Notes from the Breadline: Every Picture Tells a Story
(Or: A photo essay on unemployment.)
Ed. note: Welcome to the latest installment of “Notes from the Breadline,” a column by a laid-off lawyer in New York. Prior columns are collected here. You can reach Roxana St. Thomas by email (at roxanastthomas@gmail.com), follow her on Twitter, or find her on Facebook.
Many of us know (and some of us have described, at some length) what life in the breadline feels like. But what, exactly, does life in the breadline look like? What are the visual manifestations of uncertainty, general financial malaise, and persistent despair? Well, dear readers, sometimes life in the breadline looks like a laid-off associate in her pajamas and down coat, on the verge of ranting at strangers in the bank. Sometimes it looks like the very same associate staring at her inbox, certain that an encouraging email (offering something other than a chance to collect your designated award from the British Lottery) will appear momentarily. Other times, it can be seen in the world outside one’s cat-plagued home, where the indicia of economic apocalypse are ubiquitous.
This week, I am pleased to bring you my own photo essay from the breadline. (Take heart, TLDR crowd — something that doesn’t require actual reading!) I hope you enjoy these shots of street life, and I thank the kind photographer who helped to document my wanderings.
Of course, every life looks a little different … which is why it’s time for another Homework Assignment from the Breadline. Specifically, we want pictures — in the form and media of your choosing — of your life in the breadline. Send me the images that illustrate your experience, symbolize the moment, and document the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your adventure / ordeal / journey. I look forward to viewing your responses! Please: no nudity, crush films, or dogfighting videos.
Without further ado, I present “Scenes from the Breadline.”
Please note that these images are thumbnails. You can click on them for a closer look.
One sign of our times: sales are everywhere.
You have to act quickly, though. Too often, they mean that another business is going….
Going…
Gone.
There are no lines at Pinkberry these days. Perhaps I’m not the only one who has eliminated such guilty pleasures.
Never be without great coffee … unless you’re in the breadline. Or violating your austerity plan.
Hmm… the answer to my financial woes?
There are, of course, affordable ways to shop (for example).
But if you must, doesn’t it feel good to pay less?
There are also affordable ways to eat out, especially if you like dining alfresco.
Needless to say, expensive dining out is a thing of the past. Brother, can you spare an escargot?
The occasional splurge at the bookstore is also a casualty of the breadline, although one can always dream.
Or visit the good ol’ library.
And, of course, there are always affordable dining options. Soup, anyone?
I waited for a while, but the Vietnam vet associated with this sign never appeared. Maybe he found a job. Green shoots?
Send your pictures, drawings, and other creative efforts, capturing life in the breadline, to yours truly: roxanastthomas@gmail.com. Thanks!
______________________________________________________________________
Roxana St. Thomas is a laid-off lawyer living in New York. You can reach her by email (at roxanastthomas@gmail.com), follow her on Twitter, or find her on Facebook. And check out the Notes from the Breadline t-shirt store here.
(77) Comments
Comments
FAIL. ANOTHER TERRIBLE POST. MAKE IT STOP.
Nice pic, Roxy. I had no idea you were so hot.
1 - If you don't like it, don't read it.
Each of these posts is helpfully titled "Notes from the Breadline," so you'll never be tricked into reading one.
"Please note that these images are thumbnails"??? You must have some big ol' thumbs.
Very clever. Good post Roxie.
I am a somewhat regular reader of this column. But I must admit that this one was just plain . . . weird.
Please read the following in a New Jersey accent: Enough already
5 = Roxana
3=5=Roxana
Really?
Are you serious with this?
Wow, you learned to use Photoshop. Congratulations - now go get a fucking job!
Fail.
Wow. No more shopping at Pinkberry after a year of unemployment. Yeah, I'd say thats pretty much the same as standing in a depression era breadline.
The hatred and vitriol spewed in the Breadlines comments never ceases to amaze me (even by ATL commenter standards).
Please stop this garbage.
Fun, different, a quick and easy read. I like.
Oh my god, you're now buying your designer bags from knockoff street vendors? With all this "breadline" talk I thought your concern was just something insignificant like where your next meal was coming from.
16 = Roxana
17 - Uh, I don't think she is actually saying that she buys counterfeit purses off the street....
Trips to the library, meals from a grocery store,avoiding over priced junk food... I never knew that my parents were unemployed my entire life...Thanks Roxy, for another startling glimpse into your world of complete and total douchebaggery
I see you found the grocery store. You'll find the stuff there really is cheaper than Mortons.
3: the title is not helpful. A helpful title would be, "these posts suck, always suck, and will continue to suck so long as Lat feels it is necessary to 'cross-dress-post' as an unemployed female."
Also, don't tell me what to do. That's my job. Bitch.
this is pathetic -- no wonder this idiot doesn't practice and writes for this s--t blog.
