This is a really difficult post for me to make for many reasons, but one I am going to make anyway because I don't know what else to do. I will try to keep it as succinct as I can.
For years I have said that I work in IT, and this is true. But what I haven't said is that I work in IT for the federal government. For privacy reasons, I won't say which branch, but I have been a federal employee for years now. About two weeks ago, DOGE started coming after us. So far, I still have my job, and those higher than me in my branch have instructed us to not respond to any DOGE emails. While I wouldn't bend the knee to Elon Musk, Trump, or anyone else in DOGE regardless (I will hold the line as long as I can), it's still a beyond stressful time knowing that I could lose my one source of income at any moment.
To make matters worse, because of my refusal to bend the knee to Musk, I've been completely cut off by the one remaining family member I had left, my father. He has made it clear that if I lose my job because I am standing up to the current administration, he will not help me. Moreover, he also refuses to speak to me, having said, "We have nothing else to talk about" the last time we did speak. So it is both a financial and an emotional severance.
The final nail in the coffin to my mental and emotional state right now is that I am in a bad amount of debt. To be precise, $3800 worth of debt, on a credit card, that I am struggling to pay even with my job right now given how high my mortgage and car payments are, not to mention my other bills. Part of the reason the debt is so high is because I had a massive plumbing problem that needed to be fixed at my house—essentially, the previous owners installed the pipes incorrectly, which completely ruined the plumbing in the kitchen and everything had to be re-piped. This was a little over $1000 alone, not to mention the weeks my kitchen was inoperable, leading to me relying on takeout just to be able to eat. That, plus interest on the bill, has left me in a tight spot.
So now, I'm here, doing something that it takes all of my willpower to do: ask for help. I don't know if I'll have a job in a few weeks. I don't know if I'll be able to pay this off even if I keep my job. And the stress of that has led to me being unable to eat for days, and throwing up what little I do eat, when combined with everything else. If you have read this far (and I don't blame anyone who hasn't), I thank you. And if you can offer any assistance, I thank you even more.
I have a Ko-Fi, which you can find here.
I put some designs up on redbubble that you can order as stickers or other things, which you can find here.
I'm willing to draw pictures, or write ficlets / fics, for anyone who would like to help. You can find examples of my art here and my fiction writing here. If you want something, just send me an Ask and we can discuss it.
I'm sorry this is so long. And again, I thank you for reading to the end if you have. Thank you for caring.
