Notes on unemployment- the ups and the downs

Ordinarily unemployment, at least for me has been more enjoyable than this time round. I would almost be unemployed out of choice, and if it wasn't by choice, it was mildy enjoyable ( I had time to do enjoyable things) and it was temporary.

Zoom forward to 2009. After hearing about rising unemployment, everyday, when I was out in Portugal, I thought I'd never experience it. Tefl would keep me employed, or so I thought.

I guess I'm in quite a dark place at the moment. I'm sitting here trying to figure out how I got here. Sometimes it is hard to work out these things, but I'll give it a go.

After leaving my job, I came home. Financially a decent step, but not in any other way.
Crammed into a study, with a mattress and half a metre's space, living with family and arguments, quizzed on everything and generally annoyed- it wasn't a good start.

Adding to this a breaking up of 6 and a half year relationship and alienation from all of my friends (the consequences in breaking circles of 'leaving' them- going to Portugal) and no place to train. With no money, a serious lack of friends, no girl and the small things that annoy me at home- welcome to my current situation.

The up is I should get some money in in the next few days. The down? An anger I haven't felt before. Application form after application form, cv sent, cv re-worked, cv sent, ignored, too many apologies from underqualfied over-polite annoying recruitment agents.

Days filled up with the habit- online poker.
Joint problems.

So. How to get a u-turn? I'm going to list some bad habits and work round them.

- Over reliance on one or two friends
- Over reliance on one friends car
- Too much online poker
- Too much time online
- Too little reading

Ways to improve

- set a deadline- to leave the country or do something equally dramatic
- final reworkings of the effing cv
- get up earlier
- max. 30 mins of poker a day
- do something creative
- be kinder to people in a vain attempt to feel better about the shitness that is my life.
- rest more, stress less.

in reference to: BBC Weather | Birmingham (view on Google Sidewiki)