What Justin is thinking…

Progress report:

Tours

I broke even a few weeks ago and am now making a steady profit (when it isn’t raining). The money that I make from it tides me over well for miscellaneous things through out the week (which have increased – read further)

So far the number of people per tour are as follows: (Sunday then Wednesday)

2, 1, 5, 2, 0, 4, 6, 0

Other jobs

I’m still working at the youth hostel, but I’m living at another one in the chain, because our one failed some fire regulations. No biggie, as long as it stays open I should still have a job there, and I can just live here. Works out alright as they will even get me an unlimited metro card

Ticket selling is going very very slow and I’m thinking of it as a few extra dollars rather than a per hour job. I’m averaging about 2 a day ($18), but that is money I wouldn’t have otherwise.

Temp work is going great, I’m getting about three jobs from them a week, doing coat checking, or box shifting or other random things. It pays good money (ten to twelve an hour) and there are great perks – like tips and free cutlery and vegetables.

Fun stuff

I’ve been hanging out with a girl a fair bit recently who I met when I tried to sell her tickets on the street. We have been d0ing lots of different things like going to karaoke bars, plays, movies and comedy shows. I’m having a good time. Not always good for saving money, but good for having fun, and I’m not going to be in NY for that much longer. I should still just have enough to pay for the course in France in a few weeks, if I am still going ahead with that……

04/10/09

I just had my first tour today! Two Slovenian chaps turned up and everything went off with out a hitch. I had good fun doing it, and I”m pretty sure they enjoyed the whole thing too. Now that it is underway I think there is some tinkering that I can do. First up with hooking up a list at the Jazz at the park where I might actually meet people there to take them for the tour – this apparently gets more people in.

I also had my audition for the extras company the other day. It went pretty well, I got called back and they would like to have my head shots. The company takes 10% of everything that you earn, which seems like a fair deal. I don’t have any head shots, but I’m thinking of just sending in some pics that I do have after I play with them a bit on photoshop (replace the background with a plain one).

I tell you what though, it can be hard work rustling up all these different ways to get money. My ticket sales have been consistently poor since I saw the show, I just can’t muster the enthusiasm that I had before, but they still bring me $30 or so a day, which is better than a kick in the pants.

09/30/09

I have received the posters for my tours and today I went around to different hostels setting them up, which is a very cool feeling as it shows that it is actually going to happen. Right now people could be looking at the posters or picking up a flyer and planning in their diaries to go on the tour this Sunday. I have a list of thirty three hostels to visit, and today I successfully put posters in eight. It is actually hard work finding the hostels, and getting to them as this usually involves a fair bit of walking. This was actually made somewhat more time consuming with me having to back track twice having left first thirty dollars worth of flyers and thumbtacks on a bench at a hostel and then my sticky tape. When I realised that I had left my tape behind I was torn between just leaving it there and carrying on and going back. I decided to go back, however when I was there I didn’t find it, the room was empty except for one woman sitting at a table. Just one woman.

Rewind.

Yesterday I was having a pretty lousy day of sales, though having a lot of fun talking to people surprisingly. In my third hour after lunch I got talking to a Brazilian woman who was very nice and spoke quite good English. What made this a little different was that instead of holding my display out infront of me facing her, I held it facing me and I stood next to her. For some reasons it just made it seem like we were on the same team, like old friends discussing what to do next. As it was we got along like lentils and rice, she gave me some money for a ticket that I discounted for her and I raced into a Starbucks to get her some change. Just after she left I noticed that I felt a feeling of guilt, like something wasn’t quite right. And then I realised, I hadn’t told her about the two drink minimum. And it put me in a bit of a downer for the rest of the afternoon.

Fast forward.

This one woman in the room was that Brazilian woman. The same one. She recognised me first and I was so happy and I told her so and explained about the two drinks minimum. She said that I had already mentioned it though. So perhaps I was just feeling a bit guilty about selling something to someone who I was just being friendly with?

