Adventures in Unemployment

I had a whole topic that I wanted to write about today, but now I'm watching Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, and I forgot what that was. For anyone invested in the show, I just finished watching the reunion shows of Season 1, and I paused the first episode of Season 2 so I could write this. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that it was something life changing, and that the revelation I had would have illuminated something for you, but it was probably smart. If I had to guess, I probably wanted to talk about where I'm going next in this world. The real answer is that I don't know. Where am I going? Well, tomorrow I'm going to the grocery store with a list prepared so I don't overspend. I would already say that I'm a relatively good cook and baker, but I'm about to get better so we can eat in a bit more. OH! That's what I was going to talk about! Look at this, my brain does still work! Being frugal in December (ok, almost December) seems like an...

Today's blog post is dedicated to my cousin who hosted Thanksgiving today for 50+ people. Not only does she do that, but she reads this blog every day and I appreciate that. I hope you start one when you travel so I can return the favor 💜 Now, on a big holiday like this, I don't need to keep up this blog. It's for my unemployment journey, and today is not a workday. I want to be thankful today, not bitter. Plus, you don't need to hear from me every single day. But on Day 100?! I obviously couldn't pass this by! So, here is my day... numerically. Miles driven: 183.6 Gas price the day before: $2.95/gal How long my casserole was supposed to take in the oven: 40-55 minutes How long it actually took: 65 minutes Naps by passenger: 1 Expected number of people in attendance: 58 Actual number of people in attendance: Are you kidding? I didn't count that. Turkeys cooked: 4 Number of us who have been laid off this year: 4 Number of people I pissed off: 2 (honestly, a reco...

I am particularly annoyed by Marjorie Taylor Greene right now. Oh, to be sure, I have never been a fan of hers. She is, until recently, a cruel and selfish conspiracy theorist. I would venture to say she is one of the main reasons people think the political right are so over the top. But here we are, just a couple of weeks from her resigning on January 6, 2026, and we find out she is going to get a pension because of that. I'm sorry, what? A pension for life ? For 5 years of work? That can't be right. But it is. According to the Forbes article I'm staring at right now, she is 51 and she will get more than $260,000 over her lifetime. It works out to about $8700/year. I know that isn't a ton of money, but as someone who has been unemployed for nearly 100 days, unemployment benefits will run out after 26 weeks on them, and worked at UB for a combined 4 years, GEICO for a total of 7 years, and IH for a year and a half when the decision was made for me that I needed to go, a...

I thought I knew what I wanted to write about today, but nothing's coming out. I thought maybe I could talk about my pending trip to Wegmans, which is crazy the week of Thanksgiving. Then I thought I could talk about what I'm planning to make to bring to the family, but it's just corn casserole and brownies. Then I thought I could talk about my walk with the dogs today and our chat with my favorite old lady, but I just talked about her the other day. Then I thought I could talk about my mammogram this morning, but if you've had one, you know. So I'm out of ideas. I suspect part of it has to do with the fact that I wrote a blog post for my husband's business today, so maybe I used up all of my words for the day. Another part is probably because I'm laying on the couch, trying to ignore how comfy and cozy I am with the dogs and a blanket, and I keep yawning even though I need to go to Wegmans. I guess I started this blog to help me work out how I'm feeling...

Twas the week of Thanksgiving, when inside my head, I practiced conversation pieces that weren't my career dead end. The topics were chosen with the greatest of care, Since this Buffalo girl is worried about how the Bills will soon fare. So what is there to talk about at an event so big? Perhaps how the elections were too big to rig? On second thought, maybe that idea is not so smart, I'll just talk about this blog since it's a real work of art. I'll also prepare some book titles I've liked and recipes I've tried, And when I'm asked how it was, I'll say "well nobody died." I'm fairly certain the family is done asking me when I'll have a mini me, Which is good, since my surgery has rendered that question unnecessary. If all else fails and I'm still getting questions and pity eyes, I can always turn to the weather and say "check out those skies." Happy turkey day to all, and to all a Go Bills

I got to see some of my old ladies today. I got up the gumption to go to my nephew's flag football championship game today (they were undefeated going into the "Super Bowl" and won today), and I sat next to my MIL. As we were chatting, I mentioned that I miss the nice weather because I get to stop and chat with my old ladies when I take the dogs for a walk. It's been too cold lately, and sunset is now before 5pm, so none of us are heading out that late in the day now. She said "Oh yeah, I like your stories about them." Well, as luck would have it, on my drive home, I passed their street and saw a couple of them outside. I pulled a quick u-turn and got out to talk for a couple of minutes. None of us were really prepared to be in the cold for very long, but it was a nice conversation. Sorry, I should be specific. Talking to them was nice. I won't necessarily say they were nice. There was a house fire on their block a few days ago, and as I suspected, they ...

