overcoming the unemployment blues

i have been unemployed now for nearly five months and, unfortunately, i don't think this is going to change any time soon. i'm at the point where i'm contemplating making a list of other jobs i would like to do. and i mean jobs like DOG WALKER and SCOOPING ICE CREAM. thanks to the generous extensions offered by the federal government during the recession, my unemployment benefits aren't going to run out any time soon, so i can concentrate on finding full time work in my chosen profession, journalism, while basically sitting in coffee shops browsing through online job boards and talking myself into meetings with editors. however, my sense of self-worth really takes a beating when this is all i have to do with my life.

this morning, as with most mornings, i lay in bed thinking, what do i have to get up for today? weekends are still fun because i stop thinking about finding a job and there are lots of other people around to keep my mind off my employment deficiency. but during the week i try to fill up my days with things to keep me busy, even if its just dinner with a friend or a quick midday meeting. (i have written about this before)

my fellow unemployed friends agree that planning and finding things to keep you busy are the key to remaining sane while out of work. without a purpose you end up laying on the couch all day watching the ellen show and eating doritos. even if that purpose is a trip to the library, you automatically have a reason to get off your butt.

to that end, i try to do something different everyday. even after five months, i don't have a routine, and i don't get up early as if i were still employed, like some people do. there has to be some perks to being unemployed and sleeping in a little bit is one of them!

anyway, yesterday i set up my computer at my kitchen table in my apartment and worked from there. it was a nice change of pace! today, i'm sitting in a coffee shop right on prospect park, people watching on this beautiful, sunny spring day.

most of the time, like when i check my dwindling bank account, i severely dislike being without a job. but on days like today, when the sun in shining and the air smells like flowers and things growing, its hard to dislike anything.