In Which Applications are Distributed and Lolz are Had

I woke up early today, hit the snooze button, finally rolled out of bed (before 9am!), showered, dressed, and took a trip to my parents' work. Turns out the job my mom had tracked down wasn't listed on the federal jobs website and I needed to print and fax about five hundred forms. And I couldn't find a cord for my printer.

So my dad picked me up and took me to his office and I hung out there for a while. I filled out the needed form...and the fax machine was under repair. I sat in my dad's office reading Sherman Alexie's YA novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (I'm only 40 pages in and am recommending this book). Then joined my parents for lunch (thanks for buying my lunch, Parents!), and by the time lunch was done the fax was back up and running.

So. That job is applied for. I came home and surfed the federal site some more, applying for 2 more jobs at different agencies (fingers crossed a certain one hires me and gives me a sweet agency windbreaker to wear!).

I then busted a move downtown to meet up with (former) coworkers for some beers. Hangouts were lovely and office gossip was welcomed eagerly. Two of us dashed to the best movie theater to (re)watch Star Trek.

I'm unabashedly proclaiming my love for Star Trek. I'm not as hardcore in my love as some, but I definitely have a few Hallmark Christmas ornaments of the Star Trek variety. And a black and white 8x10 of the bridge crew (circa season 2 of TNG) signed by Wil Wheaton. And I love the new movie. So. Hard.

(Former) coworker and I were leaving and I wanted to dash into the loo, but didn't want to wait in line. She had to swing by the office to pick up her things and said I should just go up with her and do my business there. I felt a little weird going back to the office 2 weeks after being laid off, but, you know, I had to pee.

We got in the elevator and when the doors opened there was someone on the other side. My (former) boss. At 10pm. We all laughed and he and I chatted for a minute, talking about meeting up next week to go over my resume.

Overall this was a productive and fun day.

To do:
-fix up my real resume
-look at local organizations to see who's hiring
-see if there's a position available at my former university and, if so, see if I'd be eligible for free or discounted tuition for graduate studies
-Bacos
-barbeque tomorrow!
-Star Trek again tomorrow (I'm trying to top my personal best in seeing movies multiple times. The current lead is Pirates of the Caribbean 6 times. Seriously.)
-meet with (former) boss for resume talk. and maybe office gossip.

Done:
-applied for three jobs!
-saw Star Trek again

Resume Shenanigans

My parents are federal employees and have sung the praises of working for the government for years. They both started asking around to see what they could find that would be a suitable fit for me. There's a possibility I could work with people who have been family friends for twenty years.

I finally created a profile and resume on the website for federal jobs. Holy heck, was that a weird trip through time. I hadn't just sat and considered everything I'd done in the three positions I held at my most recent place of employment. I had a former coworker email to me job descriptions of two of the positions I'd held recently and I added to those as I saw fit.

My mom insisted that I put as much information in the system as I could. This involved trying to go through the day-to-day operations of the retail and food service jobs I held ten years ago.

It was a crazy little mind trip, but I'm glad to have a resume on that site. I'll take some time later to look at available positions at different agencies. This position my mom found is maybe going to involve printing out various official forms, so we'll see how that goes.

I've also gotten in contact with my (former) boss. It looks like we're going to meet over coffee one day next week and brainstorm more specific roles I filled on his team. He's been insisting since the day he let me go that I keep in touch and let him help me, which is really nice of him. I've also gotten the okay from another former boss and a (former) coworker to use them as references.

Whoop!

To do:
-finish updating my resume!
-send copies of updated resume to former boss and former coworker for opinions
-search jobs on worksource. workforce. work...something
-decide if I want to apply for that accounting position at the big company
-buy some Bacos (still!)
-clean apartment (I kind of straightened up a bit...)
-invite (now former) coworkers out for drinks
-sign up for COBRA coverage
-make a couple more employer contacts

Done:
-got a resume up at the federal site!

Kick in the Pants

Okay. I've been slacking. Monday and Tuesday arrived with me still obsessing over the word "unemployed" being used to describe me. Wednesday saw a friend from university get to town. Thursday was me NOT working on my resume. And Friday kicked off what's been a great weekend that's included two baseball games (go Mariners!), some delicious kebabs, new friends, domino games, staying up way too late, country fried steak at 2am, and walking all over the city. I'll be visiting my parents tomorrow and probably spending a couple days with them. Mom's a bit worried about me. Thanks, unemployment, for making my mom worry. Boooooo.

