Unemployment Update

So, if my last unemployment-related post was 1.5, we're probably at month 2.5 now. Calendar? Oh, I don't know that I need to be so specific. Dear Husband, however, can probably rattle off the time he's been on unemployment to the minute. Sigh.

Good news: he did go on an inteview this week, and seems to feel that it went well. And when he was first laid off, many people relayed stories of finding new jobs that paid more and were closer to home. There's not much chance of finding a closer work location for DH, but I was kind of hoping for something on our side of the river. However, A Job Across The River is better than The Red Tape of Unemployment, so we'll see.

That's the update from his side. I'm off to research passport applications, as my next customer account may take me across the northern border. Take off, 'eh!

The Trophy on My Table

The grade school cross-country season is winding down. We've managed through it pretty well, all things considered. Missed some races because of weather (and an attempt not to get the munchkins sick), and some because of schedule (traveling Mom, too much homework, etc.), but overall, the experience has been pretty positive.

The season began with half-mile races, and our team has some pretty strong runners. The races this month have been 1.1 miles, which is a big jump. But, the girls are sticking with it and doing well.

We actually earned enough team points to place first in a couple of the early races, which means the team gets a trophy. Coach says, when the team wins a trophy, each member of the team gets to take the trophy home for a night. Our turn came around today. And, since both girls are on the team, we have the trophy for two nights!

So, the trophy is on our table. We'll take some pictures with it (depending on how long it takes to get homework and showers done), and let the girls keep it in their room for a night each, and then take it to school on Wednesday to pass along to the next girl. A small share in a large victory!

Unemployment, Month 1.5ish

Well, today is Interview Day. The job is with the government office of a neighboring county, and I'm not sure that it will pay very well - it may be something part-time. However, DH is bound and determined to get off unemployment (more for the hassle of the program than any financial or other reason). We do have a lead on some online training that he seems to be interested in, and says if this government job comes through, he'll dedicate some serious time to the online classes and the certifications he'd need for another job.

Meanwhile, I'm falling off the spending freeze wagon. We are in the second quarter of the school year, which means the kids can wear uniform pants to school. I got the box of uniform clothes out of the closet, and didn't have any pants for my oldest daughter! Not sure how that happened! She made it through the prior two weeks with last year's pants (a little short...), and since I didn't find any pants on the clearance racks in the local stores, I went ahead and ordered a few pair online. ooh, that online shopping...sooooo easy....must stay away!!

Unemployment, month 1

Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that the financial belt tightening is going well. Pat's picking the kids up right after school, which means we don't have to pay for aftercare, and we have a little more time for homework and projects. Or cross country practice! I've also stayed away from Target (not getting the Sunday paper and all its ads helps, too!), and no one's short on clothes or shampoo. We did have a TP crisis last week while I was out of town, but we got through it.

Other good news: Pat did some research on the mortgage, and talked to the bank - we qualify for an emergency refinance program that doesn't require requalifying or reappraisal of the house. We'll have to pay a penalty on the amount in our home equity loan, which put me in freak out mode, until we got the dollar amount from the bank. Ended up not being to terrible - and certainly easier to manage than paying off the HEL in a lump sum. Sigh.

The bad news: Pat is having to attend meetings at the state unemployment office. Ooh, he's not a happy guy. The busy work and time sink is frustrating for him. In addition, the advice they're handing out is garbage - the counselor last week advised the group to apply at some of the areas larger employers, including the company that just laid Pat off! Clue-less!

So, Pat's even more motivated to get off the unemployment and back to a real job. My suspicion is that the 4th quarter hiring freeze has come early - businesses are not yet ready to "buy into the hype" that the recession is over. It may be lessening, but no one wants to risk it just yet.

So, we'll be continuing to buckle down for the long haul. I'd better stock up on TP. ;-)

It's Freezing In Here!

Well, we're on Week 2 here in Layoff Land. DH is still hitting the job sites and sending out resumes like crazy. No interviews as of yet. We should receive his first of two severance checks this week.

This impromptu diversion has meant a change in our spending habits. Right now, it's all about cutting out the little things: game and movie subscriptions, dinners and lunches out. We're also doing menu planning, eating from the freezer stash, shopping from a list. (And making excellent use of my new slow cooker!) I have found myself on somewhat of a spending freeze - keeping purchases to The Essentials, and staying away from Target. I can always find something to buy in Target, if not for me, then for the girls...

Now, I'm not sure how truly frozen my spending is - I still allow for a lunch or two out, McDonald's for the girls, and dinner with the grown ups. But, I feel like we're spending carefully, and keeping things in check. A little tightening of the belt, and hopefully, we'll come out of this quickly and only slightly scarred.