17 - agreed. I'm pretty sure she's another year of unemployment away from being that bad off....
1 pwn3d by 3 (despite lame rebuttal at 22). Hahaha.
25 = Roxana
8, 9, 18, 26 - Just FYI, Roxana doesn't read the comments any more (and I don't blame her).
Roxanna,
My advice: pawn your camera and go buy some dignity.
Mid Level Secure
Dear President Obama,
Please abandon socialism and embrace capitalism. Your misguided attempts to "spread the wealth" truly are making us all more equal: Equally poor.
- Hope It's Not Too Late
Good grief, She's got like what, another 9 months of emergency unemployment benefits to continue writing this crap.
27 = Definitely Roxana
The only thing comforting about this article is that judging by the pictures it appears Ms. Thomas' path does not intersect with mine. Here is hoping that remains true until I am supulchered 6 feet under.
31 - Nah, 27 is probably Lat or Elie or Kash, coming to Roxana's defense.
(I believe that Roxana doesn't read the comments here - why would she want to? They're awful and cruel.)
22 considers it his job to tell himself what to do.
What does work like that pay? Can I send you my resume?
25 = Roxana. Stop reading the comments and trying to defend yourself you idiot.
I'm done here, and recommend the WSJ law blog to anyone seeking to avoid this garbage and reading what that jackass "Evan Here" has to say about Asia.
For god's sake, can't you find something else better to do with your time? And Elie, Kashmir, David, are you all so hard up for material that you have to post this type of crap?
Time for Rox to pursue the Mrs. degree. A few minutes of unpleasantness every week can really raise your standard of living.
does anyone know how long it usually takes douche chills to go away?
I sincerely hope she didn't get paid for this.
Personally, I find the comments posted in response to Roxana's article even more interesting than the articles.
Again, on a personal note, many of the comments seem to stem from a belief in, or at least, sympathy with "social darwinism" or a vague sort of "Ayn Rand" world view. In that vein, it occurs to me that Partner Emeritus might encourage others of his former rank to take early retirement or to perform the honorable act of removing themselves from their respective firms by any means necessary so that new leaders at the junior partner and associate ranks might advance to positions of leadership. Given the current, shall we say, performance level of the leadership of our major national firms, I seriously doubt that we can do worse.
Finally, on a last personal note, I fully agree with commentators # 14 and # 5.
Since we appear to be in favor of candor, rather than civility, my fondest wish is that those who heap scorn on the unfortunate will encounter adherents of social darwinism and Ayn Rand in the very near future. Given the current state of leadership of our major firms, I am dead certain that my fondest wish will be fulfilled with dispatch.
Much shorter than usual; therefore, better.
40 - lighten up Ghandi
The vitriol of many of the commenters here probably stems from wasting their youth in some windowless room reviewing, redacting and summarizing old documents and thinking they "are making a difference" when the only real difference they're making is in the height of the document pile (to be replenished the next morning). Look on the bright side, Roxanne; you won't be bald, pasty-white, grossly overweight, unjustly arrogant, unfit and associating with pompous dullards and backstabbers when you're forty years old (I don't care if you work for Skadden Arps - you have no "prestige" with the general public as 99 percent of them have never heard of even the most respected law firms, couldn't care less if they have, and most of them think lawyers are bums to be avoided in any event). It will take a while, but you'll undoubtedly find something that will probably pay a good deal less but which will be a whole lot more interesting.
20 FTW. Now, if Roxana said "now that I am no longer with Biglaw I have time to pleasure read again and hence rediscovered the library" that would work. Biglaw leaves little time for reading that is not related to Biglaw (i.e. reading 500+ documents for responsiveness and privilege.)
40 = Roxana
Was this serious? There was nothing exceptional or remotely insightful about the photos or the captions. Really, taking a picture of Payless and asking "But if you must, doesn't it feel good to pay less?" to show what it's like to be an unemployed lawyer? The author should be embarrassed by this drivel, although based upon the few previous articles I've read it seems this is the best she can do.
Yes, 37, if she got rid of the cats, quit smoking, and spent her evenings at the bar at the Intercontinental, instead of eating fruity pebbles on her couch, she might achieve some stability, status, and a good name for herself and her potential children.
Some of these posts were useful in the beginning, but this particular feature has become a complete waste of time. Either she posts something substantive and potentially useful or not at all. P.S.-Roxy I went to school for 19 f***ing years to be a lawyer. I don't do homework anymore.
1- COMPLETELY agree. These posts are awful. I of course read them because I'm hoping my opinion will change, but I never find anything even REMOTELY clever or funny.
God, ANOTHER effen' 'assignment'? Note that in all of "Roxanne" pics, you can;t see who was taking the pic - very careful to hide that it is really not "Roxanne" writing this crap.
