Where did all the white people go? (courtesy of Wikipedia)

I hate a lot of stuff, or at least it can appear that way to the reader passing through. My cousin suggested over dinner a few weeks back that I change the blog’s name to Hate Less and Less. The suggestion didn’t quite make sense; he’s not too bright. But the spirit of the comment resonated with me. Some vitriol comes through in these here pages from time to time.

I never thought of it as hate so much as annoyance. Things irk me. Hard as it is to believe, I’m not perfect… far from it. But I’m basically a nice guy with a positive outlook. I don’t walk the sidewalks scowling at old ladies and kicking small children. Nor do I lambaste random strangers and give them wedgies as they pass by. I could; the world is filled with easy targets and people wearing underwear. But I don’t.

A protracted job search would wear on most people. The daily grind of looking for something so elusive can be overwhelming. Just ask one of the millions who’ve seen their unemployment outlast their unemployment insurance. I’ve managed to supplement government help with freelance and temp work, when I can get it. That’s kept me going. All things considered, I’ve fared pretty well. But maintaining a good attitude is a struggle.

Life is hard for everyone sometimes. But I don’t hate anybody for my problems. What good would it do anyway? It’s not their fault. Besides, there’s already plenty of real hate to overshadow whatever inspires me to hold forth with precise and fluid prose in the hallowed pages of this irreverent and insightful blog. A quick scroll through the TV news channels reveals as much. It’s all talk of mosques and immigration… how foreigners are coming to take our freedoms and our jobs and make us worship Allah and speak Mexican. Election season promises to dial up the hate even more; what better way to show leadership potential than to trash the little guy? I can hardly wait.

A lot of this hate is aimed at my neighbors. Jackson Heights is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country, with 100+ different languages spoken, including English, thanks to Wifey and me. The array of cultures is amazing, with every continent represented, including Antarctica. My downstairs neighbors are penguins. I take credit for adding Wasp to this extensive and varied list. Most Saturdays find me strolling the shopping streets in crisp white boating pants, with a popped collar and an Izod sweater tied loosely around my neck, tossing dollar bills over my shoulder as I spew random stock market and nautical terms, such as Dow Jones, capital gains, starboard and, uh, sailboat. I’m proud of my heritage.

Not surprisingly, many of my neighbors are undocumented and/or practice Islam. I don’t know most of them personally. But I see them in line at the store and the bank. I sit next to them in restaurants. I stand behind them on the subway platform. I bump into them on the sidewalk. They’re pretty and ugly. They’re nice and mean. They’re rich and poor. They’re hardworking and lazy. They’re generous and stingy. Every adjective – positive and negative – applies on some level, as it does to every group of people. The people we hate are the same as us. They are us.

So why do we Americans hate ourselves? Where does this self-loathing come from? I wish I knew, so I could give the nation a giant lollipop to allay our national crying fit. There are so many real issues to address, such as the stagnant economy that keeps so many of us un- and under-employed. Instead we go on hating the new guy because he’s different, as we have since the birth of the nation. He threatens to upset the status quo, and slightly change our glorious way of life. And that scares us. We hate because we’re afraid.

I’m scared too. But rather than hate, let me put forth something that I like. I like my neighborhood – Jackson Heights. I like that it’s a true melting pot, in a country that embraces the term yet so rarely achieves the true meaning. I like that it offers an opportunity to people not afforded one before. I like that Jackson Heights is Ground Zero for the American Dream. People from all over the world come here for a chance, and they get it. To hate that is to hate America.

I need a job because I need money to pay my bills. I’ve grown attached to food, shelter, Netflix and other necessities of life. Life without access to every DVD known to man is just death by another name. My situation, like most people’s, is pretty straightforward. I’d love to make a lot of money – money enough for my own island and sports franchise, “f**k you money” even – but I’ll settle for enough money if the circumstances are right.