I think I've used this title before. I need to find a job soon before I run out of wit. I don't know what I was expecting from the networking I'm trying to do. I think I was hoping someone would be like "you're perfect, here's a salary!" But so far, that's not happening. It's just 2-hour events filled with me smiling like I'm so happy to tell everyone "Oh, it's so nice to meet you, and I'm job searching right now. What a weird market!" At least I applied to 2 jobs today, so that's something. I still need to figure out some trainings to take for starting my own business, and I'm waiting to be connected to a mentor. I think I can start the business now without getting a mentor and without starting the trainings, but I can't remember. Maybe it is time to read my acceptance paperwork again. That's it for today. I have nothing new to say. Maybe I'm boring. Maybe my mood is matching the gloomy weather in WNY. May...

I love a good webinar, but I never expect them to be exciting. Today, I was wrong. I spent my morning trying to hunt down trainings that would count for the SEAP, and then checking to see if any would overlap others. A wildly mundane way to spend a Wednesday. I found one for today about business contracts, and considering I know nothing about the legal world, I decided this would be a good starting place. After I find what I can today (18 planned hours out of the necessary 20 - so close!) and apply to a job that looks interesting, I take the dogs for a walk, have some leftover fajita stuff for lunch, and take a quick shower before a meeting tonight. Again, perfectly ordinary. I'm cleaning up my training spreadsheet when I log into the webinar at 3:58pm. The webinar starts at 4pm, so I don't want to be too early. They let us all into the room at 4 on the nose, and tell us they're going to give people a couple of minutes to log on. I want to be accurate here, so they start at...

I wish I was my dog. As I am sitting here, trying to keep track of all the things I need to for a successful job search, she is barking at the squirrels in our front yard. She only has 3 braincells, so when they run around the corner of the house, she is so lost about where they went. She barks at them, she barks at me, she barks at the universe. Bring them back! Meanwhile, I'm feeling a total sense of overwhelm today. I have no other bites from applications right now, so I'm back to the drawing board. I have 512,445 business cards in my possession from networking, and I need to reach out to them. I applied for a job where a friend of mine works, but I need to figure out how to get something in front of the hiring manager to set myself apart because there are so many applications. I was accepted into SEAP, so now I'm trying to figure out if my requirements for meeting with my employment (unemployment?) counselor through the DOL are the same as before. I have to find a mento...

Wow, 90 days. Time flies when all you're thinking about is when those unemployment benefits run out. As a quick update, I had asked for good vibes last week for a final interview for a position I was interested in. I have to say, I'm disappointed in everyone's performance here. Obviously that was sarcasm. And obviously I didn't get the job. I will spare you the intimate details of exactly how I'm feeling, but I was talking to a friend today about how I'm feeling a little useless these days. I've always taken care of myself financially (and my partner, and my pets... but sadly not my indoor plants, they only come here to die), and this is by far the longest period of time ever where I haven't been able to do that. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, but this job search is one of the most vulnerable times of my life. Anyway, where was I going with this? Oh, right. I am more than my job. I have intrinsic value just as a person, a...

My husband and I took a short weekend trip, and it was lovely. We had only ever driven through this city, so it was nice to spend some time there. We visited a couple of wineries, tried some new restaurants, went to a couple of game stores for him, bought me a couple of new books I don't need, and drove through a beautiful state park. He's been working on the weekends recently, so it was nice to have a whole weekend to ourselves. We also got some lake effect snow, thundersnow, and graupel, so all around an exciting weekend. Unfortunately, after dinner last night, I haven't been feeling all that great. I can't tell if it was something I ate, or if I caught something while I was out and about over the past couple of days, but the results are the same. One of the last times we traveled, to Austin a couple of years ago for my birthday, I also caught a stomach bug of sorts. I will never know if it was a bug or food poisoning, but I spent nearly 2.5 days of our 5 days laid ou...

Here is something you didn't ask for: a random collection of my thoughts to end my day (and hopefully start yours tomorrow, assuming you have a healthier relationship with the internet than I do). Wearing a Breathe Right strip is weird with a nose ring. The gender neutral term for nieces and nephews is "niblings." I will be using that. I stole a recipe from a friend a few years ago and it is delicious. I forgot to pick up the ingredients the last time I was at Wegmans to have on hand for holiday parties this time of year. Speaking of Wegmans, I am usually all for their store brand - it is cheaper and the quality is just as good as the brand name. There is one exception - sherbet. I used the WNY vernacular of "pop" naturally in a sentence the other day and delighted the person I was talking to. LinkedIn is the worst social media platform, full stop. How do tiny dogs take up so much bed space? Tony and I both grew up Catholic, so we call Poppy "The Holy Spiri...

Of all the things Margaret taught me about crafting, she never mentioned that you shouldn't craft while hangry. I went to a watercolor class today at a local art store, and by the end of the class, I was hungry. It wrapped up at 12:30pm, so prime lunchtime, and there I was - trying to understand perspective with a paint brush in my hand and a rumbly in my tumbly. All I can say is that I did not take the criticism well as my watch crept towards the finish line. Ok, that's not entirely true. I took it fine, I was just cranky about it. Plus, I can think the instructor is wrong. It's art. Side note - this revelation today really makes me question the whole "starving artist" trope.  I continue to find myself in spaces during this phase of my life with older women. I am never the oldest in the room anymore. Obviously that's an exaggeration, but the next time I make it to midday yoga, I'll be the only one with more brown than gray in my hair. The library? The chi...

