Unemployed

Hello, reader friends – it’s been a while.  Apologies for my absence.

So, the latest not-so-new news around here is that both DT and I are currently unemployed.  Ya.  Both.  Unemployed.

Both of our contracts ended last month, so we find ourselves in this rather unexpected, transitional, limbo-y place.  It’s the joy of being a contractor.  No matter how much you try to mentally reconcile that the job [probably] isn’t going to last forever, when you find out it’s ending, it’s like UGH.

We both really loved our jobs, our teams, our workplaces – I talked to a lot of people about this.  How there’s not only the panic and “Oh CRAP”-scramble element to losing a job, from a logistics and practicality (and $$) standpoint, but also a kind of grieving that takes place when you felt so invested in something that gets taken away.  Both of us would have stayed on for years if given the chance.

Well, anyway.  That is that and here we are.

Here’s what a typical day for us looks like [outside of something magical like an interview taking place]:

• Get up, make a pot of coffee
• Hole up in the basement with our laptops, DT on the chair/ottoman, me on the couch
• Look/apply for jobs all morning
• Go for a run
• Shower/likely put pajamas back on
• Or put real clothes on (“real clothes” lately means a fleece and yoga pants) and run errands
• Revisit job sites in the afternoon
• Catch up on the DVR (it’s still been crummy outside so we haven’t enjoyed the weather much)
• Oh look, it’s 5:00.  Where oh where has the day gone….

It’s such a strange place to be….DT and I have never, ever been home together this much, for this long.  Sooooooooo much time together.  It’s become kind of a joke (and a song, if we’re being honest), but sometimes I’m shocked we haven’t strangled each other yet.

The cats (and chickens), however, are LOVING that we are around 24/7.  Exhibit 1A at this very moment:  35 pounds of wheezing, comatose felines, curled up at my feet on the couch.  We no longer have to wonder what their days are like.  They’re filled with a whole lotta NOTHING.

Friends have asked if we’re getting a bunch of long-awaited projects done, house-related or otherwise.  Welllllll, no.  Not really.  That’s the funny thing.  We have all the time in the world, but the job hunt is all we can think about, all we can currently plan for – it’s like time just stands still, and we can’t move until we have this figured out.

In other words, the blue tape all over the house where we need to touch up paint (for the past three years) has yet to be addressed.

I have this fancy new camera to learn how to use but I haven’t picked it up once.  I will, but I need to be inspired and I’m just not right now.

I have several blog posts on my mind, but honestly haven’t felt any motivation to do much here with this other big thing to resolve.

We don’t really want to go anywhere, or do anything, because either would most likely require spending money and without any coming in, well….we’re trying to be prudent these days.  With the exception of a few lottery tickets, but you know.  I don’t think I need to explain the rationale there.

However.  I finally got that way-overdue oil change AND our coffee maker received a thorough cleaning with several cycles of vinegar.  See?  We can dig deep!

We’ve also made great strides on the hot sauce front.  If there’s something to be thankful for with this imposed hiatus, it’s given us solid time to navigate the impossibly tangled web of certifications, licenses, applications, and approvals required to start up a business like this.  Gah!  We’re inching closer and closer, though, and it’s been such a wonderful distraction.  Our little silver lining right now.

I kept bugging DT to make a list of “Things We’ll Do to Celebrate New Jobs” with me.  When we went to write down a few things, we just sort of sat there and scratched our heads.  Yes, we could rattle off some restaurants where we’d like to make a toast, or our default something-to-look-forward-to of planning a trip, but really all we hope for is a reason to celebrate.  A return to our version of normal in the foreseeable future.

It’s just such a roller coaster!  One minute everything feels promising and light, the next feels like a heavy dead end.

DT has had some great prospects pop up and we’re waiting to hear back (crossing fingers and ears and eyes and toes).  I have resumes out all over the place, also waiting to hear back.  So we’ll see.

It’ll all be okay!  We are okay.  Totally not trying to be mopey or whiny here.  DT and I are so lucky to have an immense network and support from our family and friends.  This is just a temporary glitch and we’ll be back on our feet soon.

Now, after all this babble….I hope this finds you well and gainfully employed. 🙂