In the general theme of be careful what you wish for, two weeks ago I specifically said I didn’t want a life that required going into an office, wearing grown up clothes or a daily subway commute. In case you haven’t heard, as of 6pm yesterday, I’m unemployed. VIBE Magazine fought the good fight, but the fat lady sang and I have no good reason to shower on a daily basis.
No matter what my daily schedule says, I’m still Type A, so sitting around doing nothing is hard work for me. I’ve made a decision to put off actually looking for work until…Monday. That’s as close as I can get to being a slacker, I’m working on it. In the meantime, I started a list (I live for lists) yesterday and spent today crossing things off said list, cleaning up loose ends to make the no income part of my new life workable.
First, I took the morning to sleep in. Well, I tried, I really did, but by 8:15 I’d finished filing online for NYS unemployment, still in my pajamas, it was that easy.
Next, I grabbed the phone and dialed the Social Security office. A few years ago we’d had a misunderstanding. I’ve been paying that down at $150 a month for over ten years and there’s still a rather considerable chunk to go. I called prepared for a fight, red tape, a run-around and frustrating bureaucracy. But when I explained that my company had gone bankrupt, the voice on the phone said “Can you do $10/month ‘til you get back on your feet?”
I only carry debt on one credit card, Discover, the APR is already low, so I didn’t expect help there. I figured I’d just gotten lucky with Social Security, but it never hurts to ask, right? Again, I explained about the bankruptcy and found out I could freeze my card and its debt. I can’t use the card anymore, but I also don’t have to make any payments for two years, & no additional interest. I’m better off dealing only in cash anyway instead of being tempted to live off my cards in hope of winning one of those scratch off games.
The word bankruptcy is more powerful than the word unemployed. As in “My company went bankrupt yesterday” versus “I lost my job yesterday.” Same to me, different effect on the listener. Just a word to the wise…words have power.
I canceled my automatic IRA contributions & ASPCA charitable donations (I’ll be back puppies, I promise). I returned overdue library books and became aware of lights on in rooms I wasn’t in.
I canceled my very expensive therapist. I will simply have to stay crazy a little bit longer.
The alarm on my cell went off at 5:30, reminding me to begin to end my work day. If I didn’t have that reminder, I’d be in the office past my bedtime. I deleted my “time to leave the office” reminder. No office, no reminder needed.
That’s enough for day one. Tomorrow I’m taking the day “off” to hang with Big Edie and then the weekend to relax at the beach. Figuring out what my new life should look like can wait until Monday. Maybe even ‘til Tuesday…
My last day of work looked just like this:
you know, when i read the bit on vibe closing, i worried for you. you want i should toss someone out the window here at 2 park?
thanks bastard, but it’s all good. sometimes the universe does for you what yo can’t do for yourself. for me, this is just one more step in changing the way my life looks. not sure how it will end up, but it will have more animal time, more writing time, less cubicle and corporate time. I’ll see what the world has in store for me…after the holiday weekend.