The years have taught me that jobs can pay in ways beyond money (until they go away and leave you on the dole, of course). Enjoyment is another important form of compensation. A fun job is worth the same to me as a boring job with twice the salary, provided the lower paycheck supports my modest standard of living and raging cookie habit. Work that doesn’t feel like work isn’t. It’s entertainment. It’s something we’d consider doing for free. The days go by quickly. And when they don’t, who cares? That moment of dread following the alarm each morning disappears when work is fun. That Sunday evening lethargy born from the anticipation of another workweek goes away. Moods improve, and life improves. The return in quality of life – on and off the job -  is well worth the smaller paycheck.

Perks are another valuable method of compensation. And they take many forms. A friend of mine once had a job three blocks from his apartment. By cutting his commute down to five minutes each way he added over an hour of free time to his life every day. Another friend with a similar commute managed to add a lunchtime nap to his daily routine.

Lucky for me I’ve had jobs that offer great perks. My first job out of college was a low-level administrative position at a now-reviled trade association. It paid what one might expect it to. The higher-ups had lots of meetings with lots of legitimately important people. Important people meetings differ from normal people meetings in a couple key ways. For one, the stakes are higher, as they’re dealing with the fates of companies and industries. For another, their meetings are catered. Here’s the best part, at least for normal people on little budgets… important people don’t eat the food at important people meetings. They get fed all the time, and earn enough to buy the food they want anyway. This all added up to free meals for staff multiple times a week – a great perk  for a poor college grad. And I totally lucked into it. The more industrious among us even worked out an office-wide paging scheme to discretely notify each other when meetings let out, and lunch was served.

Entertainment-related jobs have (or at least had) the best perks for music fiends like me. One of my positions included free tickets to concerts all over the city, provided I wrote something about the band. Sometimes I didn’t even have to do that. Certain extremely popular shows were off-limits. Those bands (and their PR people) didn’t need the press from me and, as a result, wouldn’t put me and my +1 on the guest list. Attending concerts was part of my job, so the perk made total sense. And technically I was working while rocking out. But to my point about fun jobs, it often didn’t feel that way.

Another job included free compact discs and a stereo in my office. These perks also made total sense given the position and company – CD packaging editor for a music label. I initially took full advantage, and have the CD piles and storage headaches to prove it. But there’s only so many hours of music that can be heard in a day; my extensive double-blind studies put the number around 24. Once I made my way through the company catalog, the perk became a burden. There was nothing more I wanted. But not taking advantage of free CDs was a sin against the music gods akin to Ace of Base, Maroon 5 or Disco. I had to continue accumulating CDs, even though I’d grown out of the perk.

Wifey might have the best perk an unemployed spouse could ask for, aside from a company-sanctioned “Jobs for Unemployed Spouses”  program. She gets free passes to Broadway shows. Now that we can’t afford flights to Paris for dinner, we can still spend the evening at the theater (excuse me, theatre). There’s a lot of excellent productions out there. And our circumstances – poor sans kids, but too old to be out past our bedtime – allow us to enjoy them. So please buy lots of theater tickets (rent can wait) so wifey can keep her job and I can forget about unemployment for a couple hours every so often.

The holy grail of the job search is a high-paying position that offers enjoyment and great perks. Let me know if you come across anyone this lucky, so I can kick their ass and take their job. Most of us settle for something less than perfect, and that’s fine. We try our best and do what we can. But it’s worth considering factors beyond the paycheck if possible. Your life may be better because of it.

Tell us what you do for fun when money is tight in the Jobless and Less Unemployment Forums…

Because my resume is posted everywhere, job sites, recruiters and job search companies spam the crap out of me. Some emails are intended to be helpful – 10 tips to improve your resume, 8 ways to turbo-charge your job search, 6 reasons not to drink whatever you find under the sink and end the misery. Some offer jobs that don’t remotely suit or interest me; at least once a week I’m recruited to be a nurse. The real point of course is to get me or keep me visiting their site.

Some of the stuff I receive is extra brilliant, in a so bad it’s good kind of way. Whoever sent it clearly has no clue who I am or what I’m looking for. And they don’t care. They want my personal info and eventually my money. What a wonderful world we live in where people try to scam the unemployed. As soon as I get the money that Nigerian government official promised me, I can forget about this job search nonsense.