Tomorrow I will complete putting up all of the posters and have a trial run through the tour with Mike. I’m feeling pretty good about it now. The posters look quite professional – much better than the vast majority of other tour posters there, and I’m also feeling quite confident with my knowledge of Harlem. This will be put to the test when I actually have to start talking to actual people – the test with Mike will be very useful I think. Especially in comforting my fears. Mike knows far more about Harlem than I do, so if I can give him a tour, then I should be able to give a tourist one.

Price list:

Colour posters (60): $35

Black and white flyers (300): $30

Clear display packets (100): $10

Thumbtacks (200): $2.79

Sticky Tape: $3

Estimated loss of income: $27

Total: $110. 79

This means that I need 12 people to come to break even. I’m only running tours twice a week which enables me to still work a five day week selling tickets which is the maximum allowed. For the moment I’m still working part time as I’m just now looking into doing some ‘extra’ work for films and what not. I’ve got an audition tomorrow but I’ve got a feeling it might just be another ‘give us money and we’ll get you a job (possibly)’ kind of thing. Worth a shot though.

23/09/09

My last week of ticket selling was my best ever, though my last two days were deplorable. This is in a large way due to my being worn out but also to a new factor. I have now seen the show. It wasn’t that the show was bad, but it wasn’t exactly what I had been told it was. There were non professional comedians and it really brought to light the whole ‘two drink minimum’. Everyone there was getting a bit drinky drinky. And after that although I was trying I could only sell 3 tickets the following day and only a half ticket the day after. I just couldn’t do it – I did try, really try a fair bit of the time, though I was telling the truth now as I knew it. ‘The only club to have all professional comedians who must be on network tv at least five times’ was now ‘The only club to have almost all professional comedians with many being on tv at least five times’. This despite not really working well, juxtaposed greatly to people who would talk during our lunch break of deliberately leading people astray. And the gravy on top of my mashed potatoes of disappointment was that when I met special people (like the Irish couple on their honeymoon) I would give them a drinks voucher for free because it would make them happy. But I really don’t like supporting drinking. I like making people happy, but not drinky drinky happy. So I’ve been hunting around and I’ve applied for a dog walking job which should pay similarly, and give me more time too.

This week I have been working at the Clinton Global Initiative which is a giant meeting of very important and influential world leaders. In the last two days I have seen Bill Clinton, President Obama, Al Gore, Muhammad Yunus, the Prime Minister of Ireland and an ex president of Nigeria (who I took a photo of with a journo). It is very interesting being involved with such a large event and seeing very important people. However my primary job is pretty basic. I escort the press from room to room – even the bathroom. Still seeing how they are dealt with is interesting, especially compared to the speakers. Basically even though everyone needs the press, they are herded about, crammed in rooms tight together and shuffled along regularly. It is a very educational experience as I get to listen into many sessions and I get to learn about social issues and professions that I am interested in. Also on a more basic level it floats my love boat too, here’s why…

I get to walk around all day wearing a tie and fancy pants feeling very professional and like a true New Yorker.

I get three massive meals a day and they are amazing. So much quality variety and quantity and I can eat as much as I like. These are all good things.

The people that I work with are all really cool and come from all over the world.

I get to see famous people! (Matt Damon, Barbara Strisand, Demi More, Ben Stiller, Brad Pitt and Ricky Martin are all here)

09/08/09

I’ve very much taken up my original challenge of Harlem Tours and I’m making some headway. So far I’ve completed almost 70% of my initial research, mapped and walked my course, written content for the posters, contacted the designer and written a business plan. I’m enjoying having a project to work on during the day and am feeling more and more confident about it, though I still hesitate before telling people what I’m doing. That makes sense though, as I have already bailed from it once before – once bitten twice shy and all. I’ll work again tomorrow but the following day I will work on a website, secure a domain name, do some more research and have another walk of the course and try to get familiar with my content and the area.

Last week I only worked three days but I still made $158, which was only a sliver less than the week before when I worked full time, so I’m still in a good place financially. I only actually expect this venture to cost me around $100 in start up costs, so if it can make that back and anything more then I will be cheering!

