The Unemployment Blues

Well, readers, unless there is some miracle afoot, it looks like there will be a close to my present employment in the middle of September.

This news is bittersweet. I have loved the substance of my work. While I have been considering grad school for some time, I had always imagined I would leave my program stable and effective (which it may be... other than that it has no money), and work part time while I finished school. While I wish this were a happier parting, I have to acknowledge the tremendous progress made and that sometimes we are not afforded fairy tale endings.

However, I am looking forward to some things about being temporarily unemployed. An abbreviated list follows:

1) Getting to use the phrase "funemployment". I've always been jealous.

2) Studying for GRE's. Though I have always thought standardized testing to be fundementally and inexcusably ridiculous, I can't avoid taking them. And I may as well be prepared, right?

3) Being a better friend. Evening meetings, late night phone calls, and speaking engagements have too often taken me from loving my friends the way I should. My apologies overflow for birthdays and graduations missed, for parties unattended, and for cancelled dates. I have sucked the past two years.

4) Practicing yoga. Like actually going to the studio and living it up the way I used to do so easily. The studio I love has a work trade agreement, so it makes it a lot easier to go even while poor. Money saved- yoga earned!

5) Working on a farm! A local farm with a CSA lets volunteer harvesters pick out some veggies to take home. So excited to welcome excess zucchini into my home late this season. Money saved- veggies earned!

6) Remodeling my house. While awesome in most ways, admittedly, the beast needs a new kitchen pretty much right away, and some significant other work to update it to post 1985's standards. It will be nice to not have to squeeze that in.

7) Doing it myself, primarily. Admittedly, I make almost everything I can from scratch, and craft with a lot of repurposing, but it will be amazing to never have to use the excuse "I have no time for that, let's just buy it" or "let's just go out to eat. I'm even looking fwd to having dinner on the table when Mark comes home a few times, just for novelty's sake.

8) Being my own schedule maker. There's nothing quite like doing things because I feel inspired.

9) Reading books. I already do quite a bit of reading, but it will be amazing to read for fun, cuddled up, with some tea, for a whole afternoon. Oh I can smell the chamomile now!.

10) Volunteering. While some may consider my current rate of pay basically volunteering, I am looking forward to, after a month or so of recovery time, actually choosing a volunteer activity and going for it. I'm thinking something with kids, maybe. Hrm....


So there you have it. My list of silver lining. Join me in my funemployment journey.