salt lake city Archives

Life during COVID-19 (4/13/20): Poetry for $ and more poems

April 13, 2020July 9, 2020 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

It’s almost been a month since the last day I worked (March 17th). It’s bizarre to think that time has passed so quickly and somehow so slowly at the same time. I feel like I’m utilizing my time well but I’m so frustrated I haven’t landed a job yet.

UNEMPLOYED AND JOB SEARCHING

I’ve done interviews and skills tests, I’ve written cover letter after cover letter and still nothing. Right after graduation I spent six months applying to jobs requiring a BA, specifically in English or related fields, nothing. I gave up. I needed a break, now I’m doing the same thing again. What does it mean to keep pushing, keep trying for a job that requires a BA? I don’t know. I hope it’s worth it. I don’t want to cave in and get a Customer Service Rep job for a call center. I don’t want to get another job that is the complete opposite of what I want to do with my life, my career, my writing. But it is so hard.

I am grateful for my unemployment checks. They are small but something and I’m hoping the extra $600/week from the Cares Act Stimulus bill that was passed last month kicks in soon.

RECEIVING $500 FROM THE TIP YOUR SERVER DONATION

By some weird stroke of luck, I ended up winning the lotto for the $500 from the Downtown Alliance’s Tip Your Server donation. I’ve decided I want to help my co-workers so I am building a list of all my friends that need the money right now that are unemployed and looking for jobs and really strapped for cash. I hope to shell out at least $100 each and spread the money out. Thanks to a $100 contribution from one of my friends, this will now be $600 that I can spread out among my friends.

MAKING $ FROM MY POETRY FOR $

I’ve also had quite a bit of luck with my POETRY for $, to date I’ve completed 14 poems for supporters. I accept any $ via Venmo then write a personalized handwritten poem with a little bit of my own stylized art. I send a digital copy (pdf) via email then the original through the mail.

I’ve done two poems barter/trade style. One poem I wrote for a friend who bought me Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar (including her collection of poems). And another friend I wrote a poem for is brewing me my very own small batch of beer (he brews beer for Wasatch Brew Pub in Salt Lake City, Utah) I am so stoked for this!

20200322_175024 — Original poem I wrote/made for a $upporter

MAKING A ZINE

I also drafted up an outline of my upcoming digital zine in InDesign. It will have all the poetry I’ve written during the Pandemic/Stay at Home order. Pretty much since I was laid off. I am including copies of all the poems I’ve done for $upport as well as some art and photography. This is such a fun project and it will be free to the public when it is finished.

I feel so fortunate to have such caring friends and because of their generosity right now I’ve been able to pay a few bills and have extra money for groceries, saving anything extra for the future.

END OF NATASHA SAJE’S POETRY WORKSHOP

My Poetry Workshop at Westminster (online now) is coming to a close. There’s only a couple more assignments left and then it will be over. I am not looking forward to this since I’ve really enjoyed this workshop; reading other students poems, the poetry books, assigned reading, and pushing myself with the poetry assignments. I’m really going to miss it.

CANCELLING MY SUMMER CLASSES

I’m bummed out because this summer I was going to start pursuing an AAS in Music Recording Technology at Salt Lake Community College but since I was laid off, I can’t afford it so I had to drop the classes I already registered for. I just plan on taking free courses online, finding tutorial videos, and continue to make music and publish my songs on soundcloud.

OVERALL

It’s been a good experience thus far, I’ve kept to my daily routine, and I’ve made my daily quota for the number of jobs I apply to, and I write and read and write and read and write and read…

I just have to keep going.

TALK TO ME

How are you getting through the Pandemic? Have you been ordered to Stay at Home? How are you coping?

I would love to hear about your experiences during this time.

Please feel free to comment or message me.

Thank you for reading!

Stay safe and stay well out there!

-Alina
XOXO

Become a Subscriber! Get notified when new posts are published plus once a week I will send content just for you: poem, personal update, reading list, writing tips and more!

