I am Matt Thomas.

When It Rains

July 25, 2005

There’s something to be said for the theory that you’re always more attractive when you’re taken.

I spent a period from May of 2003 until March of 2005 begging for jobs. I applied for jobs at everything from advertising agencies to stores at the mall, trying to get hired as anything from a furniture salesman to a logo designer. It took a chance conversation with a total stranger, by which I was alerted to an opportunity, to end the drought and end me up in a strange city so far from home.

Completely unrelated to my full-time employ, I’ve heard several times lately from parties interested in my work, having seen little more than a few small projects and my silly little blog. It’s hard not to wonder where this was just a few months ago when I was desperate, living in my parents’ den. Now I’m on the verge of something big, bigger than I ever expected, especially not right around the time the Savannah Morning News told me I didn’t have enough experience to be an obituary clerk.

Then ridiculous bullshit floats my way. BGE decided—just now—that my credit isn’t good enough to continue receiving electric service without a deposit. I’ve never been late, other than the time I had to dispute a bill that turned out to be $100 too high because the didn’t actually read the meter, they just guessed. And I’m the untrustworthy one. Despite living on my own for the better part of five years now, I’ve suddenly become so irresponsible that BGE demands an extra $200 from me to keep the lights on. I’m failing to see the difference between this and extortion.

Wachovia charged me $16 for checks I didn’t order, then charged me $30 because I overdrafted as a result. I called and it took forty five minutes to convince my “personal banker” that charging new customers for things they didn’t ask for might be less-than-ethical business practices. He offered to refund “one or the other, but not both,” as per “company policy,” until I asked him whether a box of checks and a made-up service fee were worth losing a customer and every single person that customer comes into contact with for the next month until the customer gets it out of his system. He figured not, and was then miraculously able to refund both charges. Glad he figured that one out.

I’ve met some amazing people lately. From Seattle to Tennessee to right around the corner, new people have been moseying in and out of my life with alarming frequency lately. It’s very strange. Once I find somewhere I feel good in, I tend not to mix things up. I’m like an eight-year-old that won’t take off his favorite new shirt. So when new people come into the picture, it’s a little bigger of a deal for me. I like it.

Whether it’s a shitstorm or clear skies, I get it all in bulk. I’m looking forward to upcoming days when I can embrace the usual, the comfortable, the same; rather than a continuous pendulum between bad news and good.