I started getting unemployment materials this past week, and that was the kick in the pants that I needed. It's really true that I'm without a job. And I didn't know how Unemployment Insurance worked. I didn't know that I'm basically going to have to call in or log in and ask for money every week. Ugh. I hate asking for money. I hate it so hard. I had to borrow $200 recently from my parents to make sure my student loan payment check didn't bounce. That was a loan that lasted for about six days until I next saw my dad and handed him the cash. Six days! And I hated having to ask for the money. Grr.

I need to update my resume and get it sent out. I need to make connections and figure out what the heck I'm going to do. I haven't decided if I'm shooting for finding a job in a field about which I'm passionate (not the case with my most recent employment) or if I just want to be employed. But either way I'm going to need to get called for an interview. I need to stop getting UI before even getting it!

So. That To-Do List? I'm doing it. This week. I'm getting it done. I'm getting my resume updated (there's going to be so much to add to it!). I'm sending that resume out. I'm buying some Bacos (yeah, still haven't done that).

And I'm totally going to keep going to baseball games. I can multitask.

Unexpected Upside

I'm totally eating ice cream for brunch.

Healthy Living

I'm not quite sure what the deal is with keeping my health insurance after getting laid off. The HR manager told me that I can send checks to the company and continue my coverage, but I'm not sure how much that's going to cost. I'd like to keep my plan now because I love one of my doctors. Hopefully when I get a new gig (knock on wood!) I'll be able to keep going to her.

But not knowing what my coverage is, I've become hypersensitive to injury. I'm not overly cautious or overly reckless in my usual, employed life. But I know that going to the doctor may not be an option, so I'm keeping my guard up.

One of the biggest changes to my life is exercise. I used to walk to and from my office everyday. It's about a mile each way and I think my body is getting mad at me right now for not walking two miles everyday.

My new plan is to clean the apartment so I have the space to stretch and exercise along with yoga and belly dance dvds. Once I have the floor space I'm going to make sure I get a couple hours in a week. I've been sleeping really hard during the night and am waking up with a sore lower back, so the stretching definitely needs to happen!

I'm also going to start walking to coffee shops and bars to use their wifi. This will get me farther out of my studio than the mailbox downstairs and I'll get to be around people. I never thought that unemployment would be so lonely. I'm used to seeing scores of familiar people and stopping to talk to someone every time I go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. I can keep dialogues in my head, but it's really not the same thing.

One good health thing to come out of the pink slip is that I'm not going to a mall food court for lunch. On Monday, my first weekday without a job, I went out for a couple bags of groceries. Yes, I bought a pint of Ben & Jerry's (it was on sale!), but I got some fresh meat and veggies and a couple beautiful organic Fuji apples. I need to sit and figure out menu ideas, but I think this whole eating-at-home thing is gonna be good for both my wallet and my well-being.

To Do:
-um, everything from the previous post
-write up menu and grocery list

Done:
-cooked breakfast!

The First Five Days

On Friday my boss, a great man I've known for about seven years, asked me to join him and our company's HR manager in a conference room. Our firm hadn't gotten a couple big projects we'd just applied for. There wasn't enough work to keep me.

I started working at that company in the summer of 2005. I worked in the mail room and at the front desk before joining other teams in administrative support roles.


After getting the boot, I was upset but had to meet with a supervisor to make sure my tiny workload was taken care of. I called my mom and started to cry. A couple (now former) coworkers took me to lunch, where we each had a margarita and quesadilla.

I'd amassed an insane amount of flair and tchotckes in the almost four years I'd worked there and it took a couple trips to take everything home. My (now former) boss drove me and my bags of stuff home on Sunday and it's all sitting in grocery bags in my closet.

Monday I slept in and ran some errands. Tuesday, today, I slept in and stole some internets from a neighbor. A (now former) coworker harrassed me about unemployment insurance via email and I finally made myself apply. I didn't know I'd have to contact the unemployment officials and beg for money every week, so that was a surprise.

So! It's been five days. I'm getting over the shock of getting the boot. Tomorrow I update my resume. And stop feeling sorry for myself.


To Do:
-get out of the apartment (walking in pajamas to the mailbox doesn't count)
-update my resume!
-send copies of updated resume to former boss and former coworker for opinions
-search jobs on worksource. workforce. work...something
-talk to friend who works at a huge company nearby about a possible accounting position
-buy some Bacos (not job-related, but I really like Bacos on my mac & cheese. Which I'll be eating a lot of.)
-clean apartment (hey, I've got the time)
-invite (now former) coworkers out for drinks
-figure out health insurance. eep!

Done:
-applied for unemployment