Speed Bumps

Do you ever get the feeling the universe if amusing itself at your expense?

That is definitely where I found myself as my second week of unemployment came to an end. I did manage to set up a schedule (sort of), preventing me from sleeping till noon. And, I've been spending a significant amount of time every day focused on the job search (yea me!) (The delusion of control is very important these days.) However, there were a few minor dings that threatened my mind set and allowed panic to creep in around the edges.

I thought getting a part-time, retail job for the holidays would be a good idea, which was going pretty well, but appears to have ground to a halt. (speed bump #1) I'm not sure that's a bad thing, but it wasn't the best thing for my already dented ego. (Hey, laid-off is still asked to leave, which isn't exactly a big confidence booster.)

I found some great opportunities in my quest for new permanent work, which was encouraging. But, as I mentioned earlier, the only responses I received have just been irrelevant "opportunities" and recruiters. I followed a link in one of the recruiter emails to a site offering a skills evaluation, which was interesting, but I did not enjoy their pronouncement that it would take me six to eight months to find a new job. SCARY! (speed bump #2)

Then, on Friday, there was a little bomb waiting in the mail from a certain government agency, notifying me the bank holding my mortgage was in receivership and encouraging me to refinance my loan within the next 60 days. Um, given the situation with the credit markets, my chances of getting a new mortgage before I got laid off weren't fantastic. I'm guessing the lay-off made it a whole lot harder. Attempting not to hyperventilate, I dialed the 800 number. Fortunately, a very nice woman clarified things for me and no refinancing is necessary. (TG!) But, I did teeter on the brink of a complete meltdown for a few minutes. (speed bump #3)

All in all, I survived week two in tact, but I hope the universe finds something else to amuse itself, at least for next week. I need a break.