Some random thoughts after 7 months in the unemployment line.
1. The job market in Florida is REALLY bad. When I was laid off in Chicago in June 2003, I was able to find project consulting work within a few weeks. It wasn't an ideal situation, working for a fraction of my previous salary, but it was something.
After 7 months of looking, I don't feel I am any closer to finding work than I was the week I was laid off back in February. I am overqualified for the "entry" level or junior level positions, and I had too much time away from IT to be qualified for the Senior level IT positions. What's a boy to do? 5 layoffs since March 2007 is almost too much to take...
2. Unemployment compensation really sucks ass. Not just the lack of funds coming in (and believe me, I have lost almost 15 pouns by just NOT drinking beer nearly as much as I used to) but the lack of health insurance is a big issue. I never go to the doctor, but a couple days before going to Africa I came down with some weird dizzy spells and vomiting. Yeah, 1 hour in the ER and a $3,500 bill later I am wondering WTF? was that all about?!?!?!? Told me I have "Positional Vertigo"...
Yeah, no shit, Einstein, I coulda told you that... I saw the movie... WHY did I suddenly have it? No clue... thanks, Doc...
3. A couple things I am able to do that I realize I REALLY enjoy...
3a. Reading... I seriously LOVE to read... if I could get a job where all I had to do was read? Shit, sign me up... I'll do that til the day I kick it. I have typically been reading 2 or 3 books at a time over the past 7 months. Lovin' it...
3b. Making noise on my guitars... I really suck, can only play a handful of licks / riffs, but I really like it and it makes me feel good. If nothing else, i have a severely low stress level these days. Well, except for the certified letters from the IRS, etc...
3c. Writing... I've written two short stories which I have entered in a contest for 'Zoetrope': All Story magazine - literary publication put out by Francis Ford Coppola. Check it out at www.all-story.com
3d. Spending time with my woman... after a 12 year long distance relationship (even when we were in the same place it felt long distance some times...) it's a refreshing change to be able to see my baby cakes EVERY day... ;-)
4. The IRS really doesn't give a shit... Due to a clerical error when I cashed out some stock a couple years ago, I received more than I requested and owe a little over $5,000 in back taxes. "We'll levy a tax lien on anything you own..." - yeah, good luck with that! the only thing I own is the skin on my back...
5. I love football... and not so much baseball. Seriously, I have not watched a single inning of baseball this season. I have a buddy who HAD to order the Baseball pakcage when he moved here to Florida so he could watch the Cubs every day. All I need to see is the headlines of the Chicago papers online to know I haven't missed a thing... same shit as the previous 30 years. As for football, hell, I even will watch soccer over baseball these days. And now we get the Bears rolling into their season and one game in I am already drowning in melodrama... urlacher gone for the year, a horrible gameplan in the first matchup on prime time TV... hell... I am hooked!
Alright... time to do some dishes or something... gotta make myself useful every once in a while...
Peace Out
Heitz
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