Summary

Tobias is an unemployed man living with his girlfriend, Miriam. He used to work as a teacher of Spanish and History but got fired. Then he worked as a bartender and as a clerk, but he lost these jobs because of declining economic circumstances.

Unemployed for some time, he only sits in his girlfriend’s apartment playing guitar, listening to records, and eating potato chips. He suspects that his girlfriend, who is a nurse, will soon break up with him.

One day as his girlfriend returns from work she questions him about being depressed and not looking for a job. She reminds him that he has two master’s degrees and advises him to try working in computer programming.

Tobias claims that there are no jobs in Michigan, at least not for him. He thinks ...