So I've now been unemployed for about 4 months, which is the longest I've ever been unemployed for since I was 16 years old and had my first real job bussing tables at Osaka Terriyaki House. I have to admit, when I first got laid off, I was so HAPPY that I almost peeded in my pants! Unemployment didn't bother me one bit in September because I was getting married at the end of the month and I had more important things, like flower arrangements and cake, to think about besides the fact that the economy was busting up and I didn't have a steady income.
My job situation, or lack thereof, continued to not affect my mindset at all in October because for the first week I was on my honeymoon in Europe blithely spending my/"our" cash gifts from the wedding. Then when we got back, there were about a thousand thank you cards to write to our friends and family, and about same number of wedding gifts to unpack and sort out. (By the way, thanks again for all the gifts, we loved them all!)
Then the month of November rolled around. In theory, not working is awesome. I know that in my whole life, no matter how much I liked my job, in the back of my mind I always wished that I could be unemployed and stay at home all day....but just as I thought I'd actually reached my Nirvana, I started to get bored. I realized that there was only so much cleaning and unpacking you can really do in a tiny ass one bedroom apartment that was really fit for one small Asian girl but was now being shared by an abnormally large Asian couple.
Anyway, after 2 months off and running countless lame ass errands - like getting stamps at the post office - and spending entirely way too much time at home watching bad daytime TV - Home Improvement, Roseanne, The View, The Today Show, General Hospital, and Oprah mostly - I decided that I needed to go out and get a job! However, my timing was totally off!! WTF? For the first time in my life, I was actually desparate for a job, and every place I turned to was on a "hiring freeze" or doing "lay-offs" or just not getting back to me. WTF!?!
It's Jan 2009, and I'm sick of being bored and not working. I'm also sick of my friends (though probably well-meaning and good natured) asking me "What do you DOOOOO everyday?" and "Aren't you having the best time ever" and "You are SOOOOOO lucky you don't have to work." I rue the day I used to say the same things to my unemployed friends. For those of you who I said that to in the past, I'm sorry. For those of you who are asking now? Well, I guess you can continue to read my blog...
Monday, January 5, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Chris! Let me tell you I totally feel your pain! Sounds like we got laid off around the same time last year. At first I thought it was awesome too…specially in the fall and having tons of time for the holidays to do whatever I wanted. I was all ready for Christmas by Dec. 3rd. However in Jan. I got more serious about looking for a job, and there weren’t any. I did have one interview in Jan. but that was it until I got a job in June. I too had the same things said to me about how great it must be to be at home…slightly hard when you have the stress of trying to find a job.
I am so thankful for my job now and feel much better about myself now that I’m contributing to something vs. running errands everyday.
Post a Comment