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...