I’ve been a horrible person. It’s not because I hate you, though I probably do, because I’m a horrible person. How’s that for circular logic? It’s because I’ve been ignoring my blog – the public manifestation of my unemployment. Don’t get me wrong, I love blogging, and have no plans to stop. (And I love you too.) Life just got very busy, in a very good way.
My short-term unemployment status is now in question. I don’t have a full-time job with an annual salary, health insurance and a 401K that will never let me retire. But I do have a desk smaller than a standardized test cubicle from elementary school to sit at every weekday, all day. I do get email reminders to delete files off the server and remove food from the office refrigerator. And I do have an ever-growing to-do list. But the most exciting part… the multiple paychecks in my future. Now if I could only remember how to turn them into those green pieces of paper.
A contact I’d recently reconnected with emailed me a few weeks ago. She was heading up a big project and asked me to participate. I couldn’t say yes fast enough. It didn’t matter what the work was, though given the source, I had a sense. Nor did it matter that sitting next to me would be “some New Jersey yokel who mainlines Diet Pepsi and eats cashews by the barrel,” as she described him. Okay, maybe my crystal ball told me that last part. It’s been a whirlwind two weeks. Who can remember what came from the all-knowing, all-seeing orb and what came from my soon-to-be temporary boss? But shortly after she contacted me, I was working. The orb portended good things.
That’s the upside, or the downside when it comes to my blog. In addition to a temporary full-time gig, I have smaller freelance projects, which keep me from sleeping much. And there’s the potential for more.
One small project came by way of wifey. A freelance client of hers found me through her portfolio website, and asked for help with his new website. He needed some editing and troubleshooting, and, essentially, a kick in the ass to get things done. It sounded interesting, by which I mean, it paid money and sounded interesting. And if there’s one thing I can do, it’s kick some ass.
An old dear friend reached out to me about some small-scale project management work. I have the skill in my repertoire, though the discussion was purely theoretical. I referenced a social media map I’d seen at a WordPress conference, and that became a short-term project. The discussion has since evolved and should lead to more work. She wasn’t just feeling sorry for me, as I first suspected.
There’s also been some extra blogging on the side. That’s right, not only have I ignored Jobless and Less, I’ve cheated on it with other blogs. It’s all out in the open now. And I’m not ashamed. One blog called SmartBlog on Social Media is about cooking or keeping a pet pachyderm. Or maybe it’s about cooking your pet pachyderm. The focus of the site was a little unclear when I started. So I wrote a piece on social media, as it relates to search engine marketing…
The second piece for both sites is written and could go live at any moment. I’ll post the links when they do. So my advice to you – hated and loved reader – is to stay on my site and hit [refresh] until they appear. That could be in an hour or a week. But the surprise of knowing will make the waiting worthwhile.
The point of all this isn’t to gloat, far from it. Nor is it to garner sympathy. I’ve averaged five hours of sleep per night for a couple weeks. And April may find me unemployed (or underemployed) once again. The point is to raise some important questions.
Can I really cobble together a living from all this? I don’t know. Do I want to? Again, I don’t know. Many people make a living freelancing, some a very good living. But freelancing seems like one never-ending job search, interspersed with lots of work. These are the opportunities presenting themselves. Being in no position to turn down work, I keep accepting. What choice does a long-term unemployed type like me have? I’ll give it a try and let you know what happens.
They told me the girls would like me more if I got in shape.
I hurt myself at the gym the other day. The exact moment is still fresh in my head. There I was, back flat against the weight bench, two 400-pound dumbbells poised above my head. Nickelback played through the speakers, angering me to the brink of insanity at the unfairness of life. My muscles twitched; sweat dripped off my brow. Four spotters stood at the ready. I brought the weights down to my chest and pushed them back up with a loud grunt. The assembled audience clapped and cheered in adoration. Bob Costas expressed his disbelief to the home audience, using words too big for sports. Only I heard the snap in my chest.
Okay, so maybe it didn’t happen exactly that way. Mike Adamle was doing the play-by-play. Or maybe it was just that creepy gym guy who says random things until he ropes someone into a conversation. And the dumbbells were only 300 pounds each, maybe 250, definitely no less than 200. Fine, I was doing push-ups… lots and lots of push-ups. Are you happy? There are two details I’m sure of: Nickelback playing and being pissed off about Nickelback playing.
I love a good snow day, even when there’s nothing to stay home from. What kid, or kid at heart, doesn’t? To this day, the news radio chimes make me hope for the words, “Montgomery County schools will be closed today,” no matter the time or season. A snow day is special, a surprise holiday, a day off from my problems. It has a calmness to it. Life stopped late last night and will pick up early tomorrow morning. For now, I’m on snow time.
Queens is blanketed by over a foot of snow. It’s currently coming down sideways. I can see out my window for a couple blocks, beyond the subway tracks to the hospital. The Citigroup and Empire State Building have disappeared into the gray. The streets are empty, aside from the occasional car swishing by. The neon store signs are on, but nobody is out shopping. Everything is muffled, quiet. If only my neighborhood were always this way. If only every day were a snow day.
I love how you've decorated your office. This desk is oak, right? (courtesy of http://myesllab.files.wordpress.com)
I had a job interview for an Account Manager position… a very odd job interview. I don’t really know what to make of it. So maybe teasing out my thoughts into an epic blog post, laced with humor and vitriol, will clear things up. What would really clear things up… having this post picked up by a publisher, expanded into a book bought by millions of people and turned into a movie, with the part of Norm, the fearless unemployed blogger, played by George Clooney. Maybe it wouldn’t. And George might not want to endure the months of gym time necessary to fully become the character. But I really think we should try, just to be sure.
I arrived early for my interview. So I stood outside the nondescript downtown office building, scrolling through emails on my phone. A leisurely stroll from the subway, past City Hall and through the neighboring park, didn’t kill enough time. Nor did a quick and depressing stop at the bank machine. But being early is good. It shows eagerness. It shows discipline and drive. It shows that I have nothing better to do.
After 4 layoffs in 9 years, I'm a little tired of being unemployed. This unemployment blog talks about my experiences with layoffs, unemployment and the job search. Follow me as I try to find work. What could be more fun than that?
