The last time I was unemployed, I was seventeen, and my family was living in the basement/RV of a church friend.
I've worked since I was fifteen, usually nearly full-time, and usually with school or another job as well. It's hard to look ahead and see nothing but staying home. The job I had didn't lend itself to being able to get out and have a social life; overtime was basically required at the drop of a hat. Even besides that, I'm in an area where alcohol is the accepted method of hanging out and meeting people socially, and if you don't drink, well... Why not?
It's not really that I'm absolutely against drinking. In moderation (as with most everything else) drinking is fine. But I don't enjoy most bars, and I prefer not to put myself into situations where I could be harmed. So I don't go to bars alone, and I don't meet people/make friends because I don't go to bars. It's a sad little cycle.
So suddenly, I'm alone, and I don't even have a network of friends that can be here physically. It's a hard thing to realize. The temptation to just pick up everything and use my last paycheck to move out to someplace closer to friends is there, even though I know that would not be a good idea. In fact, I suspect it would be something of a Jonah move, dashing off to Tarshish when the Lord wants me to stay right here in Nineveh.
Today was the first meeting of the Bible Study for the Deaf. I haven't signed in years, but it was amazing how quickly it all came back to me. Not that it was easy, but I was picking up a lot more than I thought I would. And I suddenly remembered why I love this language so very very much. Obviously, if I want to continue, I am going to have to pull out my old textbooks and videos and do some practicing. But that's okay. I can do that, and the people there were so kind and so understanding. I really feel that going to this on a weekly basis is a way to, at the least break up Mondays into something more manageable, and quite possibly a way to make friends and really get better in this language.
In other news, I was able to get in touch with unemployment, and began that process. Of course, I wasn't simply 'laid off,' I was in fact 'fired.' So now, I have to go through the adjudication process to convince the state to give me unemployment compensation. Amazingly, though, if everything goes my way, I'll be making only about $100 less than I would have been anyway, and I can pick up a part-time job to cover that shortfall. Of course, there's a lot more to it than that, I'm sure, and a packet is coming in the mail soon to explain everything I need to know. But it's not nearly as big and scary as I thought it would be.
Unfortunately, I can't apply for free health insurance until my current health insurance expires at the end of the month. Something to put on my calendar's to-do list. As far as jobs go, it seems the local hospitals are hiring for janitors, secretaries, and food service. It's not a cushy office job, but I bet I'd get some benefits, I could go back to college (flexible hours means they'd let me work hours around my classes), and sadly, it'd probably pay as well as I was making before. Which tells you what I was making before.
I've gotten a lot done today.
But there's so much more left to be done.
I've worked since I was fifteen, usually nearly full-time, and usually with school or another job as well. It's hard to look ahead and see nothing but staying home. The job I had didn't lend itself to being able to get out and have a social life; overtime was basically required at the drop of a hat. Even besides that, I'm in an area where alcohol is the accepted method of hanging out and meeting people socially, and if you don't drink, well... Why not?
It's not really that I'm absolutely against drinking. In moderation (as with most everything else) drinking is fine. But I don't enjoy most bars, and I prefer not to put myself into situations where I could be harmed. So I don't go to bars alone, and I don't meet people/make friends because I don't go to bars. It's a sad little cycle.
So suddenly, I'm alone, and I don't even have a network of friends that can be here physically. It's a hard thing to realize. The temptation to just pick up everything and use my last paycheck to move out to someplace closer to friends is there, even though I know that would not be a good idea. In fact, I suspect it would be something of a Jonah move, dashing off to Tarshish when the Lord wants me to stay right here in Nineveh.
Today was the first meeting of the Bible Study for the Deaf. I haven't signed in years, but it was amazing how quickly it all came back to me. Not that it was easy, but I was picking up a lot more than I thought I would. And I suddenly remembered why I love this language so very very much. Obviously, if I want to continue, I am going to have to pull out my old textbooks and videos and do some practicing. But that's okay. I can do that, and the people there were so kind and so understanding. I really feel that going to this on a weekly basis is a way to, at the least break up Mondays into something more manageable, and quite possibly a way to make friends and really get better in this language.
In other news, I was able to get in touch with unemployment, and began that process. Of course, I wasn't simply 'laid off,' I was in fact 'fired.' So now, I have to go through the adjudication process to convince the state to give me unemployment compensation. Amazingly, though, if everything goes my way, I'll be making only about $100 less than I would have been anyway, and I can pick up a part-time job to cover that shortfall. Of course, there's a lot more to it than that, I'm sure, and a packet is coming in the mail soon to explain everything I need to know. But it's not nearly as big and scary as I thought it would be.
Unfortunately, I can't apply for free health insurance until my current health insurance expires at the end of the month. Something to put on my calendar's to-do list. As far as jobs go, it seems the local hospitals are hiring for janitors, secretaries, and food service. It's not a cushy office job, but I bet I'd get some benefits, I could go back to college (flexible hours means they'd let me work hours around my classes), and sadly, it'd probably pay as well as I was making before. Which tells you what I was making before.
I've gotten a lot done today.
But there's so much more left to be done.
"In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and You listened to my cry." Jonah 2:2
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