Today’s winning spam comes from Charles Williams, Senior Vice President for DBP Execusearch. I wouldn’t reveal names if he were a real person at a real company. But since it’s so obviously a scam, all bets are off. Take it away, Chuck…

Are you still in the market?

[For what… a parakeet, some slammin’ rims for my new Hummer, a cookie? Then that would be a definite maybe. Please tempt me some more, Chuck. Show me the way.]

We felt your resume indicated that we may have immediate openings at DBP that could be right for you. However, if you are interested, we need some added information.

[Are you sure you want to commit to “resume” and “indicated” there, Chuck? There's room to be even more vague. “Resume”  could be “resume/CV/online application/graffiti on truck stop bathroom wall.” That would work better. I still get a whiff of meaning from the first version. Or the cat just took a dump in the litter box. Who can really tell?]

Delany enjoys a growing reputation as a fast growing recruiting service. our clients include small and large employers, growth companies, and Fortune 1,000 corporations. We deal only in professional and executive openings and there are no fees.

[That’s a whole lot of growing to be enjoying in a down economy, Chuck. Must mean you really know what you’re doing, or Bernie Madoff is running things. Either way, good luck with that.]

To register with us, as well as to review current situations at your income level and in your geographic area, please do the following:

[“Situations,” well that sounds pretty fancy, Chuck. But I'd expect nothing less from DBP aka DBP Execusearch aka Delany aka Delaney, Byczinski and Potamkin aka Management Jobs. Here’s my credit card number. Sign me up!]

Click on http://www.managementjobs.com/site.data/3

[Glad to see you splurged for the best graphic designers in the biz to create and scan in your blurry collateral. And making the whole page a giant link... pure marketing genius, Chuck. Who wants to have to aim? I'd only suggest that next time you spring for a new tie for homeslice with the mustache. Just a thought.]

The “register now” button will take you to the profile information that we need.

Regards,

Charles Williams, Senior Vice President

Unemployed man’s best spammer friend returns

Every batter has a routine – what he does to get ready for the next plate appearance. Some are elaborate and laced with crazy superstitions. Others are basic and pretty utilitarian. Getting ready for a job interview is like warming up in the on deck circle, without the million-dollar payouts for mediocrity.

The time and effort I spend researching a company and preparing answers in the days before depends on how much I want the job. An interview last year at a video game company merited three days of preparation, including countless hours of gameplay (let’s just call that research). Other job interviews barely inspired me to print out extra copies of my resume. On the day of, I tend to prepare the same way regardless. The ultimate goal is to get myself comfortable and ready to perform. And years of layoffs and job searches – thanks to corporate America and its wacky ways – have left me with a routine that works.

I decided what I wanted to wear the night before my last interview. Everyone has certain clothes that they like better than others – clothes that look and feel good. I opted for a charcoal pinstripe suit, cream-colored shirt and a light blue, flowery tie. (Ladies… please, I’m writing here.) Style and comfort instill confidence, letting you be your best self. Worrying about matching a tie to a shirt is just an unnecessary distraction. Anything that could possibly be a problem the morning of an interview should be taken care of the night before.

I woke up early that morning, allowing an extra half hour to get ready and an extra half hour for travel. Who knows what could come up? The building’s hot water may be out. The subway gods may conspire against me and strike down the train ahead. Gravity could reverse itself. Nothing kills an interview like a late arrival. Even if all pregame preparation and travel goes smoothly, there’s still no need to rush, get flustered and not be at my best.

Having already Mapquested the location, I walked to the subway with a purpose – catch the next 7 train, but dodge the dirty drips from the ice melting on the tracks above. I failed, at least in catching the next train, and was forced to wait as one after another outbound train passed (like I said… subway gods). Another 7 eventually came in my direction, and I squeezed on.

I often review the job description and my prepared answers on the train going in. This is more of a confidence booster than anything else, like scanning the textbook five minutes before an exam. What can really be learned? I already knew the company anyway and wasn’t hugely excited about the meeting. On this morning I played the iPod, never bothering to brush up on anything.

