(F)unemployed

Farewell post!

So this is it. My last day of funemployment. Tomorrow I begin my new job and I am feeling quite a mix of emotions. Grateful, nervous, excited, eager. So many things that make me anxious to get my feet wet in the morning and really get going.

I have really actually enjoyed my last two months out of work. I never thought that I would say that with the instability it has caused, more than anything, with my finances. But I have managed to stay afloat, not careen in to unmanageable debt, and actually have used that free time to really relax and enjoy myself; something I don’t think I’ve done since maybe the summer after my freshman year of college. Since then, I’ve always pushed myself and been determined to achieve as much as possible. I think it’s been a good thing for me to recognize my limits. For me, my frustration at not having advanced farther in my last job manifested itself in complacency rather than making me recognize that it was the job itself that had limits, rather than me.

So, keeping that in mind, I am setting off tomorrow. More relaxed, ambitious and ready to see where this road leads. I think it’s going to be a good start, and I feel very lucky. I’ve also been extremely lucky to have such a supportive network of people surrounding me through this. Not to get cheesy, but I’m sure that other people dealing with this haven’t had the same amount of encouragement from the people in their lives and I feel extremely blessed.

Like the fortune cookie says, “Now is the time to try something new.”

Oh, and since I won’t be posting here any more, here is my other blog. Sorry I didn’t link the two in the beginning, but I just wasn’t sure what the content of each was going to be and if/when I wanted the two to cross paths.

xoxo

EVG

Me at “work” today.

I am hopefully nearing the end of this funemployment bit. At least the weather has warmed up a bit and I can enjoy the outdoors during my days of idleness rather than staying cooped up indoors.

I have heard from quite a few companies this week. Again, the mix of pyramid schemes and legit companies contacting me is about 1 to 1. I also got a call to be an agent for a credit monitoring service. I have not the slightest what that entails and it just sounds very Men in Black to me, so I clearly stayed away.

Overall, 5 weeks off has gone by incredibly fast and slow at the same time. I really have lost my bearings on where everyone else stands at their job. On the other hand, the fact that everyone else I know still has their job has got to be a testament to something looking up, right? Or at least someone looking after us…

Anyway, I am supposed to hear back soon from a job I would particularly like. Keep your fingers crossed and let’s all hope for an Easter miracle.

Well my mom says she is still checking this on the daily, so I am updating for her.

Mom, this week I have done nothing. Well, I did my taxes, and as usual was not confident in my abilities so went to have them checked at HR Block. And as usual, I did them right but still got charged to have them check for me. They also did not help me defer my payments (because, as usual, I owe) because they didn’t know how. What? Don’t you think that they would have the in’s and out’s of deferring taxation due to unemployment down this year? I would think that would be there number one problem right now. So, I will figure it out on my own.

Above is a picture from the Jimmy Fallon show we went to. I couldn’t ever see me, but that is a picture of Carson (you can find him by the red circle around his head) and I was sitting next to him. It was actually a lot of fun. Jason Segel (from Forgetting Sarah Marshall and How I Met Your Mother) was on and he was pretty funny.

I am waiting to hear from the one company I’ve actually been interested in, so we will see how that pans out. Obviously I will keep you updated, but just an FYI so you can keep your fingers crossed.

Week 3

I have always been an overachiever. I think anyone who knows me can attest to this. I’m not saying I’m particularly overly talented at anything, but I definitley tend to overfill my plate. In college, I kept up with my classes, had an internship and a part time job, not to mention the newspaper, sorority, dog-walking. And a fairly decent social life.

So now that I have nothing on my plate, I am kind of at a loss. My job wasn’t exactly stimulating, but at least it was consistent. Even in that kind of monotony, I was able to find things to start projects and challenges in order to expedite my workload or that of others. Now, the only project I can think of is applications and this blog, that I’m pretty sure only my mom reads.

It’s not to say that the only worthwhile way to fill your life is with work, but as a fairly recent college grad, it seems that this would be my main offering to the universe.

On the upside, I am visibly happier not being made miserable by my job. I miss the structure it offered, but I don’t miss the anxiety it provoked in me. I feel that I am more pleasant to those around me, and am working to channel this leftover energy into something more creative and positive. Again, hopefully eventually something more fruitful than this blog!

OK. Those are all the musings I have to offer for today. More recruitment to come!

