Officially Unemployed Now

I am now living on savings. Yes, I will get severance that will fund us through Christmas, so I have a hard target for getting a new job. Once that runs out, I can start receiving unemployment. I still only know of one of my team that has a job. The rest of us are still looking.

So, what jobs have I applied for? ADP decided to hire from within. BofA wants someone with prior BofA experience. No response from Freeport-McMoRan or AMEX or Scottsdale Healthcare or one other for which I applied online but they did not send me a confirmation email. Today, I have interesting options saved to my desktop for which I need to craft a focused cover letter: ASU (we could go for our Masters'), City of Phoenix, SRP (local electric utility), and GetWellNetwork. I heard from a friend that Apollo Group is willing to contract with some of us that were let go as a Project Manager, but it is on a program a) under that dude that did not want to hire me a couple of months ago, and b) it is on a program that I thought was going to be unworkable when they identified the scope. So, for now, I think I will pass on it. Still, I will keep it in mind during the next two months.

So, what's coming up? We will spend Thanksgiving here and head over to the folks' for the big meal. We have the North Pole Experience coming up with the GRANDS. I will get my fingerprint card renewed in case I need to substitute teach to keep some money coming in. I drop a note to the placement firm every other day to be sure they keep me in mind (maybe I am like this widow?).

Oh, and after Thanksgiving, it is time to set up the Christmas tree. Here is last year's tree.

And the rest of the family will take the annual trek to Disneyland for the Christmas decorations. I will not so that we can save $200-$300. Here is last year's Disney tree.

Did you hear about Hostess saying they will close the company? Now, I have not had a Twinkie or Cupcake in many years, but the idea that they may no longer exist is weird.

As all of you know, what we see in photos is only part of the story. Here is a shot of what we all did trying to get Jack to smile (or even face the camera) in a family photo.

It is time for me to actually start today. My first activities are some non-job-related web surfing and creating a blog post. Now, I will take my shower and do today's job searching and applying. I also need to go to the credit union to replace a lost debit card (I have no idea how I lost it). And then, apply for that fingerprint card. And I need to open my request for state unemployment (even though I am not eligible until severance runs out).

You may have already started your day, but it takes me a bit longer without the pressure of a job, so I will sign off for this week. See you in a few days.