10 Things About Funemployment in These Foolish Things

1. Yes, I pulled the final trigger on the rejection of the job at Cutie Pie Company via email yesterday. I know it should have been a total no-brainer, but the salary was decent, which gave me pause regardless of the other stuff that concerned me, and I hope I don’t get further down the line and super hungry after months of job hunting and wish I’d taken it. Still, I know in my heart I did the right thing. I didn’t really want that job…just yet. They also wanted me to start in two weeks and I’m not ready for that either.

2. The owner sent back an email that simply stated, “Good luck!” I really do hope that luck is on my side. And you’re supposed to turn down the first job offered, right? Right?!

3. Still, this break of no work has been nice. I could get used to this, but I don’t want to. I do like being a contributing member of society and I also love routine. I find myself sleeping in, which makes me feel uncomfortable and lazy and I’ve noticed that it makes me feel tired in the afternoons. I’m meant to be an early bird in order to stay motivated.

4. I have been letting myself have a “fun day” every week of unemployment. Two weeks ago was the girls’ trip, so of course, that was four days of fun, and last week I went back to my favorite flea market, mainly just to be out in the fresh air and walk with the dog. I don’t really have plans for a fun day this week because I need to buckle down a bit more and next week (beginning this weekend) I’ll have 4 more fun days since [Complicated Disaster] is coming to visit! Seems he worked his way into a couple of days off work while he’s here on a business trip in the US, so I told him he should come visit! And lo and behold, the dude called my bluff so he’s now going to be here starting Saturday evening, through Mother’s Day (gets to meet my crazy family!) and until Tuesday early evening! Isn’t that crazy?! I can’t tell you how many good friends I’ve made through these online journals, but every time I meet someone in person, I’m always kind of blown away. This will be no exception! Get ready for a dual-entry!

5. Oh! And I forgot to tell you about the Fun Day I took to take pics in the wildflowers. Every year in April, the local landscape becomes covered in wildflowers! They are so amazingly beautiful and there are giant fields located nearby that are 100% dedicated to these wildflowers. People come from all over the area to take photos of their families, their pets and themselves sitting amongst the wildflowers. So a couple weeks ago I took Martini on the hour drive to one of the best wildflower fields in the area. It was perfect because it was like a random Tuesday so the fields were not crowded with people at all, but the people I did run into were friendly and lovely! Every so often I’d stop to say hello to people who got near. And then Martini and I happened upon this man and his awesome Australian Shepherd puppy, so of course we had to stop and talk. Nice guy, if not slightly shady, but I didn’t think anything of it. At one point in our conversation, he pointed over to a heavily wooded area and told me that if I went over there I’d run into another hidden field that was super thick with flowers! So I got excited and thanked him and started to walk in that direction, thinking that’s where we were going to part ways. Turns out, dude wanted to go with me. And again, I really didn’t think anything of it…until…the thought crossed my mind: I’ve spent the last 3+ years trying desperately to keep myself ALIVE. Why, at this point, would I allow myself to wander off into the woods with a TOTAL STRANGER in the middle of nowhere, where there were not many people around?! What was I thinking? So, I slowly stopped walking and turned to the side and was like, “OH! I see another area over there where I want to take photos, so I’ll just let you go over to your hidden field and I’ll see you later!” Luckily, he said ok and left me alone, but that was kind of a weird feeling there for a while. That could have been a tragic end to my funemployment, for sure!

6. I also took a field trip early on a few weeks ago to check out this other opportunity that happened to be right in the middle of this town about an hour an ½ away. Hard to keep this to a short bullet, but this could have been an opportunity of a lifetime, and this company had reached out to me before I ever even considered reaching out to them. This was my dream job and I was so happy to have a couple of conversations with the head of the department…until she/the company ghosted me (!!!). I actually ended up talking with a couple of other people familiar with the company who told me to keep pushing (without being pushy), so I’d wait a couple of weeks and then send an email to my contact only to hear cricket chirps. Well, I finally heard back from them literally minutes after I’d sent my rejection to Cutie Pie. Sadly, it was a rejection letter from Dream Company. Ugh.

7. It still feels like dating. It feels like the gross part of dating.

8. I should figure out a side hustle during this time. Or even a volunteer hustle, shouldn’t I? The last time I was unemployed I got into this cool volunteer program that actually paid me a little bit of $ to help a non-profit organization and it turned out to be the leather crafting guy who was in my building at the time! How fortunate was that? I got to help him with some marketing materials and work on some leather projects! I think I’ll look into something like that after I finish this entry.

9. I miss getting dressed to go to work, but again, not enough to go to work today…

10. I need to take a shower! Hahahah!

See you in the next installment,
GS