Naw. My wife and I provide for my nieces and nephews who have a dad who says shit like ‘where am I supposed to find a job in this economy’

First, what kind of professional writer makes this mistake? “After a brief-but-lively back and forth between my daughter’s mother and I...”

Second, this guy’s lit agent sounds like an enabler.

And third, if there’s no way to make a living freelancing in Portland, then option 1) go where there IS money or option 2) find…

I completely agree, as someone who has made that trade off.

And, sure, there is that gym membership, but only because the one thing people like less than a poor person is a fat poor person; I don’t need to be inventing new reasons for prospective employers to resist me.

You don't need a gym membership to stay thin. Run around the block and do some push ups.

Same. There is a picture of my kid on all three of the screens I sit in front of every day at a job I don’t necessarily love so that, when I need it, I remember why I’m here. I look at her, then I get back to work so I can help earn $$$ for the food, shelter, and education she needs.

“the custodial parent doesn’t get that chance”

The really ridiculous part is that he’s trying to have a writing career, which is something that can be done anytime. It’s 100% possible to have a “real” job, and still do the writing on your off hours. Plus, if he had stuck it out at UPS, he could have worked his way into an actual driver position, and those guys…

You are not an asshole. I came down here for the comments because, yeah, you don’t get to keep following a dream that isn’t working for you when you have the responsibility to support your own damned children. They aren’t just going to suddenly stop needing to eat or needing a place to live. I don’t even HAVE kids and…

We all are, apparently. $9.25 minimum wage in Portland at 20hrs a week would double his yearly income.

This is exactly what I was thinking. I spent 10 years being a stay-at-home mom, and had to go out and find a job when we separated - so, no “real” experience at 35, looking at entry-level positions, and worrying about day care expenses.

How many dads out there have worked for 20-30 years at a job they just couldn’t effing stand, all in order to support their wives who were stay-at-home mothers, and their kids (women are now starting to fill this role, but the numbers aren’t even close in terms of % of population)?

Agreed. Jezebel’s writing is so tone deaf. How could any one feel so entitled to “pursue their dream” while they have a family in need. Once you have children, your dreams are secondary. Our generation doesn’t understand how to ever stop thinking about ourselves.

exactly the same here. i paid my dues and hustled to work my way into a job that pays me well, provides me with good benefits and perks, and also gives me a fair amount of flexibility with my time. when my kid was younger, i was able to bring her in to work if she didn’t have school for whatever reason, so i didn’t…

I work two jobs, a security guard and part time as a stocker at a grocery store. Between the two I pull in 39k and some change. Neither of these jobs require degrees. Neither of them require experience.

But at least his children’s bills were being paid when he was a UPS driver. Now he can’t even pay his own bills.

I almost want to place bets on how quickly he finds a decent paying job after his youngest turns 18. My dad always complained about having to pay the child support he was required to pay ($500 a month) because my mom had remarried... dude that shit wasn’t alimony, and even though my stepdad was happy to pay for my…

Exactly. He’s a deadbeat who wants approval. He’ll get none from me.

He also doesn’t mention being any part of the day-to-day labor of raising a child. I would have had a totally different reaction to this piece if he had said “I don’t make enough money to pay child support, but my flexible schedule means that I do all the after-school pick-ups, sick-day care-taking, etc...” Instead,…

This didn’t happen overnight. He has THREE kids. No excuse for that selfishness.