Out of Hell

In the interests of full disclosure, I must give the Texas Workforce Commission props. Whatever weird no man's land I stumbled into online, it did not affect my claim. The magic little debit card has arrived.

Perspective

Today has been pretty frustrating. I've had snafus with paperwork for the health insurance I'm attempting to buy to carry me through to the next job. (The price tag on COBRA was brutal to start out with and staring in January the monthly premium went up $100 a month). In addition to screwed up paperwork I've had to endure three extremely detailed "interviews" about my health history which was all kinds of fun and had to deal with a rude customer service rep. Then there was some sort of foul up with the paperwork for for converting my company-sponsored life insurance to individual that I'm still trying to figure out. (Being unemployed is FUN!) Add in a zillion little things the universe decided to pile on in an effort to amuse itself and a rather ill advised attempt to change a light bulb standing on a window sill (at least the bulb I smashed in to the wall wasn't energy efficient so there's no need to call out the haz mat crew) I was not having a good day. But on the drive home from my adventures in retailing this afternoon I watched a cable van rear end a pick up truck --- full of windshields. It's bad enough to rear end someone, but to do it in the company vehicle....now that guy, had a really bad day. I sure hope the guy driving the pick up truck is cool.

Looking Up - Sort Of

I really wished I'd written this post on time, over the weekend. It would have been a tiny bit more positive. Last week, Week Three of unemployment for those of us keeping track, I was a little more upbeat. I had several encouraging meetings and scored a phone interview for one of the jobs I applied for during Week Two.

To bring everybody up-to-date, I just got a call regarding the phone interview and they're moving forward with other candidates. Not that I was terribly surprised, I didn't get the best vibe during the interview. I did learn some things from the experience and not getting the first job out of the gate probably isn't the worst thing ever. Nothing has really come (yet) from the other meetings, but my fingers are crossed.

I did get a job - seasonal retail. It should be fun and I already like the people. This is another example of great friends, I got this job solely based on a friend's recommendation. I'm going to keep the details sketchy for now. I did go buy some comfy shoes today, since they have a no sneakers rule and none of my work shoes will hold up to standing all day.

Three weeks on the hunt.....no need to panic yet, right?

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.

Spam, Spam and More Spam

I spent a long time yesterday posting my resume on numerous job web sites; monster, career builder, hot jobs...etc. I think my resume is up on at least five sites now. I was very proud of my diligence. When I woke up this morning and saw 16 messages in my inbox I was excited, convinced my hard work had paid off, at least a little. Ha! Silly me.

What I found in my inbox was the result of posting my resume, however, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for, unfortunately. So far, all I have to show for hours of resume tweaking and web site navigating is offers to be an insurance agent, a lawn care sales rep or technicial (they obviously haven't seen my lawn) and numerous franchisee opportunities. Thanks, guys, but you're missing the point. I am looking for a JOB, not a business opportunity and NO WHERE in my resume or profile does it say anything about wanting to go in to outside sales.

It does make me wonder; what kind of success rate of this kind of scatter-shot recruiting yield?

Laid Off

Scary words, at least initially, but the shock wore off and a sense of freedom and opportunity replaced it. But, maybe I'm just crazy. I worked for a great company and as much as I liked my job and loved the people I worked with, I've spend the first week in the land of unemployment feeling better than I have in years.

And, just to get this out there, I cannot afford not to work. So, if I think too much about not finding a job soon or contemplate the state of the economy, panic does set in; but as long as I don't do either one of those things, I'm okay. The key has been to stay busy. I've developed quite a to-do list for myself, some of which is even getting done. It doesn't hurt that trying to create a strong resume after such a long time at one place has been a major undertaking. (Major thank you to my friends who have been a HUGE help.)

Also, it's worth noting that this is the first time I have not had a job since I was twelve if I wasn't moving and I always got one whenever I arrived. So, it's a brave new world for me. But I'm excited about it.

I've been talking about starting a blog forever, so here goes. In addition to sharing the ups and downs of the non-working workaholic, I'll inflict whatever random thoughts cross my mind. Like the header says .... sometimes I'll be serious and sometimes I'll be silly. Hope you enjoy at least some it.