The Unemployment Chronicles: Vol. II

Welcome back! It’s been a little over a week since I went insane and quit my job with nothing else lined up, and my unemployment adventure continues. As promised, I’ll let you in on my musings and lessons learned this week:

Your friends love you.

Folks have come out of the woodwork since my unemployment announcement (via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+, natch) to treat me to food and drink. I’ve even received a few job leads from people I didn’t even know were paying attention. It’s made me feel loved, not to mention belly-full and drunk, so it’s good for my mood as well. Even my own mother has dropped her work and other activities to pay me a visit early next month. Granted, it’s probably a “make sure Sarah’s not losing her mind because OMG she quit her job in this economy” visit, but it’s nice all the same.

Bicycling is the best.

Oh, man, I have been biking pretty much everywhere since I quit my job. I wasn’t able to bike to my last job due to hills and intense sweating, so my jankety yellow pair o’ wheels languished in the foyer of my apartment for four months. But riding my bike gives me exercise (also a mood lifter), and it saves me $2 or more every time I want to go somewhere. Do I perspire? Hell yes, I sweat as soon as I start moving each day. But it’s so nice to feel the wind in my hair and beneath my dress (gotta air out, y’all) as I cruise down Valencia. Also, giving myself somewhere to go and something to do each day keeps me from sinking into that “no one will ever hire me” depression. I wake up, shower, put on a nice dress, and hit the ground cycling. It gets me out of the house. With no goals, I’m prone to falling into a five-day shower-less period, buried beneath a pile of tear-soaked tissues and empty Franzia boxes. Whatever, the truth ain’t always pretty.

Jobs are out there.

My jobs RSS feeds are full to bursting each day. Is every listing my dream job or my dream salary? Absolutely not. But the lesson here is that work exists. The economy might not be as bleak as the media and the government want us to believe. If you can find a job opening you’re willing and qualified to fill, your far-fetched employment hopes become much more realistic. Together, yes, we can… get a job.

Images courtesy of Arne Halvorsen and roger4336