Unemployment is a Team Sport

I'm unemployed.  

There.  I said it.  A few years ago, or even a few months ago that wasn't something you really wanted to admit in public, let alone on a place called the world wide web.  You might have said you were "between jobs" or "in search of a new opportunity."  But these days it's almost a bizarre badge of honor. 

Don't get me wrong.  It's not fun.  Not at all.  And that (fill in your company here) severance package will only last you so long.  But we are in this together.  Every day the list of my unemployed friends grows.  And no matter what kind of job we had, what kind of business we were in, we all have very similar stories.

We have all spent hours on end scouring the web for any job we are remotely qualified for, only to give up in extreme frustration and resort to Facebook IM chats with our brothers and sisters in unemployment.

We have all rushed to answer the phone, hoping it's that big call about that great job for more money than we were making.  And it turns out to be the cable company.

We have all yelled at our computers because something didn't work right on the Department of Labor's web site.  And then 5 minutes later, we are yelling at an automated voice on the phone.

We have all gone out waaaaaaaaay too late on a Monday night. Because really, there's no need to get up early on Tuesday anyway.

And we have all yelled at mom and dad to stop asking if we found a job yet.  Seriously.  Don't they think they'll be the first people you'll tell?  It hurts when they ask, but you can't tell them not to.  So instead, you don't call as much.

I keep telling my unemployed friends to keep their feet moving and something will happen.  I keep telling myself the same thing.  I'm sure you know someone who is unemployed.  Offer them any encouragement you can.  They may insist they don't want to hear it. But trust me, it helps.

I'm doing everything I can to NOT get frustrated.  I'm trying to savor every last minute of this paid vacation that I know will eventually come to an end. And eventually... this will all work itself out...