Unemployment Benefits

No, this isn't a posting about the unemployment benefits that I apply for and gratefully receive each week for the foreseeable future. This is about the benefits of being unemployed - like being able to meet LK for lunch at Sandy's Tavern in Richfield, hanging out with my grandparents on Fridays, and other random events that I/we can attend. One such event that Lucas and I had the privilege of attending was an in-store performance at Treehouse Records by Gary Louris and Mark Olson. Mark and Gary were original members of The Jayhawks, one of my favorite bands. Lucas introduced me to the group when their album "Smile" came out. By then, Mark had left the band an albums before that, so I developed an extreme attachement to my man Gary. I love his voice; Mark's is my equivalent of nails on a chalkboard and I prefer "Smile" to any other Jayhawks album, which probably puts me in the minority. Anywho, the two have gotten back together and released an album called "Ready For the Flood". Here's a clip of them singing their first single, "Turn Your Pretty Name Around". For the record, Lucas wouldn't let me wear my "Team Gary" shirt to the in-store.

Running The Numbers

Here are some numbers for you numbers folks:

12 - credits that I will be taking semester if a job does not materialize
11 - weeks since I have been notified that I was being laid-off
7 (at least) - rejection letters, e-mails, and phone calls
5 - weeks of unemployment benefits I have received
4 - phone interviews I have had since November 18th (date of layoff notification)
3 - classes that I am currently taking
2 - phone interviews each in December and February
1 - in-person interview conducted
1 - rejection letter that I thought was a court summons.

There are three things that are just frustrating the heck out of me right now. One, if I hear one more recruiter tell me how many applications he/she has received for a position, I am going to freak. It's not like I don't know what the macroeconomic situation is, people! Two, if another recruiter remarks on how "great" my resume is, but doesn't come up with a job, I will also give myself permission to go off the deep end. Third, I need to find my motivation. I don't have a lot of it right now.

Prayer on Being Made Redundant

The Church of England published this prayer on Tuesday to help those who have lost their jobs. They also released one for those workers who remain in the workplace; both prayers can be found at http://www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers/.

Here is the Prayer on Being Made Redundant:

‘Redundant’ – the word says it all - ‘useless, unnecessary, without purpose, surplus to requirements.’

Thank you, Heavenly Father, that in the middle of the sadness, the anger, the uncertainty, the pain, I can talk to you.

Hear me as I cry out in confusion, help me to think clearly, and calm my soul.

As life carries on, may I know your presence with me each and every day.

And as I look to the future, help me to look for fresh opportunities, for new directions.

Guide me by your Spirit, and show me your path, through Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. Amen.

Seven Weeks Unemployed

Today marks the end of my seventh week of unemployment and the beginning of my eighth. YUCK. I am feeling pretty low this week. I don't have a heck of a lot of motivation to do anything, especially read, which is sad because I have a ton of books at the house to read. I also received "The Tudors" on DVD for Christmas and I don't even want to watch that. This is my second to last week of "freedom" before school starts up again on January 20, so I really should be doing SOMETHING.

I am really frustrated. I feel like I did everything that I was "supposed" to do, and here I am, jobless. I studied hard in college and nearly graduated with a 4.0. I again worked hard and received my Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification in June 2006. Now, I am getting my Master's degree and have a 4.0 with less than half of my program to go. I sacrificed a fair amount to accomplish the above three things and have no job and no prospects. I have been questioning a lot lately whether or not I am in the right career, but besides being an anchor on SportsCenter, an Academy Award-winning actress, or an author, don't really have any ideas of what I would be.

I also thought I was moving out of the Anger stage, but it sneaked back in late last week. I still have some anger towards my former employer. I am angry that they put bonuses and holiday parties above people's lives. I am hurt that they didn't see enough long-term potential in me to keep me employed. That has been a hard feeling to deal with and try to work through and is the thought that has really led me to question my career choice.

2008 - Year In Review

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But it's Thankgiving...and Christmas...and My Birthday!

Obviously, being laid off when I was stinks for many reasons. First and foremost, I no longer have a job and therefore, no steady stream of income. Second, the economy being what it is - I have been told by many recruiters that they are overwhelmed by the number of resumes they are getting for each HR position available. ARGH. Last but certainly not least, being laid off the week before Thanksgiving is sad. The holidays are always my favorite time of year, and that just made everything that much more depressing.