If you enjoyed this post, check out these:

Life During COVID-19 (4/21/2020): Poetry, Sylvia Plath and My Novel(Opens in a new browser tab)

Life During COVID-19 (5/13/2020): Freelancing, Patreon and New Toys(Opens in a new browser tab)

Life During COVID-19 (5/30/2020): Reflection on George Floyd, Protests Turned Riots and Growing Tensions in the U.S.(Opens in a new browser tab)

‘Poem to Read Aloud’ by Alina Happy Hansen (April 11th, 2020)

April 11, 2020August 15, 2020 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

Decided to do something different, here is a video of me reading one of my poems, this one titled (for now) ‘Poem to Read Aloud’.

I wrote this poem as an assignment for the Poetry Workshop at Westminster that I’m in.

POEM TO READ ALOUD (working title)

I cut a glance

your direction, aflame you look back

linger. Craving gaze, a charmed doom for

me later. Flesh, veins,

flayed bones on bones desire, not now.

I smile, a fire.

Your glutted eyes hold me. Turn away, wait no

yes wait until

the sun goes down so the neighbors don’t see our shadows.

I hope you enjoy my poem! Any comments/feedback I would deeply appreciate.

Stay safe and stay well out there!

–Alina

Become a Subscriber! Get notified when new posts are published plus once a week I will send content just for you: poem, personal update, reading list, writing tips and more!

If you enjoyed this post, check out these:

My Stories on Medium: Poetry, Writing and Freelancing(Opens in a new browser tab)

Podcast Sesh #2 June 18, 2020: Writing, Freelancing and Coping with the George Floyd Protests(Opens in a new browser tab)

Life During COVID-19 (5/5/2020): Tutoring, Freelancing on Fiverr and Job Searching(Opens in a new browser tab)

Life During COVID-19 (4/7/2020): Unemployment, Poetry for $ and Staying Positive

April 7, 2020July 15, 2020 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

UPDATE: 4/8/2020

I was notified by Squatters that our company was picked out of the Tip Your Server Lotto, and that I was one of the five tipped employees randomly chosen to receive $500 from this donation.

I have decided that after I receive this money, I will be dividing it up equally among my co-workers that need it the most. I want to say thank you to the Tip Your Server Donation, the Downtown Alliance Salt Lake City, Thank you to Ty Burrell and the Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. Thank you for your help, I deeply appreciate it, we deeply appreciate it!

GOOD MORNING!

Checking my blog posts this morning, I didn’t realize the last time I posted anything was six days ago National Poetry Month!

I’ve been so busy applying for jobs and working on poem orders, the time has just flown by. I have gotten more donations from friends through my POETRY FOR $. The past three days, I had a poem request every single day which is amazing. Thanks to donations from friends, their $upport is helping me pay a few bills and put some money aside for groceries.

More about POETRY FOR $:

To date I have completed 10 personalized handwritten poems for $upporters. I accept any amount of donations via my Venmo, whatever people can give, I deeply appreciate.

How I Create Personalized Handwritten Poem:

I spend a few hours writing a poem, this takes the most time, then conceptualizing a design. My poems are more like little art pieces synthesizing my writing and my art style.

After I complete the Poem/Art piece, I offer to send a pdf copy of their poem to their email and then ask if they are comfortable with me mailing the original to their home address. I have mailed 7 poems to people. If they don’t feel comfortable receiving mail during COVID-19, I hold their poems (right now I currently holding 3). My poem also comes with a Thank you card and I mail them within 48 hours of receiving their $upport via Venmo.

UNEMPLOYMENT CHECKS & PAYING BILLS

I am relieved because today I received my 2nd unemployment check. If I continue to receive a check a week, which I am figuring out may be how often I receive one? (the unemployment site is not clear on this) then I will be barely getting over $1,000 a month. This doesn’t even cover rent but it’s something. Every Sunday I have to refile so I have set up reminders for myself so I don’t forget.

