Recovering Baptist

Let’s be honest; being unemployed sucks. I have tons of time on my hands, but that doesn’t mean that I’m free. For starters, I don’t really have a lot of spare cash lying around for extracurriculars. But I also feel bound to stay close to home so I can make calls or look for new opportunities online. I know there’s nothing for me online, but it gives the appearance of action, and that has some value.

Days like today, though, are very tough. I’ve received some feedback on my resume that it needs to be strengthened. So my wife and I have spent all day working on it. The problem with working on a resume is that every critique hits you twice. First, your document is put under a microscope, which means that your writing and organizational abilities are in question. Then, as a natural result, your career is being reviewed, as well. Even when good things are brought to light it reminds me of all of the negative things which happened. I feel as if the last three years were a professional waste, and days like today serve as a reminder. Add to that the fact that my wife cannot work with background noise and I cannot stand a silent room, plus the constant ringing in my ears, and I’m about to go bonkers.

Unemployment shrinks the world. It’s the kind of thing that makes a pseudo-introvert like me talk to total strangers in hope of meeting someone who will introduce me to someone who might get me a job. It drives non-geeks to places like linkedin. Former salesmen suddenly have a renewed relationship with people who constantly turned down their pitches in hopes that both of them can find a job.

I ran into a guy who used to try to sell me software. I turned him down at every opportunity. He’s a good guy, I just didn’t like his company at the time. But our conversation yesterday was great, and he invited me to an industry organization. I didn’t think of it then, but now that I look at their website, I’m not so sure that I want to be a part of an organization that calls itself WTF.

Update: OK, so whoever named the organization didn’t realize that their initials would ultimately become IM shorthand for dropping a major profanity. However, the meeting was worth attending. The speaker was more interesting than I expected, and he opened my eyes to additional ways that my background might be useful either in or outside of telecom. I also met some great people, and I’m looking forward to talking to them again in the future.

One of the strange aspects of losing your job due to a “reduction in force” is that you might find yourself holding a lot of paperwork. One document that I have lists every every employee by position only (no names) and age. It’s to show that there’s no age discrimination going on. When I first looked at it I was pretty pissed off. I had been told that my employer was laying off 10% of its workforce, and I didn’t see that many cuts in this document.

As it turns out, my ex-employer is updating the document daily. I just found out that another person from my group lost his job today, and so far 29 people in my division are gone. That’s a pretty big chunk. My ex-coworker also ended up revealing more than she intended. I now have in my head at least one more person that I’m quite confident will get cut, and I know at least one person who is safe.

I’m torn. I’d love to tell my friends that I KNOW their job is in danger, more than they thought. But, that won’t really help anyone. So I guess it’s back to career assessments for me. It did feel good to tell my ex-coworker that if she wanted my help she could hire me.Astemizole
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I think I’m going to need to get a refill on that Ambien before I lose my insurance. Oh yeah, it doesn’t do me any good in the bottle. Why didn’t I take it hours ago?

I’ve had sleepless nights before, but tonight may be one of the worst yet. I can’t sleep, obviously. But I also don’t have any couches, so I can’t even lie down and watch TV. If I think about this damned job loss for another minute I think I’m going to completely lose my mind…

It’s always good to have friends, but today my friends have been absolutely incredible. I’ve barely been able to work on my resume because I’ve been reading emails and talking on the phone. Word spreads quickly, especially when you’re a part of a small church. And that’s good. I need all the friends I can get right about now. I could especially use some who write paychecks…

Keep your resume up to date. You never know when you’ll lose your job.

Sure takes the joy out of the new countertops.

Between my wife and me, there are very few things that we cannot do in a house. But there are some times when it makes sense to hire a contractor, and today is one of them. He’s just knocking out some electrical work and hiding some cables in my office, which means a lot of banging and cutting. So I’ve been forced to my alternative office for the first time this spring. Honestly, it doesn’t get much better than sitting outside on a beautiful day and calling it “work.” Now if only I could get rid of that pesky work aspect and have a beer, the afternoon would be just about perfect.

After pulling nearly a 60 hours week, here are my weekend plans:

• Friday night - sleep
• Saturday - play with the family
• Saturday night - drink massive quantities of good, high gravity beer with friends
• Sunday - stumble into church (it’s good to be Pesbyterian!)
• Sunday night - sleep

Have a great weekend everyone. Here’s hoping your week wasn’t as stressful as mine.

You know your trip to Hawaii wasn’t very good when the 9 and a half hour flight in each direction is the highlight of a trip. Between the unusually rough weather, the problems with the rental car, and the death of a customer, I was happy to leave the island. I didn’t even mind going straight from the airport to a 9 hour meeting on Thursday.

Having a great boss does make a week like I had a lot easier. We talked on my way home on Thursday, and he told me to take Friday off. I never logged in, and my phone was off. So now that I’ve had a full three day weekend I’m ready to start work bright and early. I fully expect to work 20 hours of OT this week, but at least it will be here at home.