In Which I Join the Great Unwashed

Ok, so it’s confession time regarding where I’ve been this week, and why there’s no “Memories of Me Monday” post, or any other post for that matter.

I am job-hunting.

‘Nuff said?

Yes, I’ve had to make the difficult and depressing decision to go back to work. 

And I do mean difficult and depressing.  I was in a total funk for several days (ask Mike, if you don’t believe me).  I didn’t want to do anything, go anywhere, cook, clean, exercise, or even eat.  In short, I was pathetic.

I guess I felt like a failure.

Finally, I realized that bigger companies than mine have “fallen” in this economy.   And there are a lot of people who have NO income right now, and no savings to fall back on.

At least we have some savings, and Mike is working right now, and we have already put away the funds we will need for retirement, so we just need to earn enough money to pay our living expenses (and the “extra” that I need for all the trips I want to take).

So, on Monday I put on my big girl panties (as my mom and sisters would say), pulled myself up by my bootstraps, and started looking for a job.

I got a haircut.  I got out my interview suits and tried them on, and they FIT again thanks to my vegan lifestyle!  I polished up my shoes and my resume.  I set up Google alerts for jobs in my town, and nearby.  I started networking.

I’m in the swing of the job hunt now.

This doesn’t mean I’m totally folding up my business (which, if you don’t already know about it, you can read about at my Webajeb blog) – no, I will continue to design products, and do some custom-designed layouts and albums but, because business is so slow and my employer (me) doesn’t offer health insurance coverage, and the premiums for our individual policies will be going up yet again, and I want to have money to travel, I have joined the huge throng of job-hunters, also known as The Great Unwashed.

But, man, it’s tough out there!

I attended a job fair, the Solano County HirEvent, in Suisun City on Tuesday.  It was PACKED with job-hunters but with fewer than a dozen companies and probably only the same number of actual open positions.  That’s scary.  Channel 7 News was there and I watched as the news reporter spoke into the camera, reporting that the jobless rate in Solano County is 11.9 percent.  Yikes.

I’ve got a tough road ahead of me.  Wish me luck!