Wednesday, April 15, 2009

A Little Unemployment Update

So, I'm still unemployed. It's been 7 weeks since my last day of work, and I have applied for 43 jobs. Yep. Those 43 job applications have led to interviews with two (count them, two) companies. So far, no job. So...that's the update there.

Being unemployed comes with a weird set of emotional responses. Some days, I feel antsy and restless, like if I don't get a job and start working soon, I'm going to go insane. Some days, I love it. I have the day to myself, I can go to the grocery store when it's totally empty, and I have been keeping up (for the most part) with my apartment-cleaning. Some days, I feel guilty for enjoying the unemployment, but if I'm being honest, I think it's not so bad. This kind of everyday freedom is something I haven't had since before I started preschool, I think. Of course, it was my choice to fill my afternoons and summers with activities, and I loved it. But now I am experiencing this odd situation of having no commitments. No obligations. It's kind of nice.

I mean, obviously I need to get a job. The checks from the state are enough to get me by for a while, but it's not quite enough. And I can't exactly save for retirement this way, not to mention pay for health care. But in the meantime, I'm going to try to keep enjoying this time. I'm going to start exercising (soon, I swear) and try to stay motivated. It's easy to slip into a couch potato routine, but I want to get out and do things - watching TV for hours on end doesn't feel too good at the end of the day.

So...there's my update. Things are plodding along, and it's not amazing, but it could certainly be worse. So far, not bad. And hey, let me know if you have any leads for jobs in the SF Bay Area!

2 comments:

  1. Ah man, that's rough. Hang in there and good luck, girlfriend! You're not the only one looking right now in this crappy market... I'll let you know if I hear of anything.

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  2. It is tough out there but it will get better. It was 7 months for me until I came up with this idea.

    JOBLESS WEAR THEIR PAIN ON THEIR WRISTS…

    www.laidoffneedajob.com


    I am on my computer if not 12 hours a day sometimes 20 searching for a job. I am single and have no one to turn to for any help. We are in a crisis so I am turning to you for answers. Recently, I was sitting at my computer looking for a job and thought to myself, this just is not cutting it. It used to be picking up the classifieds and boom there is a job. Well, it seems those days are over. Now, you have to be able to do the "conventional" method of emailing your resume and hope you get an interview. The number of people currently seeking jobs certainly outnumbers the jobs that are available. You have surely realized by now that you are competing against the odds. Then one day, the IDEA hit me: “Market yourself everywhere you go. Let everyone you see know you are looking for a job.” I called my friend and said, “I’m either going out and standing on a corner with a tee shirt that says, “LAID OFF NEED A JOB.COM” or we purchase bracelets that say this.”
    Needless to say, my friend did not think standing on a street corner would be safe, so we purchased 500 wristbands and handed them out to our family and friends. Our unemployed friends found success, so we thought we might be on to something! This is not a scam and we are not going to get rich selling $3 wristbands one by one. This is sincerely to help the unemployed. I am on a mission now. We have given away more than we have sold. People get noticed and they are great conversation starters. They give the unemployed HOPE and perhaps all these robberies and shootings will STOP!
    Let’s “BAND” together. Our website is: www.laidoffneedajob.com We have an article coming out in the Wall Street Journal next Tuesday and we have been asked to go to Elkhart, Indiana to be on MSNBC, The Elkhart Project.

    Also, here are a couple of articles we have been in:

    http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?ID=481263

    (HARDEST HIT PLACE IN AMERICA)

    http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090414/BREAKING/904149985/2055/NEWS?Title=Sarasota-women-hope-wristbands-lead-to-jobs

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