When Artists Can't Pay the Rent

They will be forced to unimaginable slavery or homelessness. Because bad music, bad food, bad films make it to the top these days. Don’t know what is bad? Too bad, so sad, only you can define that, and I’m only here to rant,

about the days of our lives.

Just because things are popular don't mean they are good, some people just have mediocre taste. It's more convenient to hear what we want to hear and go where everyone goes to. It's easier to conform than to think for yourself, that kind of freedom is a burden for most.

Even when I was traveling, I went off-the-beaten track. The real off-the-beaten track and not those advertised by travel agencies. I like to search for rare gems and be proud when I discovered it myself.

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

The photo above was taken in Mount Monserrate in the City of Bogota, with some friends I met in the hostel. We were just goofing around the tourist area to see what it's like to be crazy in a foreign country, it is actually easier when nobody knows you. I don’t have his permission to post this photo.

The starving artist is not a myth, though I’m not an artist and not starving, times are hard for the dreamers these days. But we never stop. Our craft is sophisticated that we can’t just go around begging people to buy our work. We continue to create anyway, it is called the mad perseverance in a face of total rejection.

When artists can’t pay the rent, they can just pack their bags and go. Wow, it sounds easy to say. But it is actually cheaper to be a nomad than to pay the bills, depending on the lifestyle you choose. I repeat, it depends on the traveler’s lifestyle you choose.

I went to the supermarket today and I was reminded of the starving artist myth, I was actually choosing the cheapest thing I can buy, the cheapest roll of toilet paper, the cheapest soap, the cheapest things. The dreaded bills are soon to come and I’m not going to touch my startup project fund yet, that will hopefully liberate me in the future. I’m looking for other gigs after losing my job last month, but nada! Adult life is hard.

I'm a driver. I'm a winner. Things are gonna change. I can feel it.

Update on my startup project, so far I have just written the website content and I have the domain and all. I still have to buy a camera to put HD photos on the website, my camera was stolen in Ecuador. Just when you are struggling, you lose things! Losing things sometimes is not really freedom. It’s a pain in the back.

I really hope I can move forward, I am just waiting for the sunny days. Things are slow in the society today. I want to fast-track without having to sacrifice my spirit. I actually forgot my Linkedin profile is still out there, and a bank emailed me saying that I have the qualifications and experience they need. Oh, the corporate pull is here again, it is actually too tempting to go back so I can easily buy cryptos. Work in a bank so I can buy cryptos, ha! Does it mean moving back to the city? But just to think of the work environment, the people, the 9-5, it’s already making me throw up. The stress brought by these for years was one of the main reasons I traveled. My friend once told me that I should have already learned how to deal with people when I was traveling, so I should take it. He was actually just asking me to move back to the city so we could spend time together. I definitely want to be with my friends. I just don’t want the city and the job.

Enough with the rant about the days of our lives. What is your takeaway for today? When artists can’t pay the rent, they make more art. They don’t stop. Their work is the foundation for their beliefs and philosophies.