Adventures in Unemployment

I've always been a very talkative person, so I didn't expect to run out of things to say by Day 72. I didn't want to skip posting for a second day, so here I am, trying to figure out what to say. I suppose not having much to do is responsible for my not having a lot to say. Despite the fact that I should really delete social media from my phone because of how much of a time suck it is and how it makes me feel terribly about myself, something cute from it is "job dust." On Threads recently, a trend has emerged that when someone who has been unemployed for a long time finally lands a job, they share "job dust" with everyone still looking. It's not real. There is no animation for it. It's just a thing they wish for people. It feels like fairy dust but for people to find job prospects with a great salary and benefits and stability. I have an interview on Tuesday - the second in a process of three interviews - and while I'm excited about the job, ...

If you grew up like I did, you knew that bad news was always right around the corner. An unlucky streak for your family that seemed to follow us around for most of my school years. Bad news, deaths specifically, come in threes. And if things are going well, the universe will even things out soon. I've talked about how, despite that, I remained relatively optimistic as a kid and teen, but that's not what today is about. Today, I'm talking about how it feels like the whole country feels like this. It feels like we're all collectively waiting for the next shoe to drop. We know things aren't going well, but like... how bad are things really? We are all holding our breath, and we know it isn't quite time to let it out yet. We are lucky that Hurricane Melissa is going to miss the US, but I don't think Jamaica is ever going to look the same again. Climate change keeps me up at night, and that's not a joke. Melissa has mostly stalled, and we saw that with Hurric...

I think I caught a cold. I would put money on getting it at the networking event I went to last Thursday night since most everything else I've done has been virtual, or just stopping to talk to a neighbor outside. It's miserable. I'm tired. I have a headache. My throat is definitely starting to hurt. I would not say this is helping with my motivation to go to the gym (especially when combined with a high of 49* today). At least it forced me to remember to take my vitamins. I woke up to a rejection email this morning, so that was a good start. I do think it's better than the one I got on a Friday at 7pm a couple of weeks ago, but still. It's early for them to be like PASS. On the plus side, thanks to technology, I applied to 2 jobs through LinkedIn EasyApply before I even got out of bed! Just kidding. I mean, I did do that, but I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing. Now that it has warmed up to the high temperature today, it's probably time to get the ...

I'm regretting my decision to number my days out of work through this blog. 67 days is so many days. I don't know how many days I expected to get up to before finding a new job, but hopefully it doesn't creep up into a 4-digit amount. That said, I'm nothing if not stubborn (and loyal... as previously discussed), so I'll probably keep it up. I started this blog post yesterday, but when I sat down to write... nothing. As opinionated and talkative as I am, nothing came out. I thought I had things to say, but apparently not. I suspect that one of the reasons I'm not super chatty right now is because I've spent the past 3 days in the Annual Conference for the New York State School Board Association, and even though I'm attending virtually, it's more interaction with other professionals than I've had in the past... well, 67 days! Or at least sustained interaction, because I have gone to networking events, met up with friends, and chatted with old colle...

I am so happy to see cooler weather. I know, it's weird to have such a divisive take these days, but I'm going to stand by that. A couple of years ago now, I started a new medication that caused an insane amount of sweating. Despite the fact that I stopped it, I've also gained some weight, and my body continues to sweat anytime I even think about moving. Oh, you just need to grab a glass for some water? Sweat, dripping from my forehead and down my back. So the fact that I'm sitting in my living room in leggings and a hoodie and socks and a dog under a blanket next to me is thrilling. The other thing that has me thinking about soup season is that I'm rewatching Somebody Feed Phil for the 508403484th time. I've talked about maybe going back to school for some kind of culinary or pastry arts to open my own bakery, and watching shows like this continue to fuel that dream. That said, I think the fact that I spend more time watching these shows than practicing is prob...

I had the misfortune tonight of reading an article that made me feel a lot of things. The article in question is this:  Job scams on trusted sites like LinkedIn and ZipRecruiter are preying on workers' desperation Now, this article mostly made me mad, and that's because... First - the human experience is already hard enough. Maybe I belong in a simpler time, but before you even count things like credit scores and some people thinking cilantro tastes like soap, the human experience is hard enough. Sometimes people are born nearsighted and are bad at keeping track of their glasses and wake up in the morning and have no idea where they are. As an example. Other, more real problems exist, too. Those things include trying to provide for yourself and your family (whatever or whoever that family looks like), and making friends or close relationships. And while you're unemployed? It's hard to do both, either, anything. Job scams prey on those vulnerable feelings, and I just don...

