Day 1

Welcome! I got fired yesterday. I’d like to say I was laid off because of the economy but that would be misleading (although I'm sure it's related). I don’t need to get into it too deeply because this blog is about moving forward, not looking back, but without sounding bitter or anything, my boss was fucking insane. I had been there for just short of five months, but I was still asking questions about our 70+ programs and she had had enough. (The HR guy summarized it best: “The learning curve that was expected of you was more than you were able to achieve.”) I enjoyed the place and the job, but my boss was giving me heart palpitations from my first day, so maybe it’s for the best? Eh…

So, today I begin charting my experience finding a job in New York City. I have a bachelor of science from a major, well-known university. I have nearly 10 years of professional experience in New York, the last three years spent as a grant writer. Partially the purpose of this journal is to keep those writing chops active, to exercise the muscle as it were.

The day is off to an inauspicious start. I don’t necessarily intend to start applying for jobs straight away. My resume isn’t even updated yet. I need to figure out what I want to do for real this time. I sort of fell backwards into non-profit development because of my experience in the np industry and because some friend of mine said I would be pretty good at it. Now that I’m out altogether I’d really like to take the time to decide what I’d like to do.

Looking on the bright side, the extra free time will give me a chance to take care of some things that I never seem to find the time to do:

• read a book
  
• catch up on my drinking
  
• reach expert on Guitar Hero
  
• write the great American novel
  
• get a dental check-up (before the insurance runs out)
  
• learn how to write iPhone aps
  
• tweak my lottery number selection system
  
• look into grad school
  
• actively manage my fantasy baseball team
  
• go to the gym for the first time in months
  
• figure out what I should have said when they fired me (stay tuned)
  
• start a new blog (check!)
  
• catch up with old friends
  
• send letters to my elected representatives
  
• learn about The Face Book
  
• check out Citi Field
  
• get the recommended 11 hours of sleep per night

As far as the day goes, I tried to file for unemployment, but they told me I had to wait until next week because I made more in two days than they were prepared to give me for the whole week. Seeing as how I used to spend my whole salary each month, that doesn’t bode well for my financial future. I contacted my former HR guy to see about my final check and vacation pay (39 hours – better than nothing). I watched “In the Papers” on NY1 and drank coffee to give me a sense of normalcy. Now, I’m writing this and figuring out what to do next.

I hope you choose to join me on this journey. I’ll try to post at least once a day and I’ll try to keep in entertaining. Maybe sometimes it’ll be about me; maybe sometimes about the economy; maybe sometimes a bitchfest about the government (you can’t teach an old dog new tricks). We’ll see where this leads together.