ON THE BREADLINE: BECKY BOSSHART

Bosshart, of Las Vegas, was an online reporter for the Las Vegas Sun. She was laid off in April, just a week before the paper won a Pulitzer Prize for its investigative reporting.

How do you cope with getting up every morning? What motivates you?

The week I got laid off, I re-wrote my Windows Calendar for the stuff I wanted to do. I’ll write in the morning, working on a freelance assignment. In the afternoon I’ll work on my art projects—stuff I’ve been wanting to do since my summer trip to Asia and Europe (which I worked my ass off living in South Korea for a year to afford!). Go to the gym. Spend time with friends in the evening. Watch a movie checked out from the library. Yet now that it’s been a few weeks, I have to figure out what the hell to do next…

Likewise, how do you cope with getting to sleep at night, or getting any sleep, period?

The first week, I was a bit anxious. Especially when I think about my $750 rent and my $250 car payment. I’ve decided to take it one month at a time. I have the money this month (thanks to some savings I had stocked away for just such a thing), so, I’m okay for May. I just have to think of it that way. And I talk to other friends who were laid off. We talk each other off cliffs. We’re a part of history. And like history, “This, too, shall pass.”

Give an example of the sort of changes or cutbacks you’ve had to make in the way you live your life.

As a reporter, I never got paid very much, so I’ve always had to live pretty frugally. I bought a bike with my tax refund. I check out CDs and movies from the library. I go to free events; there’s a lot of those in our downtown arts district. I buy one or two snacks at the grocery store to discourage impulse buying later when I have an evil craving. When I go out with friends, just one beer, no more than two. I never buy wine anymore. I’m a lightweight anyway, and I’m really starting to appreciate Stella as my recession drink.

Share with us some of your recession gallows humor.

Right before I got laid off, I was writing a series titled “Faces of Unemployment.” The day I got let go, my last piece was the lead story on the Sun’s Web site. I thought that was pretty ironic—and hilarious.

What, if anything, gives you hope that the future holds better things?

I’ll go back to school in the fall. I’ll get a part-time job and take out another student loan. (I’m nineteen again—ah!) I don’t really know what to do with myself—I love to report, write and teach. Who knows what will pop up?