The end of week 2. It hasn’t been a bad one. I’ve definitely spent some time relaxing (I watched a lot of Big Love) and also getting some interviews packed in. I had interviews at two separate institutions this week: one financial, and one publishing. In an ironic twist, I found myself much more at home at the financial business and the publishing job was way out of my league. But we will see how it unfolds next week.

Until then, I have a great weekend planned out. Mostly nothing and a little bit of football. Sounds about right. Out intramural football league kicks off this weekend, and it is always such a great introduction to spring. The weather’s already getting warmer and I can safely say it’s about time.

Anyway, I will touch base next week and fill everyone in on Week #3. I think it will be a good one.

Official documentation!

I can’t lie and say that I don’t wish that I had gotten this when Spitzer was still governor. At least I could contribute to my unemployment by selling it on ebay or something. Le sigh…

I feel like whenever I set out to clean, I end up making more of a mess than when I started. At least in the city I can blame the mess on being in such a small space…

I will say, for my own benefit, that the living area of our apartment is currently spotless. Not to toot my own horn, but I even mopped. Big day.

On the downside of this spring cleaning meme, I feel that my lack of human interaction during the day is making me start to slowly lose my mind. Not talking to anyone in person has made me resort to simple tasks that I normally wouldn’t bother, for instance:

going to get a cup of coffee from my friendly corner bodega even after I’ve already had a full pot in the morning.
taking out the trash more times than I ever have before so as to have a reason to go outside.
voluntarily going to they gym (big time!) — but even this can be a little disappointing as there is not really anyone there during the day.

Tomorrow: interview #1 for a financial forecasting service. Yeah, clearly this is not my cup of tea so this afternoon has consisted of giving myself a crash course in economics with a little help from Wikipedia. We will see how it goes, I’m assuming they will like me (who doesn’t, right???) but that I will ultimately be wholly unqualified to sell a subscription to a product that advises people on their financial decisions… good luck me!

Week 2:

The weekend mostly consisted of gathering for the twins’ birthday. Both of their parents were in town, so we ate and drank A LOT. But had double the fun… The picture is from Saturday night, the night of the actual party.

As far as job-hunting has been going, I had an interview today. It went well, and I already have a follow-up interview scheduled for this Friday. So I don’t even really have anything to complain about in terms of job-seeking since I appear to be getting such positive feedback so far. And this would be for a publishing company, and I would be thrilled to get to stay in my same industry.

So, after the interview, I made a forced trip to the gym. I always thought that if I had the whole day to myself, I would be more motivated to go to the gym for hours at a time. I have found, though, that with so much free time getting to the gym becomes exponentially harder. As nice as it is going when there is no one else there, it almost becomes an excuse to not go at all. But I did. Made it home in fairly record time and settled in to the schedule of afternoon television. My roommate had ordered a new mattress and I had promised that I would stay in order to ensure its delivery. Not at all a bad way to spend a rainy spring afternoon.

Tomorrow: no plans. Stay tuned.

» Funemployment

Today I googled “funemployment’ to see what else would come up and found this website.

I particularly like #12:

12. Change is scary, but good: A layoff can be a blessing in disguise, because it forces us into action and growth. You can’t accomplish anything without being willing to change. When we’re laid off, we don’t control the timing of the change, but good things can still come from it.

Day 4:

So I forgot what day it was yesterday. I knew it was a weekday, because no one was around, but I legit could not remember if it was Tuesday or Wednesday. I think that pretty much signifies that I don’t have much on my plate. Thank God my phone was around to fill me in.

However, since it was Wednesday, I attended our last season dodgeball game. We lost. Totally ridiculous since we had only lost one match the entire season. I still don’t really want to talk about the absurdity of it all, since there is no rational explanation for me to get so worked up over a sport. I know, I know, of course there is; but I am trying to stay reasonable. Anyway, we proceeded to head over to Brother Jimmy’s (New York bar chain w/ “southern” theme) and enjoyed a few pitchers. Mine were graciously purchased by Hunter, as a condolence for losing my job. Hunter and I have long been in the running for “who hates their job the most” and I think he is slightly disappointed that I am out of the race. Rightfully so, today I did nothing.

I woke up later than usual, met Marissa for lunch, and went to the gym. I had a great time not doing anything today. The gym is delightfully quiet when you’re there almost solo. Anyway, after my stressful day, I am off to cheer on Carson in his guest bartending gig as he gives it a trial run raising money for the Livestrong Foundation, which is his charity when he runs the NY Marathon next November. Bottoms up! But not really, since I have an interview tomorrow morning. More details to come.