Lucas and I did have a good Thanksgiving. We celebrated on Thanksgiving Day with my family and our friend Bryan joined us for dinner. My grandma was afraid Bryan would think we were all a little bit crazy (which we are), but he seemed to go with the flow. Then, we celebrated with Lucas' family the following Saturday. Our niece Esther's third birthday was earlier in the month so we combined our Thanksgiving celebration with her birthday party. The picture on the right is her with her cousin Noah - they are really great buds. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because we all just get together, EAT, watch football, and take a nap. It really doesn't get that much better for me.

Christmas was also a pretty good time. We adjusted our Christmas spending/donation budget, which was sad. We already had the money saved, but decided that it was the smart thing to spend and donate a little less this year. But, December started out on a great note when my friend Katie had her first baby on December 6th. Jacob was about three weeks earlier than expected, but is doing great! My BFF Courtney arrived in town on December 21st with her husband from CO and I enjoyed spending time with her. Then, our friends Dave and Sarah hosted their annual Christmas party on the 23rd, which was a lot of fun. Marcel, Michaela, and their two children were in town from Kansas City. With the exception of Jacob, the newest arrival, we were able to get the six other offspring of our high school friends together for a photo. It is CRAZY to think that there will be three more babies born into this group next year, bringing the total to 10! I consider myself very fortunate that I get to be a part of their lives.

Our Christmas tradition is to spend Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day with Lucas' family and so far, it has worked pretty well. Lucas, me, and my brother went to Mass with my grandparents on Christmas Eve. We've gone to this particular church for Mass the past several years and we also forget the wackiness of the music director/pianist/lead singer. The guy reminds me of a lounge singer. He's not a good singer (sorry, Tom!). There was also mass confusion between this gentlemen and the three female singers who did most of the singing during the service. Lots of searching for sheet music. The children's choir also sings at this service and is always good for a laugh, as there is one little boy whose goal is to sing as loud as he possibly can. The best part of the church service was at the beginning when the lights were dimmed for effect. Then, the priest said, "Let there be light!" and no light came. After waiting a few minutes, he said, "Look, I really need the lights turned off so that I can read the Scripture." PRICELESS.

Christmas Eve and Day were fairly uneventful. The nephews all recieved Nintendo DS's from Santa, so they were pretty involved with them to say the least during Christmas Day. We also ended up going back to my parents' house on Christmas Day and playing 31 and a dice game with my parents, my brother, and his girlfriend. My mom doesn't come off as a super competitive person, but put dice in her hands and she's a wild woman!

After Christmas, Lucas and I both got colds. This is pretty standard for me, but something new for him. My golden birthday was this year - 29 on December 29th. I have to admit, I was pretty down about my birthday this year. I have been waiting for my golden birthday my whole life and had such grand plans in mind. It actually still was a pretty good few days. Lucas started it off by giving me my birthday present on Christmas, which was a Tom Brady jersey. Totally awesome - I am looking forward to wearing it during the Playoffs this year. Then, Lucas, me, Courtney, and friends Heather, and Matt went to the Loring Pasta Bar on the 27th for dinner, which was a lot of fun. We celebrated with my family the next day at Donatelli's. On my actual birthday, I had lots of wonderful birthday wishes via Facebook and phone calls from friends and family, which really made my day. That night, Lucas and I went to Chili's and were meaning to go see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", but I had two margaritas at the restaurant and couldn't bear the thought of sitting through an almost three hour movie.

New Year's Eve was low-key. We went to Old Chicago and to see "Slumdog Millionaire" with my brother and his girlfriend. Both men complained that we were the youngest people at the movie theater by FAR, but that was just fine by me. Lucas and I came home and celebrated the East Coast New Year's with Carson Daly. Carson made an interesting comment during his broadcast, which leads me to my next post...

WWYDB?

What Would Your Daemon Be? This is the question that I have pondered since watching "The Golden Compass" for the second time earlier this week. This film is based on Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy of books. There was quite an uproar over the film when it was originally released in theaters by the Catholic Church, who thought that the film's portrayal of The Magisterium hit a little too close to home, and fans of the book, who were disappointed by what they viewed as the generalization and elimination of some of the book's religious themes. I haven't read the books yet, but plan to and the movie very much intrigued me. In the alternate world that "His Dark Materials" takes place in, every human is born with a daemon that represents his/her soul. This daemon changes shape at will during childhood, but upon reaching adolescence, settles into one form. Our heroine Lyra Belacqua's daemon is Pantalaimon (Pan). Some forms of daemons are reserved for classes of people - servant daemons are dogs, scholars/Master daemons are birds, and so on. I am going to give this movie four stars but with a couple caveats - first, I don't think you should read the book first. Second, if you don't like "The Fellowship of the Rings" or "Harry Potter", don't bother.