I had been working for HGS Canada doing customer service from home for Rogers since March 2020 when, in September, my team was pulled from production and put into training to learn a new line of business, Retail Support. The upshot of this new responsibility, which was an addition, not a replacement, to our current responsibilities, meant that we would be making less money (commissions on the calls for this line of business would go to the agent in store we support, not us) as well as we would lose the ability to work split shifts and would have to work 8 hours straight during normal business hours.

This put me in an impossible situation, as for my mental health and creative needs I required splitting my shifts into 7am-11am and 7pm-11pm. 8 straight hours of listening to people's problems is too much even for me.

What drove me into a manic state was when one of my colleagues objected to this move, on the grounds that having more responsibility for less money and fewer shift options was incredibly exploitative, and was responded to by our superior with, "I don't want to hear no negativity. All positive vibes! We are like a family here!" And completely brushed off our very legitimate concerns.

This made me so angry, as capitalist greed and exploitation has always been a trigger for fury for me. So as I seethed at home at this development and started losing sleep and my mind raced, and I became abrupt and started snapping at my friends, I took a medical leave of absence. But for 2-3 weeks I was in a state of rage-induced mania, and along with that came the frivolous and excessive spending.

Soon enough, caught between my last paycheque and my first EI payment, my bank account was overdrawn and I was late on my bills with no foreseeable way to pay the next rent instalment. So with a heavy heart I listed my soprano, tenor, and baritone saxophones and sold them.

It took many years of hard work and consistent searching to get those saxophones in the first place, and within the space of a few weeks they were all gone.

Now that things have stabilized and I am in the process of rebuilding from the losses my manic episode caused me, I am committed to doing whatever I can to replace these vital instruments.

Baritone saxophones are generally around $2000 and are hard to find. I can usually find decent tenors for under $1000. The soprano is the easiest to replace, as I can order the same one I had from China for $500.

So I am asking all of the people I have supported all these years, and any fans of my music (www.ndgska.com)  to please consider contributing to my rebuilding of my saxophone arsenal. If I am on your Christmas gift list, please consider a donation to this fundraiser.