Because I left my apartment ahead of time and didn’t encounter any problems, I arrived early – not early enough to get a cup of coffee, but too early to just go in. My stomach was calm, so there was no need to find a bathroom. I lingered on the corner across the street, rocking out, texting my wife and killing time. I always expect the Wall Street area to be packed with people walking fast and looking important. But the streets were empty and the people seemed a bit embarrassed, like they’d done something wrong but couldn’t quite put their finger on what. Only the tourists were unabashed. (Look Agnes, there’s the company that lost our retirement savings. Take a picture.)

Ten minutes before my interview’s scheduled start time, I went in.

If you’re unemployed, you have a good sense of the job market. But things are actually worse.  My wife sent me this Bloomberg story yesterday afternoon…

U.S. Payrolls Post Biggest Annual Drop Since 1945

This morning I saw a similar story on the front page of the New York Times…

Jobless Rate Hits 7.2%, a 16-Year High

CNN ran their version of the story while I was at the gym this morning, complete with partisan bickering. (It hurt my head just to watch, even with the volume turned down.) And I saw some homeless guy peeing on an office building wall – no doubt, his personal commentary on the state of the economy and the companies that put us here. Needless to say, this is a big story, and everybody’s talking.

Here’s the situation. The U.S. lost more than half a million jobs in December, pushing the total number of unemployed up to 11.1 million. This figure almost doubles if one counts the underemployed (part-time workers seeking more hours) and those who have given up looking. Consumers are scared, so they’re not spending money. Employers are scared, so they’re reducing payrolls to stay liquid. Norm is scared, so he continues to blog away his fears. The incoming Obama administration is eager to implement a multifaceted stimulus package, which may boost confidence immediately but will otherwise take months to show any real effects. The outgoing Bush administration has its collective thumb up its collective ass. Experts see unemployment reaching 10% in the second quarter and plateauing there until well after the recession ends.

It seems like any job search is a futile waste of time in this climate. So the question the jobless masses may be asking is, “why bother doing anything at all?” I’ll tell you why. Continuing a job search provides the chance to find something, while doing nothing leads to nothing. There are still jobs out there – maybe not good jobs or relevant jobs, but jobs. The education and healthcare fields, for example, both enjoyed modest job growth last month. It may be worth focusing your efforts there. The Economy is in a recession, meaning economic activity has slowed somewhat but not stopped altogether. Companies still need people to work.

This is also the perfect time to do all the necessary job search legwork – the stuff that reveals openings and puts you in the position to apply immediately. Here’s a list of activities that could yield results…

• Research jobs and fields of employment beyond what you’re used to.
• Create different versions of your resume and cover letter for those jobs and fields.
• Explore all the general and company-specific job boards you don’t normally use and create applicant profiles.
• Reconnect with people in your network.
• Become (or remain) active in LinkedIn, Facebook and other social networking sites to expand your network.

When the job market improves, you’ll be prepared, or already gainfully employed.

Unless you’re in dire financial straits, looking for work all day is overkill, even in a good job market. Some time would be well spent learning new skills or practicing hobbies which could theoretically lead to work. Ever wonder how writers become employed writers? You have the time and hopefully the inclination to improve yourself. And online resources are abundant and cheap (or free). This is a great time to become more employable, and expand the realm of opportunities.

A bad job market is a terrible excuse to do nothing.  But it’s a perfect opportunity to get your ducks in a row and improve your skill set.  And when the recession clears, you may find yourself in a better position than before. Turn off the news and get to work, you unemployed slacker!

Unemployed and all alone. And there are wolves after me.

Money issues aside, it’s pretty easy to forget about unemployment over the holidays. There’s just so much to do. And everybody who would otherwise be working is around and, barring family commitments, willing to hang out. This year, with Christmas and New Years on Thursdays, the calendar lined up nicely. Even those who didn’t get off the last week of December had two four-day weekends in a row and possibly a couple more half days. I started to forget that my wife even had a job, other than playing Prince of Persia, that is. We got to sleep late and hang out. To quote Office Space, “I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything that I thought it could be.”