STAYING POSITIVE & FOCUSED

I have been applying to a minimum of 2 jobs a day. I have only taken two days off since I was LAID OFF from job searching/applying. It is exhausting. I have reworked and redone my cover letter and resume tons of times already and I plan on doing more revisions. I have been utilizing the unemployment job search tools and my various online work profiles such as LinkedIn and Zip Recruiter.

It’s so tiring and I am trying hard not to feel like a failure but I feel the pressure to get a full-time remote job as fast as possible. Yes, I’m being incredibly picky about what jobs I apply to right now (I am only applying to writing related work that require a Bachelors of English or similar degree). It’s my goal to take advantage of this time and try to find work that requires my degree because that would mean a minimum boost in my annual income (compared to last year) by about $15,000 or more. I am also looking specifically for companies that provide full benefits (health and dental) as well as a good 401K plan.

It’s difficult but I’m not going to give up. I don’t want to live off of unemployment. But I have a plan that if I get close to depleting my savings, I will get a Customer Service Rep job (remote call center work) or maybe a Data Entry job to tie me over while I continue my search. The downside of those jobs, I’ve found that the hourly wage is significantly less by $10-$15 of what I used to make working in a restaurant and more importantly about the same amount less as a job that requires a BA. So I will persist and not give up.

HELP MY FRIENDS

So many of my friends are my co-workers and more than half of them had only their jobs at restaurants as their sole income. Many of my friends don’t have degrees, or any other work experience besides restaurant/service/hospitality. Most of them have been able to file for unemployment successfully and have started to receive their checks but many of them are having issues with DWS (unemployment) and issues with discrepancies on their file, so they have still not received any checks.

As for our employer Squatters Pub Brewery and Wasatch Brew Pub (owned by CANarchy) there has been little help. Thankfully, they have started offering to LAID OFF employees the choice to come and get free fresh fruit and produce that is extra from the bi-weekly deliveries and have given the option (within the last week) of getting two free meals a week from the restaurant. I have received emails from our Human Resources department and it has been suggested that they don’t plan on opening in May which means another month of no work.

If you would like to help out my friends, I have posted in LAID OFF: HELP MY RESTAURANT FAMILY Venmo links to some of co-workers (that wanted to participate) and need $ help right now. I think that direct donations are best.

We were expecting some help from the Downtown Alliance “Tip Your Server” donation program but it has been revealed this is a lottery donation,

excerpt taken directly from https://downtownslc.org/tipyourserver

Fund Distribution FAQ

Q: How does selection work?
A: Recognizing that there are more restaurants and more servers than we can fund, we pulled a list of all eligible establishments licensed with approved NAICS codes. 560 restaurants and bars licensed in SLC were compiled and then randomized. Owners from randomly selected restaurants will be contacted in rounds by the Utah Restaurant Association, with the first round consisting of 40 establishments. Once contacted, those owners may submit up to five displaced workers to receive a $500 grant. Owners may select the workers based on their own criteria, whether those individuals with the greatest need, a random selection, or otherwise.

Once the employer has filled out the form, the employees will be contacted directly by the Downtown Alliance with a request to submit a W-9 in a specified period of time. Payment will be sent directly to the employee within two business days.

Additional notification rounds will commence as long as funds are made available through the Tip Your Server program.

Workers that have applied for unemployment are eligible for this grant. However, workers who have not been displaced or currently have income in an establishment should not be included.

This has been a complete let down and I have not heard of a single one of my co-workers receiving any funds from TIP YOUR SERVER.

I WILL CONTINUE TO WORK HARD

It is so important to stay positive during these strange days. I keep up with the news but stay busy. I am positive that I can turn these events into something beneficial for my life. I am focused on my job search, reading, art, and writing as much poetry as possible and I think this has really helped.

Thank you for reading about my experience and I hope you are doing well and staying safe out there!

–Alina

Follow me on Instagram!

