The new place to be.
When I sent out my first résumé, I got very excited. I sent it to someone I knew, and the company seemed like a great wagon to hitch my star to. My hopes shot up like a rocket, and simultaneously a voice in my head said, "Don't get your hopes up too high." The roller coaster giveth, and it taketh away. Sigh.
I told somebody on Wednesday that there was a level-headed sensible place to get to, and that I could see it but I wasn't there yet. I believe there is a mental state of "being unemployed" that says: I hope each résumé gets me a job, but it's okay if it doesn't. I think there is a central place where I can live, a place where the roller coaster climbs and dips aren't so steep. Sure, that's a lousy roller coaster ride, like a kiddie ride, but that's better for my ongoing mental health.
In addition to the highs and lows of hopes and despair, there's the adjusting to a different daily schedule. There's nobody here to talk to... if I talk to myself a little, am I keeping a foot in the working world or just going nuts? How do you pace your day when you don't have a worklike schedule? Is it okay to play a game or watch a movie?
I'm still working on the mix, but I'm spending a few hours every day searching, and a few hours a day doing something for me. Maybe I could be working harder, but I need some "mental comfort food" now. Especially since my doctor says my cholesterol has to come down a bit, and for Christ's sake, what kind of comfort food can I eat now?
6 comments:
Definitely take some time for yourself each day. Movies and games are fine - maybe part of a reward system, i.e. do the work first then allow yourself to play?
Yes, absolutely. Seems to make my value system work better somehow. LWC joked that my new "job" (finding a new job) started Monday. I've been working hard on that ever since, but what a weird new job it is. :)
You're already ahead of me; it took me over three weeks, I think, to even get a resume in some semblance of readiness to send out. Part of it was the fact that I hadn't needed a resume in 20 years. Part of it was denial.
And the lack of a "work schedule" is tough. (Especially when you don't have someone around to kick you in the butt to get you going.) I've watched a lot of TV and a lot of DVDs, I've read a lot, and I've done a fair amount of work on my yard. None of which is helping me find a job. But I frankly think the notion that "finding a new job has to be your full-time job" is unrealistic. Take time for yourself.
BTW, the grieving process is supposed to go Denial - Anger - Depression - Acceptance. I think I went straight from Denial into Depression, and am just now getting around to the Anger part. And that seemed to be triggered by the second round of layoffs last week.
Ha! I went through such turmoil last year, I don't have any denial, depression, or anger left to give! Certainly not for a business (i.e. non-personal) matter.
Be sure to call me out if I'm being an insufferable optimist, but none of this year's lay-offs were personal AFAIK - so don't anybody be thinking they're worthless. We all just need to find our niche again, and we will.
Here's another dietary conundrum. The note from my doctor says, "Cholesterol 200, goal would be under 200. Try to decrease fat in diet." So now I'm reading nutrition labeling. I pick up a bag of salted cashews, and it has 20 mg of fat but 0 cholesterol. How do I follow my doctor's orders with those stats? Obviously fat does not equal cholesterol.
Salted cashews are so tasty - as are the dry roasted ones - that they are exempt from doctor's meddling. Eat them!
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