40 = gibberish.
The commentators rip on the articles because they are very poorly written.
On the plus side, Roxy's writing doesn't include trying-to-sound-smart phrases like "in that vein" "others of his former rank" and "fondest wish" (twice!).
Thus, I conclude 40 is not Roxy because even Roxy doesn't write that trying-to-sound-smart crap.
It seems like Roxana is making fun of poor people.
What I don't understand about the comments defending Roxanna is this: Don't you realize she comes across as an entitled brat?
She thinks shopping at the grocery store is beneath her??
Who would defend this spoiled brat? You must be her best friends, you cannot possibly be random people, read about some fancy ex-lawyer complaining about how she has to cook her food and then feel sorry for her?
I nominate this "notes from the breadline" as epic fail.
What the fuck is this all about. As near as I can tell, there is good reason why this bitch is unemployed. She's go no fucking sense at all, none, nada, zero, zilch, the end.
Maybe if she didn't waste her time on these pointless posts she would find a job...
Finally, one of these that I can read.
- Elie
Fire Roxana! Hire that bitter Seton Hall grad.
So, you have to resort to going to the library, eating out of a grocery store, and avoiding overpriced sugary caffeine drinks. Life sucks.
You didn't read this article, did you, 51? Roxy tries TOO hard to "sound smart." E.g., ". . . where the indicia of economic apocalypse are ubiquitous."
WTF?
We hate her even more than you do.
-- Roxy's cats
Hey, Roxana. Did you check to see if Letterman is looking for a new ASSistant?
tl;dr.
Roxana needs to chomp down on some of those toxic acai berries, or whatever the hell is wrong with them.
Ripped my suit pants today selling art. Gucci suit too. So much for top quality, eh? Ripped 'em stem to stern. Got quite drafty for a bit as I waited for another art seller to show up to the space so I could hop a cab back to my apartment and change suits. Pretty comical. Good thing I had my backside away from the buyers.
I'll send you a pick of the huge rip in my crotch. That's clearly life in the breadline--being unable to buy work clothes.
Ripped my suit pants today selling art. Gucci suit too. So much for top quality, eh? Ripped 'em stem to stern. Got quite drafty for a bit as I waited for another art seller to show up to the space so I could hop a cab back to my apartment and change suits. Pretty comical. Good thing I had my backside away from the buyers.
I'll send you a pick of the huge rip in my crotch. That's clearly life in the breadline--being unable to buy work clothes.
Thank you 53. Exactly.
"Oooh, I might have to cook for myself!"
"Ooooh, I can't afford overpriced "fashionista" shit"
Waaaahhhhhhhhh
Brat.
This is insensitive to people who actually are hungry and can't afford food. You have a law degree. You will be back in the top 1% in no time. Then hopefully you will have better things to do than to poke fun of Vietnam veterans. Hopefully? Or maybe that is your sense of humor. Nice work ATL. I like your blog, I like learning about layoffs, but not from this angle.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66 and 67 = Roxana
too long, did not read
Proof that if you get laid off for being unproductive, you then have a lot more time to be unproductive.
Like I said last week, this column used to be entertaining and original....now it quite simply sucks the shit out of a goat's asshole....yes, stores are going out of business and there are homeless people walking the streets of NY...it is called a recession and yes it sucks for many people far worse than it does for an ex associate with an overblown sense of entitlement. I don't know how she did it, but her slide show somehow managed to be simultaneously boring and offensive.
For the love of all that is good in this world, would the editors of this site please do the literary equivalent of a Jack Kevorkian and put this insipid column out of its misery?
I like this, and I think the whole series of Breadline posts is great. That annoying grinding sound you hear coming from the other commenters is the sound of them mutilating their creative instinct while admonishing themselves that culture and happiness--having a soul--is for LOSERS. Screw birthdays, children, plans, sleep, dreams, etc., MUST BE BIGLAW.
Still pretty much in love with you. :)
1. You have a job u work for ATL
2. This post used to be good - last few weeks have sucked.
3. Seriously
These articles are horrible. How about some human drama for this boring and worthless soul- maybe Roxana becomes a crack addict or a pimp?
I actually enjoy reading NFB, but it makes me a little sad that the focus seems to be on the unpleasant aspects of being"unemployed" (but, if one has a gig writing for a successful blog, does that count as unemployment?). I would be interested to hear more about the fun and rewarding aspects of having a lot of unstructured time to use as she sees fit. But perhaps this negative bent is really just pandering to the bitter ATL commenters/readers?
While mt heart goes out to most unemployed I must sy that I revel in the fact that the bottom feeding lawyers are having to suck it up; hope it's next millenium before this industry recovers
While mt heart goes out to most unemployed I must sy that I revel in the fact that the bottom feeding lawyers are having to suck it up; hope it's next millenium before this industry recovers