Wow, time flies when you're unemployed! ... I mean, having fun! How are you supposed to know what the next best step is for you? I'm sure there is some kind of formula out there, created by psychologists, or influencers online saying creative nonsense like "Opportunity is at the intersection of fear and excitement!" For me, I've done "the right thing" my whole life. So what is there to do when there is no obvious next "right thing?" I've got a couple of ideas floating around in my head, so now hopefully I can get out of my own way enough to pursue them. So that's it today. After my personal essay yesterday, I'll keep it short and sweet. Now excuse me while I go figure out where Fear meets Excitement. I didn't see it on my map...

A lot of shampoo went into where I wanted to go with today's post. Mundane little tasks, like shampooing or conditioning, brushing my teeth, or washing dishes are where I take the time to process things because the task at hand takes no real brain power. Folding laundry cannot be included in this list, because I hate that and every braincell is thinking about how much I hate it. Anyway, I've got a lot of ideas I'm trying to string together, so hopefully it makes sense by the end. I had it confirmed to me last week that if you want to get a job in this market, it needs to be about who you know. To the credit of all y'all, you've been stepping up. You've sent me job postings, reviewed my resume, offered to be references, connected me with people, passed my resume on, and more. What little sanity I have left in this process would be long gone without you. But... why hasn't it gone anywhere? I can't help but think that part of it has to do with the fact that...

I don't know how to ask for opinions today without sounding like I'm depressed. How do you keep your motivation up? I have all the time in the world right now, but I can't seem to force myself to get things done or follow a schedule. This is not an inability to plan or manage my time. I am great at time management. I am also great at planning. There is a reason why I work in project management. What am I lacking? Motivation. Accountability. Goals. A schedule with consequences. Routine. Every once in a while, I have something to do, and to be honest, I usually forget about it. My calendar is a surprise every day, even if I look at it the day before. Even if I set an alarm for myself. I have tried every trick in the book. "Schedule time into your calendar for what you want to do." Do you know who doesn't care if I don't make it to the gym, or clean the house, or apply to jobs? Me, I'm not holding myself accountable. I'm a very lax boss. "Track w...

Unemployment is a wild ride, y'all. Not just the job market, although that's certainly enough to make me want to get off the ride before I vomit, but I mean the Unemployment Benefits. Any interaction with the Department of Labor has left me baffled for at least the rest of the day. Today, I had a mandatory meeting with my assigned Unemployment Counselor. Or maybe Employment Counselor? Unsure. He was a very nice man, and he made the process as painless as possible, but I couldn't help but wonder if it was actually helpful to anyone. I got there, was welcomed by two different security desks, and was ushered into a room for a brief video for everyone who was attending a 10am meeting with their counselor. That was a whole two of us. Scratch that, the other person didn't show up, so just me and this guy running the most boring video in the whole world. I am not joking. They read to me in the most monotone voice someone could muster, word for word, the documents that I would ...

Have you ever gotten lost in a good book? Ok, if I'm honest, I think most of the books I read are good books. But that's mostly because I choose to read books I think I'll like. This system is really working for me. I don't actually remember when I started the book. I think it was this past weekend, and I just wrapped it up about half an hour ago. A fun little chick lit book. A friends-to-lovers vibe. Magic without JK Rowling being involved. You know. Quality. A few months ago, I was talking to my grandmother about books. My husband had finished redoing my office for me and I had new shelves that required filling up. I was showing my grandma what progress I'd already made towards that goal, and she seemed pleasantly surprised that not only did her oldest granddaughter seem to be an avid reader, but that it was hard copies. It's like she could smell the books through the picture I showed her. In reality, I wouldn't call myself an "avid" reader. I ha...

Something you should know about me is that I'm loyal. This isn't just a "oh, I'm job searching and I want employers to know I'll be a loyal employee and work hard for them!" No, this is a core personality trait. Loyalty and a strong sense of justice - two traits I've had since at least high school. Not a great time to have a strong sense of justice, but that's probably for another post. I suspect my loyalty can be traced back to the Buffalo Bills. I started watching football with my dad in the early 90s when the Bills were good . The kind of good that saw them go to four Super Bowls in a row. (What happened at those games? Not sure. My memory is failing me.) But then I struck out "on my own," meaning I went to college. I graduated high school in 2006, so my undergrad and grad school years weren't Buffalo's finest. I remember texting my dad on bye weeks saying, "at least they can't lose today." But I remained a Bills fan....

