As part of yesterday’s Big Blog Swap, I wrote a guest post for Amanda’s blog. Here’s what I wrote.
9:56 a.m. — Wake up.
At first, the prospect of waking up whenever I felt like it, making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches whenever I feel like it and taking a shower whenever I feel like it seemed like absolute freedom. By the third week, this schedule revealed its true nature: absolute tedium.
11:03 a.m. — Roll onto floor from bed.
My anxiety isn’t even financial in origin. Because I, bachelor, didn’t spend a dime that I didn’t have to all last year, I have enough saved up to coast until well past Labor Day. Past that, if need be.
11:04 a.m. — Turn off alarm.
Once I’m awake, I remember how much I hate coasting.
11:32 a.m. — Stumble toward Internet. Eat instant oatmeal. Make sandwiches as needed; play Guitar Hero as desired.
Really, I can’t even call it coasting. I’ve been interviewing when possible and dropping off resumes when not — it just feels like coasting, in part because I still haven’t the slightest lead for a job. Journalism around where I live has exactly zero positions available, and substitute teaching won’t warm up until school starts again.
4:23 p.m. — Shower.
That means six more weeks of joblessness; six more weeks of Deep Space Nine reruns; six more weeks of migrained boredom. I need to do something.
4:52 p.m. — Apply online to big box retail and national chains. Touch up resume or work on cover letters, if needed. Repeat until tired.
I find something to do.
4:53 p.m. — I’m tired; I keep up the job hunt.
Even though I exhausted all my leads yesterday, I try to come up with new ideas. For me, idly looking for a summer job is better than futzing around on a feed reader, or on the blog, or on the forums, or playing Tetris, or organizing my iTunes.
7:09 p.m. — Exhaust all leads. Go back to Guitar Hero.
I’d give up the chance to get five stars on Through the Fire and Flames if it meant I would have something more substantial to do. However idyllic doing nothing might seem to the guy from Office Space, I can report, firsthand, that it isn’t all that he cracks it up to be.
11:02 p.m. — Go to bed.
Doing nothing is, at first, an instant high, but really it’s just empty calories for the brain — I feel my brain atrophy already. I grow restless.
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Pingback on Jul 18th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
[...] For now, this nothing period is over. I’m back in the blogging game, and plan to have something to say every day. If nothing else, blog should help me keep my wits about me, and to stop my early onset feeblemindedness. [...]
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Pingback on Sep 11th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
[...] spend most of the rest of my time with my laptop. I’d spend whatever was left as another bored [...]
July 1, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Well About.com just released there top 10 job boards list today –
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/joblistings/tp/jobbanks.htm
We should all study this intently in the coming weeks and months!
July 1, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Indeed.
July 1, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I feel your pain. And I posted about it today too. We share a brain. MWA HAHAHA.
http://samjshah.com/2008/07/01/summer-yawn/
July 1, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Man I can relate to that schedule in so many ways. Thus damnINeedAJob.com was born. It rose out of pure frustration. Maybe you and your readers will get a kick out of it or find inspiration.
http://www.damnIneedaJob.com
Larry
July 1, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Hm. Library? Exercise? Letter writing?
July 2, 2008 at 10:53 am
Ms. Shah: You lyricist, you.
Ms. Sidhe: I’ve never been to a library around here, come to think of it. I’m not one for exercise, and letter writing requires someone to send letters to. Although — I do have my Uncle Russ.
An hour later, I’m back at square one.
July 10, 2008 at 4:56 am
Maybe Uncle Russ knows of something? lol
~Larry
July 10, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Somehow, I doubt it.
May 1, 2009 at 4:19 am
The only thing that sucks about unemployment is that you have to scramble for money. Once you figure out how to get money without having a job, it’s smooth sailing.
Applying for jobs online is a total waste of time.