To say the least, the current economic calamity mixed with widespread availability of low paid written content on the Web has led to my career having fallen off a cliff in recent weeks. It has been a long dry spell that came with Christmas and doesn't really seem to be abating.

Perhaps I am being too honest (who wants to hire a freelance writer with little business), but my recent experiences have illuminated the importance of being able to do more than write. For me, my life's experiences have provided me with a multitude of skills that I can fall back on in such emergencies.

In particular, cooking seems to be a good one as there are usually a multitude of jobs, they tend to need you at night so you can work during the day, and kitchens are nearly always looking for experienced part timers. The problem has been that this is not a usual economic calamity. Bush and the rest of his cast of criminals has driven the economy over a cliff and then stomped it into the ground to the point where finding even a cooking job has been a challenge.

So then, on to option number two--vineyard and winery work. I went to college in the Hudson Valley region of New York state where there are a number of resonably good wineries. They are not of the quality of California, Chile, Australia and the like, but they are good for what they do. Here in New Hampshire there are not too many wineries, but there is one near my house that I have written about and have made friends with the owner. Last week I sent an email saying I was looking for work and then went in for an interview. I am now waiting for him to call and tell me when I start.

I am looking forward in a way to working in a vineyard again--it's hard, but honest work that will allow me to get some fresh air--but the pay of about $10 per hour is quite a bit less than what it takes to keep the bills paid and etc. I have no choice though as I am out of money and while I have some writing work dribbling in I can't count on it nor is it enough.

Meanwhile, I have to figure out my taxes (I will owe this year), which is causing me no small amount of anger as I read about AIG and the rest of the pigs that are gobbling my tax money to pay their idiot executives bonuses for running their company and our economy into the ground. As John Stewart said last week F**k you!

It simply has been one of the saddest things I have had to endure--watching my career sink as the pigs who caused this calamity get richer.