But the holidays are over, and the distractions are gone. Everyone is back to work, and here I am – at home, alone and still unemployed. The cats keep me company; they’re sort of like people – little furry people who barf a lot. I can hear the neighbors clomping around through the walls. And the occasional comment or funny link comes through on IM. But really, it’s just me here.

Putting it this way sounds so depressing, so hopeless, so pathetic – like I’m the only unemployed person on the face of the planet. This, of course, is not true; that’s what I keep telling myself. The government maintains that 6.7% of working-age adults are jobless. The percentage is probably closer to 10-11% when factoring in those who’ve stopped looking for work. And the jobless masses will likely keep growing. I encounter or hear about unemployed acquaintances all the time. Some of the people I see on the street are unemployed too. Maybe the person sitting right next to you this very moment… unless you’re reading this at work, in which case, nevermind.

The jobless are everywhere. And they’ve all got at least one problem. So things could be way worse.

Sometimes I just get to feeling sorry for myself. Us unemployed types are prone to that. It’s perfectly normal, even healthy, to wallow a little, if I keep my perspective. I got a bad break or four. But at some point feeling sorry ceases to be indulgent and just becomes counterproductive. I have to suck it up, rub some dirt on it and be a man.

I frequently go through some variation of this cycle – feeling sorry, wallowing and bucking up. It’s common enough that I recognize it happening, and know how to push through. This latest bout was mild and probably spurred by the rain and post-holiday letdown. Surfacing wasn’t hard. I just rationalized my way out of it. More severe bouts can require some effort (and junkfood) to break. Whatever works…

Looking back or looking down is much easier than looking forward. But it won’t get me anywhere. That’s also what I keep telling myself.

New York magazine decided to steal my idea and tell the stories of unemployed New Yorkers…

My Laid-Off Life

They picked seven people from the jobless middle class masses and lent them the services of a professional writer. If only their stories were as interesting, engaging, exciting, moving, gripping, captivating, intriging, refreshing, enjoyable, glamorous, thought-provoking and well written (I could keep going…) as mine. But I guess we can’t all be hacks.  Keep working at it, NY Mag, you’ll get there.

Norm rocks the onesie.

This post also appears over at Unemploymentality, my other favorite unemployment blog. Be sure to check in with them often as they find new and exciting ways to document this growing scourge (unemployment, that is, not the spread of onesies).

Unemployment offers so many wonderful and exciting opportunities. Those daydreams of a better life that distracted us from company-wide emails and excel spreadsheets can now be realities… well, most of them anyway (get your mind out of the gutter!). Joblessness means ample free time to travel, eat out at fancy restaurants, partake in local culture and follow that muse – all the things we never quite get around to while working. There’s just one small problem – money. Now we’re broke. Oh yeah, and we have to spend large chunks of our day looking for work, so we’ll have – you guessed it – money.

One opportunity is free and takes no time. In fact, I’m guessing all of us unemployed have already availed ourselves of it to some degree. As members in good standing of the jobless class, we can wear whatever we want whenever we want. No employer can force us to wear dark gray power suits and wingtips or khakis and button-down striped shirts from Banana Republic. They lost that right when they stopped giving us money, and can only regain that right if they once again tempt us with said money. The choice of what to wear is now ours and ours alone. Hell, those of you who live alone even have the option not to shower (but that’s a topic for another post).

I’ve explored various clothing options for the unemployed over the last couple of months and have become somewhat of an authority on the matter. Unemployment attire can be broken down into three basic approaches, with variations inherent in each. They are as follows, in bulleted form (because I’ve been missing bullets lately):

• Don’t care, so f**k off!
• Getting dressed, because I’m a respectable member of society
• Ready for the world (Oh Sheila), even if the world isn’t ready for me

The first approach is what many of us dream about while employed and are quick to adopt once unemployed. Those who don’t care don’t get dressed at all, and if they do, the clothing is dirty, ripped, slept in, really, really old or some combination thereof. I spent a good portion of my first jobless week in flannel pajama bottoms and a Nickelodeon t-shirt. I took them off to shower, but put right back on. My wife decided that I wasn’t fully exploring this mode of dress. So for Christmas she got me what can only be referred to as an adult-sized onesie (or the best gift ever) – red and fleece, complete with padded feet and a butt flap.

