Fuck

[yendi]

As noted by 'song, Elayna got nothing for financial aid for Explo. Not one fucking cent.

That basically screws us, financially. We've got to raise a ton of money in six weeks (as what we've set aside isn't nearly enough, given the ongoing bite things like rent and food take out of our budget). And with my mom no longer able to chip in as much as she did last year (she's retired and living off investments, and like anyone in that boat, there's a lot less money for her to play with this year).

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

FWIW, the Explo people were very sympathetic (and a phone call is a lot less painful, all things considered, than a form letter). There's just not enough money to go around. Since part of what Elayna loves about Explo is the other kids (and since I don't have the slightest doubt that the ones getting aid are in even worse financial straits than we are), it's hard to get pissed; these folks need it. But it's still easy to be depressed, as this is a pretty damned steep hill to climb.

As was the case last year, we'll be doing auctions, writing, etc to do what we can to bring in extra money (and yes, Elayna will be doing some of that writing, too).

The small upshot, for those of you who enjoy my horror reviews, is that I'll be starting some of my Days of Horror reviews again (complete with donation links). Not sure how frequently -- daily is a killer, but given the short time frame, weekly seems a little silly. Probably two or three a week. The first one will be Habitat, because moominmuppet paid for a review of her choice last year, and I still haven't ponied up. Others that will follow shortly will include (for sure) the current (and sucktastic) Friday the Thirteenth movie, a Uwe Boll film, and a handful of others.

Comments

[rm.livejournal.com]

Hey, dunno if this is of interest to you, but I write a lot of crap for AssociatedContent. You can pretty much write about whatever you want and get paid for it (product reviews and health stuff tend to be big winners), but paypal, pretty efficiently. Once you get a hang of what they are looking for (and it's not great art), it's pretty easy to generate $20 - $30 an hour writing articles for the site. I've been writing them since 2006 now. It might help the cause.

[yendi]

Thanks! I'd heard of them, but wasn't sure how legit they were, so knowing that someone's actually gotten paid makes me a lot more inclined to check them out.

[niftybabe313.livejournal.com]

I'll do what I can, hopefully I'll get a job soon so I'll have a paycheck coming in!

[rm.livejournal.com]

I've made about $5,000 from them and write sporadically. Sometimes when I'm really into it, I manage about $300/week.

Totally legit. Also a great way to repurpose previously written content for pageview income or sometimes you can even get them to give you a few dollars up front for it as well.

[aiela.livejournal.com]

I'm going to second AC. A friend of mine who decided to quit her job and work part-time and freelance write the rest of the time makes money from them, as well.

[greatcalvero.livejournal.com]

The return of Days of Horror is great, as I was just asking you about that, but I'm sorry for the reason it needs to come back.

A long while back, I know you were getting rid of some of your graphic novel collection. If they're still available, I'm still interested in the first Cerebus and the first 100 Bullets. Just let me know: citizenjason(at)gmail.com.

[ckd]

Now that's real fatherly love...voluntarily watching an Uwe Boll film to raise money for this.

[unwilly.livejournal.com]

Damn it.

What a bitter disappointment, for Elayna.

I should be able to hit a tip jar after payday.