For National Poetry Month I am doing live videos on Instagram of me reading a poem a day and talking about poetry. I am doing this around the times of 2-7 p.m. MST, and posting my LIVE feed to my story which is available for 24 hours.

Liked this blog post? Check out there:

‘Poem to Read Aloud’ by Alina Happy Hansen (April 11th, 2020)

Podcast Sesh #2 June 18, 2020: Writing, Freelancing and Coping with the George Floyd Protests

Life During COVID-19 (5/30/2020): Reflection on George Floyd, Protests Turned Riots and Growing Tensions in the U.S.

Become a Subscriber! Get notified when new posts are published plus once a week I will send content just for you: poem, personal update, reading list, writing tips and more!

Celebrating National Poetry Month 2020: Poems I Love and Poetry for $

April 1, 2020June 2, 2022 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

The month of April is National Poetry Month. A whole month dedicated to celebrating poetry and poets. While staying home, and looking for work, during this strange time with the COVID-19 Global Pandemic, it is vital to take some time and relax and what better way to do this than by reading a few great poems.

Picture of a poem written by Alina Happy Hansen on a piece of handcrafted painted cardstock. Poem reads "Dance with You, Sunshine dancing rays twisting, twirling warmth reflecting inner glow, Move, let your body beam shattering light illuminate the room, IGNITE, the fire dormant in my heart." — One of the personalized handwritten poems that I did for a $upporter

I am still offering POETRY FOR $ while I am unemployed and looking for a job. It has been a hard few weeks since I was laid off from my job as FOH employee at Squatters Pub Brewery in Downtown Salt Lake City. I have been applying to a minimum of 2-5 jobs a day and thankfully just received my first unemployment check yesterday (not a lot but something) which is helping me pay some of my bills right now.

I have celebrated NaPoMo on my blog quite a few times, here is one National Poetry Month

Some great resources/websites to check out during NaPoMo:

Poetry Foundation

poets.org

My Favorite Poems: William Carlos Williams and Marianne Moore

“Kora in Hell: Improvisations XI” bY WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS

Why pretend to remember the weather two years back? Why not? Listen close then repeat after others what they have just said and win a reputation for vivacity. Oh feed upon petals of edelweiss! one dew drop, if it be from the right flower, is five years’ drink!

_______________

Having once taken the plunge the situation that preceded it becomes obsolete which a moment before was alive with malignant rigidities.

When beldams dig clams their fat hams (it’s always beldams) balanced near Tellus’s hide, this rhinoceros pelt, these lumped stone—buffoonery of midges on a bull’s thigh—invoke,—what you will: birth’s glut, awe at God’s craft, youth’s poverty, evolution of a child’s caper, man’s poor inconsequence. Eclipse of all things; sun’s self turned hen’s rump.

Cross a knife and fork and listen to the church bells! It is the harvest moon’s made wine of our blood. Up over the dark factory into the blue glare start the young poplars. They whisper: It is Sunday! It is Sunday! But the laws of the country have been stripped bare of leaves. Out over the marshes flickers our laughter. A lewd anecdote’s the chase. On through the vapory heather! And there at banter’s edge the city looks at us sidelong with great eyes—lifts to its lips heavenly milk! Lucina, O Lucina! beneficent cow, how have we offended thee?

________________

Hilariously happy because of some obscure wine of the fancy which they have drunk four rollicking companions take delight in the thought that they have thus evaded the stringent laws of the county. Seeing the distant city bathed in moonlight and staring seriously at them they liken the moon to a cow and its light to milk.

Source: Imaginations (New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1970)

Excerpt from poetryfoundation.org

“You Are Fire Eaters” by Marianne Moore – 1887-1972

       Not a mere blowing flame—
       A clinking ash, I feel—with shame,
          At malendeavor in your service.

But as Jehoshaphat said on that occasion in
              Old Testament history,

       "The battle is not mine,"
       And strategy laid down—in fine
          Surrender, may be conquest.

