busyLast time I was unemployed, vicious ship wars were raging through Buffy fandom as well. The only good thing this time around? No one is taking random pot-shots at Xander, and for once he appears to be speaking for most of fandom (as opposed to Just Me) to boot.
Yesterday I went back to the ol' office. I signed papers, packed up my desk, grabbed home phone numbers of some people off the company directory, and said goodbye to everyone.
One small hiccup: I accidentally grabbed a company style book thinking it was one I had bought (AMA Manual of Style). I get home and it turns out that I never brought my copy into the office. Whoops!
I also forgot to ask about my 401(K). Double-whoops! I have to call HR today to set up an appointment to return the book and ask about 401(K) stuff.
And can I just say: I managed to stuff a lot of crap in my cube over the past 6+ years at the company. Right now my car looks like it belongs to a homeless person, because I have no idea where I'm going to put all the boxes at the moment.
In any case, I got a little misty-eyed once or twice through the process, but I was otherwise OK.
That is until I got to the YMCA. What is it about the kindness of strangers that will cause you to break down in a hail of tears and snot? (And I mean hail, people. The poor guy was practically ducking as I turned into a anime cartoon of a Wheepy Wail-y in his office.)
THANK YOU to everyone who recommended that I tell the Y of my predicament. The immediately stopped payments and filled out the paperwork to halt pinging my account for at least 30 days. I just have to fill out an eensy "change of circumstances" form, and I'll either continue with free membership or will pay a token amount after the 30 days are up.
If nothing else, I'm going to get a lot of exercise this summer between the YMCA, kayaking, and the housing complex pool. I figure: Y in the morning, a quick dip in the pool at lunch, and kayaking at 4:30-ish. Of course, I'll have to start getting up earlier (like at least 7 a.m.) to accomplish everything I need to (My goal: get at least 2 well-crafted resumes out a day, and grab freelance work when and where possible.)
I also hooked up with my (now) former co-worker who was also laid off yesterday. Luckily she's a member of the American Medical Writers Association and has offered to guest me into a networking event at the end of the month. Hooray! We're meeting for lunch next week to moan about our predicament.
Today, I have to head up to the Department of Labor and Training to open my unemployment file, work on my resume, and (hopefully) get a counselor there to give it the once- or twice-over. Then it's to Staples to pick up some decent grade printing paper, order business cards, and some other minor items to help with the job search. This weekend I have to pick up some interview clothes (maybe two skirts and a couple of blouses), since I really don't have anything decent to wear.
Tomorrow I will respond to everyone by email and be hanging on every word from C-Span. The Senate is supposed to vote tomorrow on the 30-day extension on the current jobless provisions, which includes the feds paying for 65% of COBRA benefits for people laid off after April 5. Considering that without it my COBRA would be $500, and with it I get to keep my insurance and pay less than what I would via Mass HealthConnect, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Anyway, I'm off! Thanks again to everyone for your support. I will respond, but I'm still in the weird space where I've got a million things to do, and they all have to be done by Friday.
