Attending a midweek afternoon baseball game is the height of unemployment decadence. I developed a taste for it after my 2008 layoff. Shea Stadium – the New York Mets‘ old home field – was only a few subway stops from my apartment. And an upper reserve seat behind home plate could be had for $5-$10 [...]
Category Archives: Queens
Jackson Heights lows – the recession comes to town
Thursday, February 26, 2009
My neighborhood – Jackson Heights – is more working class than many New York City neighborhoods, but more middle class than some others. It’s ethnically mixed but dominated by first and second generation immigrants from South America and India and other parts of Asia. Some significant portion of this group is undocumented, or they prefer [...]
Layoff Tracker roars past the half million mark!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Jobless and Less Layoff Tracker roared past the half million mark yesterday, landing at 548,549 announced layoffs. This is an exciting moment in the short history of my blog and the long history of our country. And by exciting, I mean absolutely terrifying. It seems like only four months ago I was being laid off, [...]
Sometimes people surprise me
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Making good use of my unlimited subway pass, I hit the Midtown branch of my gym yesterday. The 11:00 a.m. weekday crowd is always light for some reason; maybe people have somewhere else to be. After my workout, I pushed through the wind and snow back to the train. The fruit guy—who was braving the [...]
Short job interview, long train ride
Monday, February 2, 2009
I had today what might be the shortest job interview ever. Final determination from the Guinness World Record people is still pending; the Sarah Palin vetting committee may still have me beat. To give you a better sense of time elapsed, here are some things I did today that took longer… Cleaned up cat barf. [...]
Want job security? Sell fruit in Manhattan
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The fruit guy has more job security than I ever did. I’ve been laid off and unemployed 4 times in 8 years, but he’s still selling fruit on the same corner.
The perfect job awaits…
Friday, January 23, 2009
The perfect job can take many forms. This guy is offering employment as a henchman, a nemesis. And I’m uniquely qualified. He’ll never know what hit him.
Unemployed and going to a weekday matinee
Thursday, January 22, 2009
A weekday afternoon movie is possible when unemployed. But it’s about the most depressing unemployment experience you can pay for, even if the movie’s good.
Toy story: the recession edition
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Watching a toy store close from my bedroom window