Excerpt from poets.org

I love National Poetry Month and it is something I can enjoy during this hard time. I hope that you can find some poems to enjoy, or better yet find a poet you haven’t read before who’s work you end up loving.

Thank you for reading and being a part of my journey! Stay safe and stay well out there!

Liked this blog post? Check out more post from this series!

Life During COVID-19 (3/28/2020): Personal Update, Rant and Unemployment

Life During COVID-19 (4/13/20): Poetry for $ and More Poems

Life During COVID-19: Reflecting on the Murder of Robert Fuller, Trump and A Personal Update

Life During COVID-19 (3/28/2020): Personal Update, Rant and Unemployment

March 28, 2020June 2, 2022 Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

It snowed yesterday and today. It’s chilly but not too horrible and all I’ve really needed is a thick sweater to stay warm in our drafty apartment (it’s not that bad).

A RANT: LEAVING US TO DIE

So, the Stimulus Package passed, awesome. But I’m still not expecting anything, or any help financially from the government right away. They already nickel and dimed the country, the people who need the money the most right now, a one-time payment of $1,200 is nothing when looking at the average cost of living, especially for families making less than $30,000/year AND the minimum wage ($7.25/hour).

What it really feels like is a slap in the face. Not only did I lose my job because of the spread of COVID-19 but I’ve lost my health insurance. I keep thinking about the people with families that lost their health insurance, the older employees that couldn’t retire, everyone living paycheck to paycheck, some of which already didn’t have benefits. But those that had benefits through their employers that lost them when they lost their jobs, those that are in the age range with a higher chance of becoming terminally ill or worse dying from COVID-19, I don’t know what they’re going to do. I feel like for many of us, we’re being left to die, if we don’t lose our lives or people we care about we are going to lose everything else with the risk of eviction, collections, bankruptcy, and homelessness.

But I’m trying to stay positive, focused, and busy despite everything’s that’s going, despite the warning signs I have been seeing for the past two weeks that it’s not going to get better any time soon.

it’s not the same [poem #590]

DAILY HABITS

Writing, reading, but mainly searching for online jobs and applying to a minimum of one or two a day. And it’s hard. I’ve been applying regularly like this every single day since March 16th. I have to keep trying.

UNEMPLOYMENT

I have not been given a definitive date as to when I can expect my first unemployment check. And tomorrow I have to refile for the week. I’ve heard from friends, co-workers, and others who have had to use unemployment that their first check didn’t arrive until three or four weeks after the first time they filed.

3.3 Million File for Unemployment

And the monthly unemployment benefits that I was estimated to receive will barely be over $600/month. That doesn’t even cover my share of rent or utilities. I’m hope I’m just looking at it wrong, I hope it really will be more now that the Stimulus Bill passed. But I am still not expecting any help from the Government or the President since they’ve proven through their corporate bailouts who it is they really care about.

World Enters [poem #448]

ART

On a lighter note, I did this a couple days ago.

Photo of a pen and pencil drawing of a woman and a skull framed with highlighted pink blobs by Alina Happy Hansen. — “quarantined” Original Art Work March 26, 2020 by Alina Happy Hansen

Phone screenshot of an Instagram post of a black-and-white photo of a woman .

I used a reference photo I found on Instagram and then made it my own. I should’ve used watercolors or something brighter to color it (just used colored pencils and a highlighter). But I still like it.

MUSIC

Nine Inch Nails released their albums GHOSTS V-VI for FREE! I downloaded them and they are amazing. Totally gives the my life right now an official soundtrack. Love it!

Thank you for reading and being a part of my life during this strange time. Stay well and stay safe out there!

Liked this blog post? Feel free to check out more in this series ?

Life During COVID-19 (3/25/2020): Establishing A Routine

Life During COVID-19 (5/13/2020): Freelancing, Patreon and New Toys

Podcast Sesh #2 (6/18/2020): Writing, Freelancing and Coping with the George Floyd Protests