Everything is strange and so different than it was a week ago. The biggest event in my life right now is that this morning I yelled at my 77 year-old father to stop going to Trader Joe’s and then this afternoon, I took my 33 year-old self out to my neighborhood grocery store. And felt scared that it was so crowded. What am I up to this weekend? Oh, probably binge-watching Netflix…to stifle the guilt that I’m squandering this opportunity of time and not writing that book I’ve flirted with writing for, ya know, half a decade. You?

I can’t handle a book right now, I could barely write that last paragraph. Let me tell you, it was a struggle. (And that’s ok!) In fact, I wrote that paragraph 3 weeks ago… Not much in my day to day has changed since, but oh how the world has.

It’s a weird time, eh?

A bonkers, scary time. A how-is-this-real-life time. A WTF & WFH time.

I’m lucky enough to work from home these days, so the desk I’m typing this blog from is the same desk I already sat at for nine hours today working my day job. My home office is in my bedroom, barely three feet from where I sleep. That’s NYC for you. But holy crap, I have never been more thankful for my day job.

Hello from my “home office” where I’ve largely been feeling anxious and unproductive!

I started my job exactly one year ago this week. It’s what your pops would call a “real job”, with a salary, good benefits, paid time off. When people ask me if I like it, my typical response is to joke about how it’s not the most fulfilling, but it is filling up my savings account! Yuk, yuk, yuk! Before this job, I spent the better part of a decade working temp jobs, events, gigs, the rare acting job, an occasional sponsored blog post… I never lived anything but paycheck to paycheck before this year.

I’m sitting pretty working for the man…and that doesn’t exactly sit well with me?

So many people have lost their jobs these past weeks. So many people who I used to work with. So many people who hustled so hard to make money to pay the bills and also pursue their dream. Hey, you guys, I see you. I still feel like I’m one of you, even when I’m surrounded by suits every day at work!

Well actually, no suits these days. These days the suits have been replaced by house plants.

So hey, my friends and fellow creatives who are hurting for money at this strange, bizarre, and upsetting setting time. Would you have any interest in getting paid to blog?

Right here, write here, on newyorkcliche.com. I can offer $50 a post, which maybe seems skimpy from a gal who just bragged about her fancy savings account…but I’m trying my best here.

What am I looking for in these paid blog posts? I’d love a New York story, a unique NYC listical, a personal city musing with a humorous tone. Write about the job you just lost, tell a story of something strange you saw on the street, gimme the tea on a best/worst date, share what’s going on in your neighborhood (or your mind!) currently with the city “on pause”. If you’re an artist, I’d be thrilled if you wanted to include drawings or other visuals. If you want to send me a specific pitch, amazing. If you have just a vague ideas, or 12, drop me a line and I bet we can come up with something together! Questions? Interest? Please reach out! Email: MaryLane[at]newyorkcliche[dot]com.

If you need some inspiration, or just some quarantine reading, check these out:

Stop-and-Frisk Story Time with Guest Blogger Andrew Sanford

12 Types Of New York City Tourists

New York Cliché of the Day: Hipster Or Homeless

What’s My Problem With a Good Old “Text Me When You Get Home”?

New York City Boroughs Sorted Into Hogwarts Houses

I Got Robbed on the Streets of New York City (Part 1)

The Survival Jobs of A Struggling Actress

17 Wacky and Totally Unexpected Things Seen on the New York City Streets

If you know anyone who enjoys writing and could use $50, please spread the word! I wanted to do something, anything, to feel less helpless and give back. I thought this could maybe help. I should say that I don’t have unlimited funds for this, but I want to share as many guest posts as I possibly can!

If you see this post and think, “Oh! I should do that!” but then never actually do it, know that I understand you perfectly. Don’t beat yourself up about it (be kinder than me in the 1st paragraph of this post…). Read this New Yorker article instead, “What Shakespeare Actually Did During the Plague” and please take care of yourself.

Hope you are all staying safe inside your shoe box apartments and practicing social distancing. Say hey in the comments if you’re feeling lonely, bored, or scared. Or just miss human contact. I’m here, I’m replying.

To any essential worker readers, holy shit, you are amazing. Thank you, thank you for all that you do.