On another note it is starting to get just a bit nippier here, so I have been thinking about my cold weather gear. I’ve got a lovely woolen jumper that I have worn everywhere – but it is starting to look a little ratty as it’s got some holes in it. I might just throw it away and get another one….Ha, as if! I’m thinking that I might go to a sewing store and purchase some patches to cover it up. While I was in a Ralph Lauren store looking at some high brow TOMS the other day, I saw that the latest fashion there is to have large letters sewn across a jumper. I might also throw some patches onto the sleeves too though.

Oh and I heard back from TOMS, I was the first person to return the surveys and pics – and as an additional prize I got an extra pair of shoes! I’d already planned to give the first pair away, but I don’t know what to do with the second. What a dilemma!

09/04/09

Flash back!!! Here is a brief recount of some of my earlier travels. After I left TOMS I stayed a while with some of my intern buddies in San Francisco. Ryan and I had deliberately left the TOMSmahal early on Saturday so that we would be prepared for the Bay to Breakers running race the next day. Though running and racing were actually quite far from our intentions. This is a road race that attracts over 80 000 participants every year and stretches the 10 miles from down town to the beach. Each years Ryan and his pals dress up, and this year thanks to a suggestion from Claire one of our house mates, we decided to go as Octomum – a mother who became quite famous here for having Octuplets. So Ryan’s step brother dressed up as a mother, and nine of us dressed up as babies (whose really going to count) in actual adult nappies and baby bibs. That was all. The girls wore singlets and some special male undies as they offered more coverage. Ryan carried a backpack with a change of clothes for us and some spare alcohol to fill up his babies bottle when the white russian ran dry. The race itself was brilliant, lots of people music and costumes. My favourite was a man dressed as Obama who was pushed on a lectern and surrounded by fifteen security guards who would attack anyone spraying him with a water pistol. Though running a close second was a man who wore nothing more than a tea bag tied around the knob of his penis. He was the only one dressed like that, so I guess points for originality. When we made it to the beach we dashed across the incredibly hot sand and plunged into the painfully chilling water. It was the coldest water I’ve ever been in, and only a half hour lay in the sun was able to thaw me out. After wards Ryan and his friend Vanessa and I decided to explore the beaches and cliffs a bit so we parted from the rest of the group and scampered all around some marvelous rough land with wicked views. We discovered a maze made out of rocks and at the centre was a geo cache. Geo Chacheing involves putting coordinates for a specific place online, and challenging people to find it. If they do they leave a small token to acknowledge that they found it. Ryan left the key to our TOMS intern house. We left the ragged cliffs and made our way back to civilisation through a golf course, and it was here that I started to feel bad that Ryan and I were fully clothed, while Vanessa was only wearing a tea shirt and the mens underpants as the nappy had got soggy in the water. I thus proposed that we play a game of scissors, paper rock and the loser loses their pants for an hour. I lost and for the next hour walked through the streets of San Francisco wearing a tea shirt, undies and joggers – not surprisingly I received many a strange look. When it came time to replay for the pants, we decided that in order to be entirely fair we should probably all just go sans pants and not isolating the individual. So we all walked in our tighty whities into a chinese shop for some tucker, across crowded intersections and finally caught a bus back to Ryan’s place. Upon arrival Devika and Claire were there with Claire’s parents. This was the first time we had really met them and we wanted to assure them that we were trustworthy people. I tried really hard to be sincere and wholesome, though you can only try so hard when your standing in Y fronts. The look on Claire’s mum’s face was priceless – it went instantly from shocked ‘what the?’ to ‘okay, I’m very worried but these are Claire’s friends and I’ll try not to let it show’. This would have to be the best way I’ve ever exposed myself to a city.

09/03/09

I recently received a letter from TOMS asking for people to volunteer to go to a University and get 100 surveys filled out, take 100 photos of backpacks and then type it up onto a spreadsheet and send it back. At first I wasn’t going to do it at all – seriously that is a lot of work to only get reimbursed in a pair of shoes. But I did get back to them and said that I was sorry I hadn’t done it yet, but I would have it sent to them before end of day tomorrow. The next day I went to Columbus University where Obama studied, had the surveys filled out, took the photos, went home and typed them all up and sent them to TOMS by one o’clock, and I felt good. I had completed a whole project in minimal time and according to the last email that I received was the only person to do so. Yeah. I felt great, but these feelings have somewhat diminished having received no reply from them whatsoever. But I guess you don’t do things for the recognition.