Coincidentally...

Oh, my, it's been a long time. I guess you can blame it on Facebook. Or just Life in General. ;-)

Today, I'm wondering about coincidences. The last few days have had some odd happenings that seem to be happening in an odd order.

Exhibit A: Friday. There are not normally a lot of people in my office, but Friday, vacations aligned and I was the only one there. I was pretty nose-to-the-grindstone until after lunch, then I got fidgety and decided to pack it in and head for home. As I left, I waited in the hall and watched the door to our suite close all the way. That's not part of my normal routine, but I remember waiting and watching the door.

This morning, the security guard from upstairs tells me that the cleaning people couldn't lock our office door Friday evening. They told the management company, who came in on Saturday and replaced the lock.

So, what made me pay attention to the door closing Friday night? General creeped-out-ed-ness at being the only one in the office? Extra feelings of responsibility? A keen interest in the half-full candy bowl?

Exhibit B: Saturday. Nice weekend, squirrely kids, we end up doing some painting projects in the garage. In order to have space for said painting projects, I need to back my car out into the driveway. Where it has remained until today, because the painting projects are in various stages of done-ness.

Exhibit B, Part 2: Monday. Work day. Crazy work day, I might add. And I've got enough to keep me busy for a few weeks, so I brought my work computer home, intending to play catch up this evening.

This evening, there's a large crack sound in the garage. Turns out, the spring on the door has broken. Ooh, not good. Pat tries to lift the garage door - can't. Ooh, really not good. But, again, in the whole "lucky coincidence" department, my car is parked in the driveway, and I have my work computer at home, so Pat can use my car while I work from home and wait for the people to come fix the garage door.

Did I know something in bringing my work computer home this evening? What about the car in the driveway? Does that have some special meaning? Or is it all just a series of lucky breaks? Yeah, lucky breaks. And not the bone kind!

Was That _My_ WalMart?

I'm home today, trying to reach a delicate balance in my packing. Enough stuff, but not too much. Fewer suitcases, but not too heavy. One of my secrets - vacuum bags! (Not the kind that go in your vacuum cleaner, but the kind that you seal and press out the air.)

I've used these for my work trips for several years. Especially in the days of carry-ons and inspections by hand, I liked having my dirty clothes somewhat contained. When my hair product packaging prevented me from carrying on my suitcase, I continued to use the vacuum bags, to better use the available space in my suitcase. Yes, things come out wrinkled, but part of my first-night-in-the-hotel ritual is to iron everything for the trip, so it works out.

So, in this week's pack-stravaganza, I ran out of vacuum bags. Not sure how that happened, as I've had occasion to pack for the whole family for a week-long trip before. But, I've also slept since then, so there's no telling if I bagged things differently, or found a new place to stash my bags (and then forgot about it). I also have one bag with a tear along the seam, so I justified it was time for some new bags. I've taken the day off from work, so I figured I could shop after I dropped the kids off at school.

Ok, it's confession time: I'm not a WalMart shopper. The cluttered aisles, the sheer volume of things available at the store, the nutty parking lot arrangement; I just don't like it. However, there are things I like to buy at WalMart: kids hangers, some crafty stuff, etc. I've discovered the only time I can tolerate WalMart is first thing in the morning, when no one's there. (And yes, it's a 24-hour store, but there's usually no one there until after 10 am.) So, on this morning, I stopped by WalMart in search of my vacuum bags.

I walked into the store and sensed something was up. There were more bodies in the store, but they were employees, or maybe even Managment or Corporate Management. The regular employees were very heads-down, getting their stuff done, but watching this cluster of men in button-down shirts out of the corners of their eyes. I rounded the corner toward the pharmacy section, and discovered a clean, wide expanse of linoleum...all the in-aisle displays were gone. Hey! Maybe these guys in the shirts should come by more often! But, I sensed flux, not total change. Sure, the aisles were clear, but I know WalMart...this is not a permanent change. The clutter will be back, urging me to pick up the value pack of two deodorants or hand lotion.

I tracked down my vacuum bags and browsed the store, looking for other items on my list. Sure enough, there were several wide open spaces around the store - all the aisles, but within some of the merchandise areas as well. Interesting...

(While I was checking out, the "remodel team" was paged over the intercom, which suggests to me that the clean aisles were truly temporary - just for the convenience of the remodel team.) Sigh.

Turns out, the vacuum bags I bought are too big. So, I'll be touring WalMart again this afternoon. I'd report on what has changed since this morning, but, as I'm not totally memorized the floor layout, I'm not sure I'll notice!