used to love walking down to the local record shop after one class in college on a Monday morning to buy the new releases. £30 a week was probably about the average I spent on new cds. Then I started buying vinyl too. Now though, I can't buy any more cds, or even iTunes downloads, for I am poor. I have a nice pile of un-listened to music stocked up, but when that runs out, I don't know what I am going to do. No more splurging online, no more wandering the racks in the 2 local record stores here. I suppose I'll just have to try and steal as much music from my friends as I can. Maybe I should unsubscribe to those annoying Amazon and iTunes emails, which tell me every week about all the great new music I am missing out on.
No money, no music also means no gigs. Despite it's relative obscurity, Madison attracts a large number of great bands every year. I already chose not to spend half of the weekly shopping budget on a ticket for the Gaslight Anthem. In the future, I plan to miss The National, Goo Goo Dolls/Spill Canvas, Stars, Guster, Ingrid Michaelson, Josh Ritter, The Boxer Rebellion, and maybe more. We are going to see Justin Nozuka though, so we can write a review for the Badger Herald. Shame the newspaper is poor too and won't pay for our tickets.
Don't feel sorry for me though. It's a small price to pay for being where I want to be right now. I'll just look forward to the day when I am rich and famous and can walk into a record store and ask for one of everything they have. Heaven?
Reader Comments (4)
Life without music is no life at all. *insert sad face.*
i-tunes vouchers for Christmas ?
Mum
xx
What do you mean you spent £30 a week on CDs ? In my day students couldn't afford that sort of outlay on records! Glad to see that being poor isnt making your life too miserable, the simple pleasures of Cadburys creme eggs are always a joy. Will send you a red cross parcel to make up for all the nestle butterscotch chips! Have fun, Diane
Thank Diane, but you really don't have to! It wasn't hard to bring back a few packets! I can try posting some if you need more!