The weather forecast was terrible for the next couple of days in Philadelphia. Jake knew that if it were snowing heavily, he would be out of work again. He needed to work, and more so, he needed the money. He’s shit was out of luck. His savings disappeared as fast as the new bills came in the mail. He couldn’t get to the city to work. Jake lost his office job for the second time in the last six months, and his bank account was slimming down to the lowest balance in years. Driving for Uber was the only immediate option for him to make some money. His situation was dire. Somebody had to pay the lease on the car as well as a bunch of other bills. There were not too many options for him but to wait. The waiting was hard. Jake had a couple of bottles of red wine on the shelf. He liked to drink red wine, especially when the weather was bad and there was nothing else to do but to drink and hope that everything will be alright. There wasn’t much to do at home while the snowstorm was dumping on the city. His car was too small and useless for driving in this snow. Things were not looking up for anybody.
Jake’s wife had a full-time office job, which she didn’t like. Nobody likes their jobs, but financial stability and job security somehow make it all work. Jake remembered the days when he was supporting the family. He remembered the days when his paycheck was good enough for both of them even before she got her first job. He got used to the steady bi-weekly paychecks, good red wine every evening with dinner or on the weekend, paid healthcare, 401K with contributions, PTO’s, and the rest of the corporate benefits that are supposed to make people happy and satisfied with their jobs. That job security and stability are really making a man too dependent and much weaker. When you are always uncomfortable and struggling, you get to enjoy life’s little moments and appreciate your achievements, work, and career progress. When you are too comfortable in your job, just one thought about the possibility of you getting fired is terrifying. How would you live? What would you do? How will you pay your bills? What’s going to happen to you and your family? After Jake lost his second job that year, these questions were not terrifying anymore. He knew he could make it without a corporate gig. He knew that he needed to hustle all the time to make it. He would be driving for Uber to make enough to cover the bills and put food on the table for him and his wife. There is no more corporate nonsense, no more useless meetings, reports, no presentations, and no more pain in the aching young soul. But that fucking snowstorm for the next two days was screwing his plans. He needed to get a little over $500 to cover his bills in the next few days, and he couldn’t leave the house because of the snowstorm. Jake was becoming desperate. The weather had a different plan. The weather was always fucking things up for him.
“Honey, look out the window. There is so much snow outside; it is so pretty!” Jake’s wife was enjoying the snow and the fact that she gets to stay at home and skip a day of work at the office.
Jake was sitting in his favorite rocking chair, reading a book and listening to some 40’s jazz music. He stood up and looked out the window.
“I hate that snow. It is supposed to be March already, the beginning of the Spring season, but it snows like it is still a fucking January or something. I am just sick and tired of this weather, babe. The winter this year has been just brutal.
“I hear you, Honey. I know it is hard for you at the moment, but things will get better soon. Don’t worry about it too much. I love you!”
“Thanks, babe, I love you too. I am just so depressed over this weather and the job and the money and stuff. Things are just not looking up for me lately.”
“Don’t worry, babe. I still have a job. I can cover some of our expenses for the time being. I do believe that you will find a job soon. You are smart, and you will be alright. We will be alright.”
She sounded confident. He wanted to believe her and wanted her words to be true. He tried to take care of things and move on and move forward with his life. He was thirty years old with no money saved, no career prospects, no desire for a career whatsoever. Occasionally Jake would receive LinkedIn notifications about his classmates or colleagues getting promoted or moving into a new and better job. Jake felt both jealous and miserable at the same time. Why did he have to struggle so much? Why was life always so unfair for him?
“Thanks, I appreciate your support, Honey. Are you hungry? Don’t you want to eat something?”
“I am hungry. Let’s see what we have in the fridge.”
“Ok. Sounds good.”
Jake went to the refrigerator to see what was there left to eat for dinner. He got some of yesterday’s leftovers from the fridge and put them in the microwave. He set his coffee to brew. Jake liked his freshly brewed coffee. He was getting a bit sleepy from all that afternoon reading and jazz music. Jake and his wife ate and talked a bit about different things. His wife was very supportive of him. He knew he made the right decision marrying her two years ago. They were still happy together regardless of the money problems. This is what true love is all about. They were very much in love even after dating for five years before their marriage, and they never got tired of each other.
The next day it snowed some more. His little street was all covered up with snow, and it looked like it had been about three feet of snow at this point. His car was buried; it looked like a massive pile of snow. The snow has covered everything, all other vehicles and trees, and branches. Jake knew he would not be working for another day. Money was tight. He was tight. He was drinking the wine and watching TV with his wife, trying to forget about the real-life for a moment.
Jake remembered that he hadn’t written a word in the last two weeks. He needed to write something. He had a handful of his unfinished short stories waiting for him. He was waiting for the inspiration to come after drinking the wine. There was always something else for him to do but not to write. Writing needed some dedication, and he couldn’t dedicate himself to writing lately. Jake was more worried about the money and the bills that he needed to pay.
He wondered, maybe, life is giving him a chance to become a writer while not giving him any other opportunities to succeed in professional life. Jake was out of a job for the last six months. That was plenty of time to write and an excellent opportunity to write a lot, but Jake hasn’t done much writing. Driving for Uber for 12 to 15 hours a day in the city was tough on him. He’s been going until he became so dizzy and tired that he couldn’t do it anymore. He usually came home late at night, all tired and exhausted, dropping half dead to sleep. The next day he would sleep until he had rested enough and would work another day. This was the same routine one day after another. Time flew by fast, and the six months passed by, and he still hasn’t done much writing. He wanted to do deep in his heart to write, but he couldn’t stop working. That’s not how he was. Jake was taking full responsibility for his situation, and he wasn’t relying on anybody. He needed to solve his problems. He knew that after that fucking snowstorm ends and the city will get cleaned up, he will be hitting the road again.
“Honey, it is getting late. Do you want to go to bed?” Jake asked.
“Yeh, I am pretty tired, let’s go to sleep,” said Jake’s wife.
“Ok, babe, I’ll go brush my teeth, and I’ll add some water into the humidifier.”
“Ok, babe.”
Jake went on and brushed his teeth. She did the same. He refilled the humidifier and turned it on. The heater was drying the air in the room during the winter too much, and they needed to moist it with a humidifier to breathe and sleep better at night. Jake’s wife set up her alarm for 7 AM. She planned to go to work the next day, assuming the streets will be cleaned by the morning. Jake set up his alarm for 8 AM. They kissed each other goodnight and fell asleep. The next day there was no snow, and they both went to work. It was March 22nd, and it seemed like Spring was still too far away.
…It took Jake another four months to find a career job and quit Uber. He started to write again because he was not worried about the money and bills anymore. Life gave him another chance. Jake knew he couldn’t fuck it up…