Work today was tough, I only sold two and I feel pretty drained. But this has given me a good shove in the right direction to get stuck into the research so I can crack the tours out earlier. Selling tickets can be painfully frustrating!

09/02/09

On Monday I went for a walk around Harlem with my room mates Mike and Raymon to scope out what I can include in my tour. I was feeling pretty good about it, so yesterday I got straight into the study. I went to the local library and drew up lists, researched people, places and got myself a rough map of where I would take the tour. I knew that the next step was to actually go back to Harlem, walk my path and try and garner some interest from the people there to be a part of the tour. First up the lady at the market said that bringing a tour there would be spot on, but she didn’t understand my questions about having someone speak to the tourists for a few minutes. My next stop was the hair braiders and despite feeling quite nervous about entering and speaking to these big corn row adorned Black ladies I strolled right on in. The first place told me to come back tomorrow and the second said they weren’t interested. When posing it to them I felt a bit icky as it seemed a bit to much like viewing animals in zoo. My next stop was a street vendor in front of the Apollo who said he was too busy for it and I couldn’t find a suitable Soul food place as one was far too big and well known to offer to give a brief talk to a small group (Bill Clinton and Obama have eaten there), while the other looked too much like a fish and chip shop in Harrington. So I reluctantly gave up, feeling the same feelings again of missed opportunities. I came home and chatted to Mike and he pepped me back up again! ‘Forget having other people, there’s more money for you if you go it alone’. He then sat up stairs with me and helped me plan it out further, and I feel quite happy in the direction that it is going.

Things to do (time span, about a month):

Research

Start getting photos and copy ready for flyers and posters and website

Visit youth hostels and promote

Begin tours.

08/31/09

I’m now really feeling at home. I’ve gotten a lot closer with my fellow Hostel workers, feel comfortable about my work now that I’ve dropped to part time and I’ve got an ambition with my Harlem tours. I think now I will tell you about Mike, who I now share cooking with.

Mike is pale, has a small neat pony tail that he keeps hidden under a black beanie/cap, a small eye brow ring and a well manicured slash of goatee. Now imagine a person with all of this who you would be happy to introduce to your grandmother and know that she would find him to be quite agreeable. He comes from an inner London suburb where he grew up in a housing development. As a boy and youth he got in lots of trouble with teachers as he had no will to learn, in trouble with school mates as he was half Indian though never looked it, and the Police later on as he stole things and got up to mischief. When he was around fifteen and had dropped out of school a social worker took him to a factory where he was given some employment options. Initially he would start packing boxes, but in a few years if he impressed the boss, he might be able to drive a forklift. Mike burst into tears. Since then he left his housing development which his friends have never done, went to University which his friends couldn’t see the point of and left the country which his friends have never dreamed of. In Canada he got engaged to a French Canadian Girl whose parents have both died leaving her with a few million dollars and a cocaine habit. After three years they broke up and he moved to New York and e is in the planning stages of opening up a record label in England which as well as promoting unsigned artists, tries to get people out of the cycle of poverty. At the moment though he is semi unemployed. I say semi because he works here at the hostel and is basically the captain of the ship, directing even the actual manager, yet he doesn’t get paid for it. I questioned him on how he survives financially and he said “If I had $100 to last me to the end of the year, then I would survive on that”. When he is low on money, he eats less. Instead of being upset about his predicament, he told me he just remembers times when he was in England and he had to go for a week or so with very little food, so now it is a similar situation, only he is out of the place that he hates. He mentioned that one time for his birthday, his mate bought him a pizza for a present from Domino’s, and they sat in the park and ate it feeling like Kings.

The more I meet people like this the more I feel ignorant for unconsciously assuming that everyone grew up in a similar way to me.