The “don’t care” approach is fine for a couple days and then for a once-in-awhile break from reality. Sticking with the look long-term is only acceptable for alcoholics and mental patients. When “dressed” like this, people tend to sit around and do nothing. They never leave their home, or their couch, for that matter. Acting like a shut-in eventually leads to feeling kind of worthless or, worse still, becoming kind of worthless. The approach will result in continued unemployment, low self esteem and neighbors who openly ridicule you.

The second approach is much healthier for the psyche – though not at the expense of comfort – and doesn’t require any effort beyond being human. You have to wear something, right? And getting dressed is what people do in the morning after showering, regardless of employment status. Remember, joblessness does not equal worthlessness. The outfit can be as simple as jeans and a t-shirt, if they come out of the dresser or closet and not the hamper. This is how I spend most days. I may add a sweatshirt and socks for warmth, depending on the heat in my building.

“Getting dressed” doesn’t mean you have to (or even want to) leave home. You can, should the need arise, but what you’re doing there is also important. Being presentable translates into a positive state of mind. Judging from experience, I take a more active role in my day, get more done and feel better about myself when dressed. It’s amazing that such a simple thing can have such a profound effect. But it does.

The third approach amounts to overkill in most cases, barring interviews and special events of course. Being ready for the world doesn’t have to mean sacrificing comfort. I haven’t worn a suit and tie since my last meeting – which was longer ago than I’d care to admit – or a button-down since my last dinner outing. I’m toying with the idea of wearing khakis and a nice shirt periodically, just to stay in practice. The thinking is that dressing up will remind me that I belong in the working world. And, should I be fortunate enough to land a job, I won’t feel awkward reverting back to business attire.

Those for whom dressing up is a way of life may disagree with me, but they’re just stupid. (Okay, maybe they have a point, kind of.) It just seems a little depressing, as in the old cliché, “all dressed up and nowhere to go.” Can’t that person accept – nay embrace – the realities and benefits of not having a job? They don’t have to go anywhere. But for the kind of person who dresses up as a matter of course, maybe this approach is just like getting dressed for the rest of us. If that’s the case, kudos to you for your sense of fashion. You’ll be ready when opportunity knocks. And good luck with that dry cleaning bill.

Clothing choice is one of unemployment’s great opportunities. Most of the others just aren’t realistic, given the restraints of time and money. So take advantage of this new-found freedom. But keep in mind that who you are hasn’t changed, only where you go every weekday. Stay true to your sense of self, and maybe you can be as well adjusted as I am.

I tend to be all business at the gym and, for that reason, not terribly social. Still there are two people that I’ve become friendly with. The first – an older and recently retired gentleman – I met when he shared just how amazed he was that someone else at our gym read The New Yorker. The second is a pudgy Asian guy who is about my age and also unemployed. I don’t remember how we met.

I see the unemployed guy a few times a week. He always asks after my job search and laments the state of his. (He’s an engineer who’s been unemployed for about seven months.) We might then discuss when the job market will pick up again (mid to late 2009, if we’re lucky) or what other types of jobs I could pursue (sales or something trademark-related). He’s dead set on working as an engineer, so I suggest companies and geographical areas where he might have more luck.

Today we happened to be on adjacent elliptical machines. After breezing through the usual topics and then discussing why the government is better than the private sector (mainly job security), we got onto the topic of Unemployment Insurance. He had recently reached the 26-week point and noticed the balance in the history section of his account was $0. But he’s still receiving payouts.

As I understand the system to work, the original term for which the jobless could expect payouts was 26 weeks. It was extended by 13 weeks and then, on November 20, by another seven weeks. So what that means to me is that he (and I) can make claims and receive payouts for 46 weeks. After that, barring another extension, both of us would be out of luck.

