I Need Judge Judy

Since June, I have either let someone borrow money or provided services to someone to the tune of about $1,675 that I haven't been paid. Just seeing that number makes my stomach turn. This loss to my bank roll is taking a toll on my finances...in laymen's terms...I'm broke.

Don't think I haven't been trying to overcome this brokeness. I have been proactive at letting my sister move in, selling my furniture (to a relative who has yet to pay me) and trying to freelance more. Nevertheless, my clients are just as broke as me and The Columbus Dispatch is inexplicably moving away from local music coverage.

So though $1,675 seems monumental to me, it's really not that much in the grand scheme of things. The largest single amount of money that I am owed is $600, and considering the deadbeat I loaned it to, is there any way I am going to get that money back?

I need Judge Judy. See, these petty amounts of money that I have been short-term swindled out of would be a landfall on Judge Judy's show. These people who think my polite phone calls and text messages are just a nuisance don't know how it is to have a mortgage company breathing down your back. Judge Judy knows. She would lambast these individuals who specifically requested me to provide them with something and then go on to give me nothing in return.

See, Judge Judy takes small claims seriously. The majority of people on her show are people who are doing relatives and lovers favors, and end up getting stuck with the bill in the end. I would rather be abused my a stranger than someone I thought I knew and trusted. I guess that is what hurts the most.

In the meantime, until my additional rent payments catch up to my growing debt, I have been exploring my options in order to avoid landing in the poor house even more. Seems like I can't find a new job in this town to save my life. I have been applying and interviewing for jobs in this city for the past two years, to no avail, landing only the ones that seemed shotty. One gig I did pick up, as a secret shopper, was so cumbersome and detailed and so not worth the money ($15 per shop). One guy I was seeing legitimately suggested that I become a hooker.

Refinancing, loans, credit cards, all of that I have looked into, to no avail. I don't qualify for anything other than working poverty.

Am I supposed to learn to be less giving and accomodating? Am I supposed to learn to be giving with no expectations? Am I supposed to unleash this snarling bitch that has been testing the waters lately, and is yearning to be fully personified? At this point, looking at my bank account, comparing it to my financial outlook, I couldn't afford to be giving if I tried.