Just In The Nick Of Time!

In terms of work, things have been pretty slow lately. I was so busy during the period between Election Day and the beginning of March, that I had almost convinced myself I was once again part of the working class. Aside from my two freelance jobs, I had a writing project that I was working on at home when I wasn't working in DC. With the inauguration and some good fortune found in others calling in sick, I was working pretty steadily.

Then March hit. My writing project wrapped up. My freelance gigs started to peter out. Co-workers at one of my jobs told me they were not taking time off because they wanted to save their vacation to cash in as extra money in case they lost their own jobs. Things got really quiet.

I have managed to keep myself distracted from the quiet for the most part. We had tax returns to prepare, and we took a family vacation at the beginning of April. I focused on my blog - which has always provided a good way to pretend I'm actually working. But for the first time since last summer, I suddenly had nothing on my plate. No scheduled work to look forward to.

The gloom and doom feeling that I had been fending off finally began taking hold yesterday morning, and I'm sure the weather had something to do with it. With no place to go, and nothing to plan for, there's nothing like heavy rain and clouds to make someone want to say "screw it" and go back to bed. I was officially in a funk.

And then - the doorbell rang. A surprise box from UPS! The company that had hired me for my freelance writing project was sending along a thank you gift for my efforts. After more than a year on the beach, it was truly heart-warming to have my work acknowleged again.

An hour or so later, my cell phone rang for the first time in weeks. A company I had interviewed with more than a month ago about a freelance opportunity was finally getting back to me and asking me to fill out a background check form so they could put me to work. Things were finally starting to look up!

Then this morning, I checked my email and found a request from one of my existing freelance clients, asking if I could pick up a shift later this week. It's only one shift, but it's a start!

It doesn't take much these days to make me happy. I could certainly use the money, but it's really the feeling that I am serving a purpose - filling a need for someone - that really gets me going. As long as I have something in the hopper - something to look forward to doing - than it's easier to keep the gremlins away.

More Proof That I'm Ahead Of The Curve!

I've told you before, and I'm telling you again - when it comes to setting trends, you're looking at Mr. Trendsetter. My job was eliminated in March - and lookie lookee at the cover of today's Washington Post Magazine!

I haven't read the article yet, but I have no doubt the author got most of his material from Life On The Beach!

If only the newspaper biz was in better shape than the radio biz - I could call the Graham family and ask for a job!

I'm Too Cool For The Room - Jobless Is The New Black!

I lost my job on the last day of February, but guess what... Joblessness didn't hit a new 2.5 year high until March... Which means once again, John Matthews is ahead of the curve!

From Reuters(a possible, if unlikely, future employer of mine):

Employers cut payrolls for a third consecutive month in March and the jobless rate jumped to a 2-1/2 year high, adding more evidence that a housing downturn and credit crisis may have pushed the economy into recession.

It was the first time the U.S. economy shed jobs for three straight months since a five-month string in 2003, when the economy was mired in a jobless recovery from the 2001 recession.

Adding to the bleak picture, the department said a combined 152,000 jobs were lost in January and February, compared with a previous estimate of 85,000. The unemployment rate jumped to 5.1 percent from 4.8 percent, the highest since September 2005.

"There doesn't appear to be any silver lining. It shows that we're right in the middle of a recession," said Carl Lantz, U.S. interest rate strategist at Credit Suisse in New York. "Our expectation is that it will be a longer recession than the last two, and we're just in the beginning."

The White House said it was "not happy" with the jobs report, saying it expected growth to be flat in the first quarter, but pick up later in the year.

On a happier note, I spent some of my jobless time today replacing most of the old incandescent light bulbs in my house with those new model florescent jobs. I may be a bit late to the conversion, but we had tried "green" bulbs once before - buying up a schissel of them at IKEA about four years ago - and those earlier models just didn't shine bright enough for us. Today's models work just fine, though... and they save a ton of electricity. I wish I could tell you I am being a good earthling doing my part for Al Gore and the environment, but I'm not. I'm being cheap!