Much has happened since my last post. Too much to really include. On the plus side, Allie got her cast off after only 3 weeks. By the time it became annoying, it was gone. On the down side, I am officially unemployed. The economy caught up with us and I got the ax. Does it suck…you bet! Is it the worst experience of my life…not really. Don’t get me wrong, this is no walk in the park, but I am trying to keep a positive attitude. It’s been 2 months since I last went to work. The 1st 30 days was a ‘furlough’ (a really fancy way of saying we don’t need you right now), but the ‘furlough’ can only last as long as the “employee” is receiving benefits. Once my health care ran out, I became officially laid off. I think this is where I say ‘woohoo’?
The worst part about being laid off is the boredom. The whole no pay check thing isn’t so great either; thank you Uncle Sam for the forethought of unemployment insurance. I started off enjoying having a little bit of time to myself to sleep in, clean the house, and go to Nana’s. That quickly wore off. So I hit the classifieds…all two of them. Everyone is in the same boat. There are two jobs in the paper, and 500 people applying for those positions. So I decided to revamp my resume. Make it new and sharp. That should get me noticed. That should only take a day or two. Yeah, that was last week. I forgot that to make them actually sound interesting you have to put some actual thought into them. The resume I wrote 4 years ago and just kept “updated” I put together in 15 mins. I got a job on the 2nd shot so I never really worried about how it sounded. I figured 'i used to write all the time, this should be easy.' I have never been at such a loss for words. Describe what you do in as few sentences as possible while trying to make yourself sound competent and interesting. Sure… After a week of staring at the computer (and finding a few really nice ideas on the internet), it’s finally done. Now the applying can start in earnest.
I am still looking at this as an opportunity. With any luck, I am going to give myself a raise this year…or at least not a pay cut. Everyone asks me what I want to do, what am I looking for. Well besides the obvious “ANYTHING!”, I am pretty open. Why not try something new? Manufacturing will be one of the last industries to rebound, so it might be the perfect time to trying a real office position, or work with kids (and get paid!), or even something I haven’t even thought of. I just have to find some nicer clothes as the usual jeans and a t-shirt really isn’t going to cut it.
Even though I am not working, I have been busy. My sister is also unemployed and isn’t getting daycare assistance. So I have been helping out by watching Allie when she does have interviews and what not. We have had some pretty exciting times. We went to the amusement park one day, the pool another, and I took Allie on her first picnic. I found it amusing that she had never been on a picnic. So we made sandwiches and gathered some goodies and went to the park. How often the joy of the simple things can elude us. Allie was so excited to spread a blanket out and set up our lunch. For me the best part, aside from the joy of celebrating this moment with her,was it cost me nothing. It's hard to explain to a 4 1/2 year old that I have to watch what I spend. I used to not worry about how much I was spending on her and our days together. And while I would still give her the moon if she asked, the stars may have to wait. We have been trying to find ways to have fun that doesn't break the bank. The picnic was perfect. Hopefully we can do that again before it gets too cool to enjoy. Of course cool weather means we get to go apple picking...hmm
