Unemployment Sucks
May. 11th, 2015 12:54 pmSince I've been gone from LJ so long, there is much to update. Earlier we caught up on four-legged additions to my household. I can also update that Aimes, the dog I transported a couple weeks ago, was adopted just days after arriving in Baltimore; I did another run to Hagerstown last weekend, moving a Brittany Spaniel named Ash (who likes Mountain Dew) and a puppy of unknown origin, possibly mastiff or Rhodesian Ridgeback, named Coop (he snores). Coop has also been adopted already. I'd love to take Ash but I think CJ would go on strike if I got another critter.
One of the big changes that has really sucked: in December, I finally lost my job. It seemed like there might be layoffs at many points the last few years, but in December, the boss decided to just plain close up shop entirely. He started by sending me on my way (and telling me how I could use the office equipment to help in my job search while conveniently failing to mention there wouldn't be an office in a couple weeks) and promising me a severance check, so I didn't commence my job search right away since I wouldn't be eligible for unemployment until after the severance. If you guessed that he never gave me the severance, you're right. Cost me two weeks of unemployment benefits, which are meager enough. Ten days of I got the boot, so did the office manager. The only other employee, the other attorney, quit the following week when she was told she had to answer the phones. Just brilliant all round. Merry Christmas to us.
As I had gotten myself certified as a veterinary assistant, I've been trying to find jobs at vet's offices and pet supply stores and other animal-related ventures. No dice, as it were. I've gotten few calls and no offers; not even nibbles from PetSmart or Petco, where I applied for cashier/stocking jobs. I have applied, less often, for secretarial and clerk positions, trying to avoid law offices, but I've had a whopping two calls for non-animal jobs, both law offices and both rejections. Unemployment has 3-4 weeks left. I'm already depressed; I suppose when the payments end, I'll end up delivering pizza. If I can get hired for that, which seems unlikely if I can't even get a cashier job. The only bright spots are that the car and the house were already paid for. Otherwise, this sucks.
One of the big changes that has really sucked: in December, I finally lost my job. It seemed like there might be layoffs at many points the last few years, but in December, the boss decided to just plain close up shop entirely. He started by sending me on my way (and telling me how I could use the office equipment to help in my job search while conveniently failing to mention there wouldn't be an office in a couple weeks) and promising me a severance check, so I didn't commence my job search right away since I wouldn't be eligible for unemployment until after the severance. If you guessed that he never gave me the severance, you're right. Cost me two weeks of unemployment benefits, which are meager enough. Ten days of I got the boot, so did the office manager. The only other employee, the other attorney, quit the following week when she was told she had to answer the phones. Just brilliant all round. Merry Christmas to us.
As I had gotten myself certified as a veterinary assistant, I've been trying to find jobs at vet's offices and pet supply stores and other animal-related ventures. No dice, as it were. I've gotten few calls and no offers; not even nibbles from PetSmart or Petco, where I applied for cashier/stocking jobs. I have applied, less often, for secretarial and clerk positions, trying to avoid law offices, but I've had a whopping two calls for non-animal jobs, both law offices and both rejections. Unemployment has 3-4 weeks left. I'm already depressed; I suppose when the payments end, I'll end up delivering pizza. If I can get hired for that, which seems unlikely if I can't even get a cashier job. The only bright spots are that the car and the house were already paid for. Otherwise, this sucks.