The Jon Blog

Being Poor Sucks

Okay, the thing I hate most about being poor right now is not that I can't afford to buy groceries or do laundry. The thing I hate the most is that I feel like I'm becoming increasingly isolated from my friends.

Almost every activity of a social nature from grabbing a cup of coffee to seeing a movie to meeting someone for dinner involves an expenditure of some sort. And since I have (quite literally) no money to spend, my social life has fallen into the toilet.

It's so awkward...I can hope that my friends are not purposely not inviting me out because they know I can't afford it, but I think that may be the case. I've tried going out for coffee or a drink to be social and then just not ordering coffee or a drink, but that can make it seem like I'm asking my friends to buy me something. And I see that they may feel weird sitting there drinking something with me not.

And I do not know what to do about this. For a guy who's been accustomed to paying his own way since he was a teenager, this is a conundrum.

If you are my friend, just please don't forget about me. Please invite me out for coffee or a drink or dinner. Just be aware that I will be ever so pleased to see you, but that I will probably not be ordering anything. I do not expect you to pay for me, so please do not feel awkward eating or drinking while we talk and visit. It's just the way of my world right now.

Just, please, don't forget about me. And chatting on-line is wonderful, but sometimes a person needs a little human contact. I'll be working again at some point soon, I promise. And then we can go back to the movies or to the theatre or to dinner and all the other great things this city has to offer.

And I don't even want to get into the idea of dating in New York on $0. That's a subject for a whole other post.

Whoever said "The best things in life are free" obviously didn't live in New York.

Yeah...being poor sucks.

Posted by Jere at February 16, 2004 11:53 AM | TrackBack