For a Saturday, it was a long day. Actually, now that I'm unemployed, any day on which I need to do something is a long day and today I had to do 2 things. Yes, two whole things. Even though it was a long day, it was a good and productive day. I spent my morning eating delicious muffins with my other Board of Education members. Not only did we make progress as a Board and governing entity, but I made progress as an individual member by recognizing a couple of ways that I can improve, and also took away things that I can use in my personal and professional lives. I think the 2 things that I am taking away from this morning are: I have become complacent. I can do a better job across the board of adjusting my resumé for the jobs I'm applying for, cooking more at home, getting to the gym more, and coming to Board meetings better prepared. (In my defense, some of this over the past 3 months has come from being overwhelmed from surgery to recovery to being laid off, but probably the ...

Me: "I have so many jobs I've applied to and haven't heard back on any of them!" Universe: "Bet." The rejections are coming in fast and furious now. I've gotten 3 rejections in the past 36 hours, which includes the job I interviewed for that I was going to choose for fun over money. As it turns out, I'm not even worth $19/hr, which isn't great for morale. Also not helping is not even getting an interview for a job that someone specifically reached out to me and told me to apply for. So I have a new system - I'm asking for feedback. My god, I hate it. I am already an anxious perfectionist, out of work for the first time since starting college and getting rejected on the daily, so now is obviously the best time to ask people what they think about me. Ok, I'm being dramatic, but only sort of. I am asking for specific feedback. I'm asking people to review the website I made for my husband's business because I want to drive more traffi...

Listen, I hate October. Pink ribbons everywhere? Please, I'm aware of breast cancer. I do not need the reminder. What do we really need? Universal health care in this country that would allow women the means to get regular mammograms. Pay raises in the service and education sectors, where women make up a large segment of the workers, so women aren't choosing between food and health. Remote work so more women can be in the workforce. Childcare for all and universal pre-k so women have 3 minutes to themselves to even schedule a mammogram. Research that focuses on other parts of women's health so that we aren't all flying blind about menopause, perimenopause, endometriosis, PMDD, and why women are more likely to have autoimmune diseases than men. But what do I know? I'm just an unemployed project manager that has a meteorology degree. I'm sitting at home right now, GBBO in the background for the millionth time, the dishwasher finishing up, and the vague smell of fi...

The waiting is the worst part. Actually, my dog smelling like wet dog less than a week after her grooming might be the worst, but waiting is a close second. I'm tracking how many jobs I've applied to, and while I've slacked off a bit lately, I still have quite a few I'm waiting to hear back on. 26, to be exact. I've also reached out to people on LinkedIn, like I'm supposed to, and I'm not hearing back. Everyone I've talked to who has had this experience in their lives says the waiting is the worst. Well, that and the rejections. Ok, that, and the rejections, and trying to stay optimistic that you know the next best job is coming. That the best thing for you is still out there. I can't remember what I talked about last week, and going back to read last week's blogs seems like a lot of work, so anyway... I hope that you've kept track! I say that because I had a change of plans last week. I showed up to interview for a part-time job, but we quic...

Happy TS 12 to all that celebrate! One of my closest friends (who is one who lives furthest away) is a hardcore Swiftie. When I visited her last year, she ran through the lore with me while we listened to some of her favorite songs, and she gave me background on some of my favorite songs. I'm far from a hater, but I am not close enough to know all Taylor's easter eggs. I'm a casual Swiftie. This morning, when I texted her about The Life of a Showgirl , I got the lesson I was expecting on the lyrics. As I was trying my best to piece together what I knew about Taylor, I jokingly said 10th grade Stephanie wouldn't recognize me. Here I am writing blogs and interpreting lyrics. 10th grade Stephanie was convinced that Robert Frost had written a poem about taking a hike. WHY COULDN'T IT JUST BE A NICE HIKE??? But I couldn't shake that feeling for the rest of today. 10th grade Stephanie would be so confused about a lot of my life. First of all, after growing up with onl...

Hey all, I'm going to keep today's post short and sweet. I'm going to use my powers for good and not chaos. If you don't know, I'm on the Board of Education for my school district. No, I get it. My absolutely unhinged writing in this blog doesn't seem like someone who should be in charge of things, but here we are. I just started my 5th year and have learned a lot about how governance works, and how important state budgets are to school budgets. That seems obvious when you think about it for even half a second, but I encourage you to attend (or watch the recorded sessions later) budget sessions later this school year. My district will start our conversation in January, and then present the final budget proposal in May the week before the vote. But I digress - I'm here to ask a favor. Now, from what I can tell, the shutdown of the Federal Government won't impact the current funding levels, but the proposed budgets will have an impact. The New York State ...