Welcome, Fall... Where I'm at in my life

The past year (almost, actually - it's been nearly 11 months since I was laid off) has been a slew of emotions for me, obviously. As I pointed out in an earlier post, the plight of the unemployed is never easy to gauge. I've run the gamut from enthusiasm to depression, and I'm still not sure where I'm going to end up.

More than anything, the past year has been educational and illuminating. I've learned quite a bit about myself and the job search process.

I've learned that I'm an outstanding grocery shopper -- routinely, I'm able to 'save' more than I spend at the store. In fact, I almost consider it my personal challenge at each store. As some know, my wife's overtime was cut the same day I was laid off, and -- even with that significant decrease in income -- we were able to not accumulate debt and, in fact, paid off any existing debt (although, frankly, that ship has sailed now).

I really haven't felt like we've need to do without a lot -- we eat, we have shelter, we have our health. We cut back our spending considerably, and, although we probably would return to the old ways somewhat, I never see us extending ourselves the way we were again. I focused more on friendships and games, and doing things that bring me joy without requiring a whole lot of spending.

I've experienced unprecedented apathy on the part of hiring companies. I completely understand companies not contacting each applicant; but, in my opinion, once the person is called for an interview, the company should eventually let the candidate know. More recently, the newest phenomenon has been for companies to not even *reply* to emails/inquiries about my status. Even more astonishing, people that send me an email, asking me to schedule a follow-up interview; and then never reply to my emails!

It's a far different time now than when I used to go on interviews and knew I would be hired, quickly. There's just a lot of people out of work now.

I've often said that my skills are transferable to any industry, any company; and that I don't even necessarily have companies that I'd like to work for -- and, while that's still largely true, there are certainly some companies I'd love to work for, I think.

• Amtrak
• Long Island Rail Road (I *love* trains)
• Elias Sports Bureau
• Anything to do with high school sports

While some of those are unrealistic -- the salaries would be dwarfed by my unemployment claims each week -- it is nice to see that I'm identifying some interests (although, I would easily be equally devoted to any company that hired me!).

And each passing day, what I once saw as a potential now becomes more of an inevitable. The likelihood of us having to put our house up for sale looms ever larger. The prospect of relocating to another area is more realistic every day. And yet, I still stay upbeat. I still stay optimistic. I fully realize that it just takes ONE phone call; ONE lead from my network of friends and colleagues.

I walked outside this evening -- I absolutely love this weather; a brisk, windy, drizzly evening, more reminiscent of late October than late August -- and I realized, even as bad as things get, I still have my health. I still have my wife. I still have my family.

I'm going to be okay.