By: JULIET CALABRESE

JULIET CALABRESE — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:07:49 +0000

WORKING AT STARBUCKS IS ABOUT AS APPEALING TO ME AS TAKING TWO SHISH KABOB SKEWERS AND SHOVING THEM THROUGH MY EYEBALLS. THEY WOULD HIRE ME ANYWAY. MY EXPERIENCE AT MENIAL JOBS MADE ME ACTUALLY WONDER HOW THE WORK DRUGGED PROLETARIAT CAN GO ON WITHOUT REVOLTING. I AM IRISH/ ITALIAN AND CATHOLIC, MY COUSIN FRED TELLS ME ITALIANS GOT THE SLOPPY SECONDS OF THE ECONOMY. EDUCATION IS A WAY OUT, BUT AS YOU MUST KNOW THERE ARE SO MANY PHDS OUT THERE AND ONLY SO MANY JOBS. I TOOK AN UNOFFICIAL IQ TEST AND I AM ABOVE AVERAGE– AND WORKING AT GAP WOULD MAKE ME WANT TO TAKE MORPHINE BEFORE GOING IN SO I COULD COPE WITH THE MIND NUMBING BOREDOM. PRICE PUT IT SO WELL IN RASPBERRY BERET, I WAS WORKING PART TIME AT THE FIVE AND DIME, MY BOSS TOLD ME SEVERAL TIMES HE DIDN’T LIKE MY KIND I WAS A BIT TO LEISURELY, SEEMS I WAS BUSY DOIN SOMETHING CLOSE TO NUTHIN BUT DIFFERENT THAN THE DAY BEFORE. THIS TYPIFIES ALL OF MY MENIAL JOB EXPERIENCES. I WAS IN THE ART DEPT AT U OF A IN TUCSON AZ, AND CAN NOT SAY I WAS AN ART STUDENT, BUT JUST KIND OF HUNG OUT AS THERE WERE TWO JOBS IN TUCSON OTHER THAN GOING TO SCHOOL- STRIPPING AND RAYTHEON. BEING PHILOSOPHICALLY OPPOSSED TO BOTH BUILDING MISSILES AND SHAKING MY MONEY MAKER- I WENT TO UOFA FOR ART. BUT CALL MYSELF AN OUTSIDER ARTIST. I KNOW THAT ABRAHAM LINCOLN FREED THE SLAVES, AND YET I AM CONVINCED THAT FORTY HOURS OF $8 P/H WORK IS JUST BEING A WAGE SLAVE. LIKE ARTHUR MILLERS CHARACTERS IN THE MISFITS, I AM ALLERGIC TO BEING A WAGE SLAVE– AND OFTEN WONDER ABOUT DOROTHY DAY’S CATHOLIC WORKER MOVEMENT- VOLUNTEERY POVERTY & SOCIAL JUSTICE.
PUNCHING IN IS A FACT OF LIFE FOR ALOT OF AMERICANS. THERE ARE ONLY SO MANY SILVER SPOONS TO GO AROUND. I THINK A VOCATION MIGHT BE EFFORTLESS- LIKE ME WANTING TO MAKE PAINTINGS– MAKING PAINTINGS IS FUN. SELLING PAINTINGS WHILE ALIVE IS ABOUT AS LIKELY AS GETTING HIT BY A METEOR. I WASN’T BORN WITH A SILVER SPOON, BUT ALEX IF YOU GOT A SPARE- I COULD REALLY USE IT–

Comments on: Punching In by Alex Frankel

By: JULIET CALABRESE