I have been off of this platform for a long time. And the reason, frankly (aside from a short bout with what I am told was "situational depression," though I'm too damned stubborn to go to a counselor), is that every day has been a struggle to try and get back on my feet after China spent a year and a half causing one catastrophe after another after yet another in my life, finally capping it off with their damned virus.
When I first landed in the States, I thought I would simply stay employed through the online lessons for which I still had clients back in China. Well, the virus caused most of their parents to lose their jobs, which meant most of them had to cancel their classes (and of course, in typical Chinese fashion, most of them waited until the end of January before telling me "solly, we can no affawd to pay faw Jan-loo-elly classes," even though I had already delivered that month's lessons).
So I thought I'd get work as a substitute teacher at local schools while I waited to see where I would get a TEFL job next. Well, it's hard to work as a substitute when you are limited to schools in walking distance because you have not bought a car.
So I finally decided "well, since my dad is trying to buy a truck I'll make the down payment on it for him in exchange for being able to use that truck to get to work during this semester," so I'd be able to accept substitute assignments anywhere in the District. Well, I got three days worth of work and then the schools all shut down for Chinavirus-19.
Through it all, I have been BARELY making enough off of online lessons to send enough back to the Philippines to support my two children (my son Alex, and his half-sister Sydney). Herein lies the problem. Like an idiot, I used Paypal to send this money to them, figuring it would be more convenient than Western Union (which I've had problems with in the past). Unfortunately, Paypal has decided large transactions going from Texas to the Philippines every month are "suspicious," and have placed the payment "on-hold" pending some kind of "investigation" which will take God-alone-knows how long. The only option, then, is to go back to my old method and use Western Union.
The problem is I don't have anything to send. About 80% of my paycheck goes to the Philippines, and I will not have another paycheck until the 10th of August (since my clients, being Chinese, all pay monthly instead of bi-weekly (if they are the rare breed of Chinese who actually pay what they agreed to pay at all, see above). So in the meantime, my kids, who are down to a few days of groceries in a house where every adult is out of work due to the damned virus, are waiting on money I sent, which isn't getting there, and I don't have a second barrel to fire from until the 10th of next month. And of course, finding any NORMAL work, instead of relying on online lessons, is not as simple as it sounds during the Coronavirus Shutdown.
...I hate asking for help. I hate it with a vitriolic passion. But I'm at my wits' end and as humiliating as it is, can't think of anything else to try. I've got a Gofundme page setup to try and help keep food in my kids' mouths for this month, until I can get Paypal to actually cough up the money I foolishly used them to send. It goes without saying, anyone who is able to help will have my undying gratitude.
God Bless.