Random Musings on Being Unemployed

• I always thought I'd hate retirement and not having a job to go to. Two and a half months into this "sabbatical," I'm not so sure. I just wish hunting for a job paid better.
• "Sabbatical." That's what one of Jordan's clever friends said I'm on. "Retired." I thought that sounded better than unemployed. Even though I'm pretty okay about all that's happened, there's still something uncomfortable about having your wife tell the dentist, "My husband lost his job." ("Hey! Where did I put that dang job? I know I had it a little while ago, then I put it down and now it's lost!)
  
• Job searches are unpredictable, capricious things. I've applied to over two dozen jobs. One place had already filled the position but, oops, never bothered taking the job down off their HR site. Several have "suspended" their searches, for various reasons/excuses. At another place, the person who formerly held the post decided to come back.
• I really like The Bonnie Hunt Show, on at 9:00 AM locally. I've also found myself compulsively drawn to CBS at about 11:45 to watch The Showcase Showdown on The Price is Right. I was appalled to find myself rushing to the TV at about 11:55 today to check it out after I finished a phone interview.
  
• At the other end of the TV schedule, I also really like Craig Ferguson . . . despite the 12:30 AM start time.
  
• It's a good thing we don't have cable. As it is now, I really don't watch much more television than I did when I was working, but if we had a hundred channels, it'd probably be a different story.
• My kids and Jeannette have been amazing in all this uncertainty.
• It's challenging to learn to start conversations with other guys with something other than, "So, what do you do?"
• For someone in a field like mine, job hunting is a lot easier now than it was fifteen years ago. You used to have to subscribe to The Chronicle of Higher Education and then plow your way through page after page of job advertisements, which were organized but not perfectly. Then you had to create a letter and resume and mail it off. Now, I can hit about eight or ten different websites that post job announcements and look for the newest listings in a matter of minutes. When I find one that is interesting, I can electronically transmit my documents and sometimes get at least an acknowledgment the same day. This entire job search so far has cost me $1.71 in postage, for the one school that still requires a physical application to be submitted.
  
• I had thought that this job search would grind to a complete halt as the holidays approached. Whether it's just God's sense of humor or my misunderstanding of how things work, things instead have really picked up. After almost no real encouragement for most of November, I've recently had a number of requests for phone and campus interviews. I do still believe that things will dry up very soon until after the New Year.
• On one of the TV shows this morning, they were interviewing people about how friends could help them through the loss of a job. One person said that she felt like her friends avoided her because they didn't know what to say. That hasn't been my situation at all . . . folks have been very good to keep in touch and express their concern and support.
• But it would be nice if every conversation didn't start with, "So, any new news yet?" I guess there's only one way to fix that.
• I can't believe I typo'd my own e-mail address on my resume.
  
• I've become a little more frugal in my dining habits . . . things like eating the peels from Melody's apples, drinking Diet Coke instead of milk during the day (no great sacrifice), switching to Big K Diet Cola With Lime Flavor soda (it's actually pretty good), and eating things that have fallen on the floor.
• Not working does have some economic advantages: Less money spent on gas and lunches. And I can live in old t-shirts, jeans and sweatshirts for the most part.
  
• I thought I would read a whole lot during this season. I've actually only read a couple of books so far. The computer seems to get my attention first.
  
• I'm really enjoying The Good Earth right now. But, having read it before, this time I'm reading it with a sense of dread, vaguely remembering some of the bad things soon to come in the story. I thought it would be a good idea to read about people in true poverty, so I'd be less inclined to feel sorry for myself.
  
• I got to experience the unemployment office for the first time on Tuesday. It was enlightening to listen to people's conversations about $3 this or $21 that, people who were there waiting for their turn to find out how a handful of dollars might come their way or be lost. I thought the staff there seemed pretty nice, though there's no need to go there if you're in a hurry. Needless to say. I learned that Wednesday and Thursday are lighter days there so I should try to arrange my schedule around that.
• It sure would be nice if all the people doing hiring posted the salary ranges and benefits with the job announcement. And if cost-of-living didn't have to be such a big factor in your thinking as you consider different jobs.
• I must say my schedule is quite flexible nowadays. "When am I available for a phone interview? Hmmm, you can pretty much name your time . . ."
• I miss having office supplies and a fax machine and a photocopier.
  
• I don't think I've ever known anyone without a job before and now I know way too many. Which--sadly, honestly and in a strange way--has made this all a little bit easier to handle.