His understanding is a little different than mine. As he explained it, the extensions don’t mean an unemployed person receives more money. They allow for that person to collect the same amount of money over a longer period of time (46 weeks as opposed to 26 weeks). For example, an unemployed person who collects the maximum in New York ($405/week) will collect a total of $10,530 after 26 weeks. The extensions allow that person to spread that amount over a time period up to 46 weeks. He also believes that any money collected beyond the 26 weeks puts your account into the negative. So once you’re employed, you have to repay this.

I think he’s wrong, and here’s why. First of all, the system as he understands it could potentially leave the unemployed worse off. If I were to voluntarily take less money each week to extend the term of the payouts and then find a job before maxing out my benefits, I’d end up with less money. It would make more sense to take the maximum payouts each week and bank whatever I don’t use for when the benefits run out (not that there’s ever extra money). There’s one line of reasoning that makes a tiny bit of sense. People tend to spend what they have, so reducing the benefit and extending the term would help them manage their budget so they’d have money for longer. But that can’t possibly be enough reason to set up Unemployment Insurance this way. His assertion that an unemployed person’s account goes into the negative after 26 weeks is also faulty. Unemployment is funded by a tax on employers not employees.

Still the possibility scared me enough to look into it further. I found nothing to substantiate his understanding of how the unemployment extensions will work. It simply seems that New York state hasn’t updated the wording on the site (except to add a separate page about the extensions) or adjusted its online system. My account still shows that unemployment lasts for 26 weeks too. Maybe the extensions require a claimant to file again. That’s a question I’ll have to ask.

For your reading pleasure, here’s the wording about the extensions on the NYS Department of Labor site…

“On November 20, 2008, Congress passed legislation to extend the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) allowing an additional seven (7) weeks of benefits, for a total of 20 weeks of EUC. This 7-week extension is referred to as Extended EUC, and is based on New York State’s unemployment rate. The first week of benefits that can be paid under this 7-week extension is the week ending November 30, 2008. Unemployed individuals may claim benefits for this week from Sunday, November 30, 2008 through Saturday, December 6, 2008 by using this website or by calling our toll-free Tel-Service number at 1-888-581-5812 (New York State residents), 1-888-864-9920 (out of state residents), or 1-877-205-3119 (TTY/TDD equipment users).”

“Under current legislation, new claims for Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) can be initiated through the week ending March 29, 2009. No EUC can be paid for any week that begins after August 30, 2009. The weekly benefit amount paid for EUC is the same amount the individual received for regular unemployment benefits.”

I did discover one thing that concerns me. My 46 weeks would extend past the August 30 cutoff date. I could theoretically lose a few weeks of unemployment. It may end up a moot point if the job market worsens and Obama extends benefits. I’ll still be calling the Department of Labor bright and early on Monday to find out just what the deal is.

Today was one of those weird non-holiday weekdays when no one was at work (or online). Except for my wife, that is (someone has to make some money in this family). Of course every day is a day off for me. And every day is a work day. Unemployment is the worst of both worlds.

This is a very roundabout way of getting to my point, which is today’s playlist. As Shannon would sing, “Let the music play…”

Air – Virgin Suicides Score
Depressing movies about teenage suicide always have great music.

Califone – Roots & Crowns
Experimental with middling results. This album didn’t grab me like the previous one. But every so often I give it another shot.

Caribou – Up In Flames
This earlier album is new to me… kind of promising.

Wheat – Hope and Adams
Slo-core from a great band. At least they were great until a major label chewed them up and spit them out.

The Warlocks – Heavy Deavy Skull Lover
Grinding dirges, otherwise known as happy fun-time music

The Walkmen – You & Me
They manage to be spacey and still rock… very cool.

The Weepies – Hideaway
Music for dramas on The WB (when it existed) in which teenagers pined after each other. I’m talking to you, Dawson.

Hiroshi Watanabe – Genesis
Dreamy electronica from the Japanese guy who also goes by Kaito. Many names, one sound.

Kaito – A Million Light Years
I barely noticed that the last album drifted right into this one.

Ballboy – A Guide For The Daylight Hours
Snarky Scots who sing songs with titles like “You Can’t Spend Your Whole Life Hanging Around With Arseholes” and “I Wonder If You’re Drunk Enough To Sleep With Me Tonight.” What’s not to like?