Renaissance Ramblings

In this the midway of my mortal life . . . I find myself a statistic of the economic breakdown hosted by the previous reigning government. Budget cuts, Legislative decisions, Reduce by 138 employees before the end of the week - blah blah blah. So, what does a woman on the brink of 40 do when she finds herself unemployed? Start a blog about what it is like to be an unemployed, single income provider of an average American family.

This is the fifth day of my life as an unemployed, former government worker. The first four days were spent in the combined state of tears, ranting and the occasional alcohol binge with friends. Understand, as stated before, I am the sole provider of my family consisting of my husband living with a terminal disease and teenage daughter, so needless to say, income and health insurance are a must. The first day, I spent online doing all of the responsible things such as apply for unemployment (which is backlogged eight weeks at which time we will be evicted - Thanks, DES) register with the web based employment agencies, calling all friends, etc. The second, third and forth days were spent much the same. I have had one interview at an employment agency, one phone interview with a major credit card company, taken seven online tests/assessments and consumed five shots of tequila, two beers and a half bottle of wine. I am really not an alcoholic, in fact I rarely indulge but . . . did I mention I am unemployed and quite frankly - BORED.

My husband and daughter enjoy the extra time I am home and my friends and family have stepped in and offered their support. My mother-in-law offered to buy us a trailer in a trailer park with dirt roads (Umm - thanks?) - which we turned down, my mom cleaned out her freezer for us - which we gladly accepted.

So far, I have learned some things that I value above any paycheck I ever received. One, I have amazing friends that love me and are in my corner. Two, my family and relatives genuinely care and are there to make certain we are never homeless and always have food. Three, in economic times that we are currently facing in America, one cannot be too picky because although there are jobs out there, they are sparse and mostly entry level. And finally, five shots of tequila at my age is a bad thing yet sharing a bottle of wine with a friend is very good.