I was not made to keep up with 9 year olds. I don't think I was made for 9 year olds, even when I was 9. If it wasn't the monkey bars or books, I wasn't interested. To be fair, being a chunky kid in dodge ball is a bit difficult... But I digress. I was not here for my experience. I worked at a daycare for a summer, and one of the kids was a runner and escape artist, and I'm sorry. You want me to go grab him? Absolutely not happening. Call his mom and let her know she is about to save money on groceries because she's down a kid. And now 2 of our nephews are 9. They're only 3 months apart, and luckily don't know each other because I do not have the energy for even one of them at a time. Why is that important today? I hung out with one of them for about 3.5 hours today. We spent 2.5 of those in Dave & Busters, and even though he is super well-behaved, HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A DAVE & BUSTERS? It was a million degrees (that estimate on the cool side) and I...

For no particular reason, the number for the Congressional Switchboard is 202-224-3121. Yes, it is on the coffee mug I'm using this morning, but I didn't actually have to look it up. I have this one memorized now. Moving on, I actually forgot for a day or so that I had even started this blog! Ok, that's kind of a lie, but I got so wrapped up in things not online that I didn't sit down to write this weekend. I think that's a kind of win. I do have quite a bit I want to get accomplished today. I want to finish my presentation for Thursday and also submit some other job applications. I'm not out here trying to have all my eggs in one basket. (In this economy?!?) I'm hanging out with my nephew tomorrow in Rochester, so I won't be home during the day to finish my presentation. I want it done today so I can spend Wednesday practicing. I'm also going to be hitting the gym tomorrow. It is my last weight class tomorrow, and I need to get some running in. I...

It is 2pm on Friday, and I haven't submitted single job application all week. Before anyone reports me to Tim at the Department of Labor, I have been doing things. I had an interview, which counts as an activity, went to a networking event, and watched a virtual seminar from LinkedIn about creating my personal brand. I even networked at a school board event last night where I talked to some people about cyber security. See! Busy! Now, I've said this before and I stand by it - I hope most of you are not nearly as online as I am these days. If you are, maybe you've seen the uproar that The New York Times created over one of their opinion pieces the other day. First of all, they knew they were in the wrong because they changed the title. It was originally titled "Did Women Ruin the Workplace?" After they got absolutely dragged online, they changed it to "Did Liberal Feminism Ruin the Workplace?" You can read it here with my gift link even though I have no i...

"Hey Google, what causes acid reflux?" It might be time to talk to the doctor, because I am over this acid reflux. It has been every single day for... oh, at least two weeks now, so it's probably time to do something about it. (I know it has been at least 2 weeks because that's the last time I texted my sister to complain about it and it hasn't gotten better lol.) A lot of generations before Millennials kept a lot of things quiet and private. We didn't talk politics at the table because it wasn't polite. We didn't bring up money because it was uncomfortable. Religion was off the table. Details about medical procedures or concerns were hush-hush except with your closest friends or family. We absolutely would not talk about mental health. I'm glad that's changing. I am happy to hear from the women before me going into perimenopause and then menopause. Not only do I not have a roadmap since my mom passed early and was put into medical menopause fo...

I'm tired. I know, we all are. First, I struggle with the time change. Every. Single. Year. Plus, I'm sure I'm still catching up on some sleep from the stress of my husband's injury this weekend, and the overall stress that comes with job searching, pricing out insurance plans, and dealing with dogs who are on potty strikes because of the weather. By the way, my husband is fine, relatively speaking. Whenever I ask how he's feeling, he says "my thumb hurts," so maybe I'm more stressed than he is, which actually tracks our personalities pretty closely. I've got a very busy week ahead. I have a handful of networking events or workshops to attend, Aunt duties for a niece and nephews, a couple of school board events, and an interview! I want to give a shout out to a bestie today who called me when I asked her for tips about this interview, and spent 20 minutes on the phone with me doing far more research than I had done. In my defense, she is in the fie...

Day 74: Amendment Now that all the important family members know this, I can post about it. Below is what I was working on yesterday, and as I recall, was about to post, when my husband called me to let me know he was on his way to the hospital. I have decided to not re-read it or add to it because, as you can imagine, I am now in a very different state of mind than I was yesterday. He owns his own small business doing handyman / construction / renovation type work, and one job yesterday didn't go as planned... to say the least. We were in the ER for about 4 hours last night while he was getting x-rayed, seen by an orthopedic surgeon (that was luckily unnecessary), and eventually wrapped up and sent home. Many thanks to the homeowner who drove him to the hospital and stayed with him  until I got there, friends and family that tried to keep me calm, and family who offered to help us get his car back when I had truly 0 details. And now... my post from yesterday. ---------------------...