THE ECONOMY, BUSINESS, AND LOVE AS EXPLAINED BY ANDREW W.K.
#1. ANDREW W.K. ON THE ECONOMY
I am 25 years old, and until recently had a media job in New York City. Like most people, I just lost my job and I'm now living on a few weeks of unemployment and trying to figure out what the hell to do with myself. Should I suck it up and escape the city, and go somewhere cheaper like Philadelphia or the Deep South, or should I keep on fighting to make my life work out the way I want it to in the greatest city in the world?
I've been thinking a lot about the recent situations with the economy, with New York City, with jobs, with money, and have been trying to decide how to think about it; how to keep those ideas in my mind in a way that's responsible and what some might call realistic, while also being optimistic and, I guess, confident.
Rather than thinking, “I lost my job because of the economy,” consider: "did I really want this job? Is there something deep down inside of me that wanted a change and has manifested this, using the economy as an excuse?" [Moving] to a Southern town or to Baltimore or Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, or any of these other nearby towns—is that a healthy urge that is taking you to new uncharted territory, or is that an urge that's been self-destructive and is trying to hold you back out of fear of doing bigger things or fear of success or just feeling overwhelmed?
My advice: If you want to stay in New York, I think you could absolutely stay in New York. And it's only a matter of believing that you can, believing that it's possible, believing that it's easy, believing that now, as much as ever, there's just as much opportunity; in fact, there might even be more opportunity now than ever because of this shifting time, because maybe more people have moved away, maybe there's more jobs that will come because of people leaving. But I would say that if you decide that you're going to do well now, you can do well now. I don't think that's disrespectful to people who haven't been doing well; I think you can believe that they will do well too, and that with optimism and a real sense of conviction to push forward, that's the only way we would solve a situation like this anyway, that's the only way on an individual level or on a national level that we will be able to fix the economy. But running from it, or hiding away from it, I think is actually more detrimental, than taking maybe what some would call an unrealistic view and saying ”everything’s going to be fine.”
But what if my rent’s staying the same, but my income’s gone? How can I survive here in New York without sacrificing having a great time—do you have any concrete tips?
Invest in a nice flask or some type of polished canteen, and fill it with some type of alcohol of your choice, maybe cut it with a little water, which just makes it go down easier 'cause it's gonna be room temperature, and you're going to be swigging just straight liquor, so cutting it with a little water can smooth it out a bit, and also re-hydrate you as you drink. You can take this flask with you wherever you go; whereas most bars or restaurants charge a substantial amount for any type of drink, here you have a very, very, very reasonable, very discreet way to consume alcohol on your own time and on your own dime.
Another way might be to cook many meals at home, rather than going out for porterhouse steaks, or two-pound baked potatoes with sour cream, chives and bacon. You could create similar dishes at home, in a lot less time than you might think, and with a lot of ingredients you already have around the house. So cooking meals at home, rather than eating out, can really help save money. Also, usually, it's healthier as well—usually less salt, less fat, in food you make at home.
Other kinds of ways to still have a very active social life, but perhaps save money in the process, would be to have more cozy times in your own quarters. You can combine the idea of entertaining yourself in your own quarters, and combine the idea of saving money on rent, by inviting people to live in your room with you. And this goes a little beyond roommates, because I imagine a lot of people already have roommates living in different rooms, in the same apartment or same house. But if the rent is still a bit hard to meet every month, I would say just bring over some friends and just have them hang out all the time in your room. And the more friends you can group together, depending on the size of your room, and the number of friends you have—I would say three or four is probably the maximum, but if you guys team up, than you can almost go throughout the day as a team, traveling in a group saves money on taxis, obviously you're going to pay a lot less for rent. This team of four people in your room can almost act as an autonomous organism to prepare food, as a team, to accomplish certain tasks and chores about the house or about day-to-day life. In fact, you can offer yourself as a team to employers. That's one way to round up some friends, still get a lot of socializing in, but also cut down on expenses and generate income.
