Unemployment.

Temp agencies lie. They just do. So do cater waiter services. Liars all of them. And not the type of liars where they don't admit they ate the proverbial cookie, no. These liars are emotional liars. I don't like these types of liars. Preying on the sentiment of their victims, they convince them of one thing, then, not doing its antithesis, lets them linger in the Limbo: wondering if any action will take place.

I walk into these temp agencies. They shower me with compliments. They revel at my test scores. They are shocked at my words per minute ratio. They fool me with their natural lighting and faux Feng Shui office layout. They complain about how much work there is out there, and not enough people to fill jobs. They say things like, "Oh I'm an actor too" and "We totally understand your situation". They make empty promises telling tales of companies who completely empathize with the artist's way, offering positions of flexibility and decent money. We joke. We flirt. We throw in a swear word or two to show we really know what this is about, right? We f*&k ourselves senseless in the courtship of office play. And I go home. I get on the subway feeling happy, knowing that things are going to be different. Maybe I won't have to put this months rent on a credit card. Maybe I can figure out how to schedule my day. I'll get a phone call tomorrow morning and I'll be good to go. They understood me. I put myself in their hands. All will be well.

The next day. Nothing. The second day. Nothing. The third and fourth are the same. Emails are sent to remind them of my availability. No response. Perhaps one bite or two which quickly dissolves because I was in the subway tunnel and didn't get the message in time and the next person took it. A ridiculous offer where I dress up as a dog to help promote drug awareness or some other inane campaign by the mayor's office. Nothing regular. Promises broken.

They say the life of an actor is hard. I've heard the word treacherous used once. Maybe. I must admit that I've been completely duped. The one area of my life that I thought would be manageable has turned into a series of metaphorical one-night-stands with a bunch of people I never asked to get on with in the first place. This is not treacherous. This is absurd.

This is unemployment.