Sigh ...

My motherboard has toasted itself.  It's still under warrantee, though, so all I have to do is disembowel the computer, take the board back to the store where they will replace it, bring it home, and rebuild the computer.  In the meantime I have limited use of Daughter's computer.  Very limited.

For the first time ever, on Tuesday I will actually be paying to attend a job fair.  Only $5.60, and part of that will go to charity, but still ... it just doesn't seem right, somehow.  How many good people are going to miss this opportunity because they can't wring another $5.60 out of the grocery budget, or the rent money?  Telling myself that the attendance cost cuts down on the competition doesn't make me feel very good either, because anyone who can't afford the entry fee (or the transit fare) is more desperately in need of a job than I am.  So I'm trying to just think of it as a necessary investment.

I've printed a few copies of my resume and references to take with me, since there will apparently be spaces set up for on-the-spot interviews, and I also plan to carry a thumb drive with both loaded on it.  I've learned that when it comes to job hunting, there's no such thing as being "too prepared".  I'll be touching up my roots tonight, and fine-tuning what I'll wear; it will have to be both professional and comfortable, because I may very well be there all day.  The hardest part of the process, I think, will be maintaining a positive, upbeat attitude the whole time.  Even though I have nothing to lose and possibly a great deal to gain.

Starting Over

On August 31, 2009, everything changed.

I was laid off  -  actually, the paperwork says "Position Eliminated", which amounts to the same thing.

The financial repercussions weren't immediate, thanks to a generous severance package, but the emotional effects were something else.

I went through several stages ... I was determined to have another job before my birthday. Then before Christmas.  Then before Easter.  Then before Canada Day.  Now?  Well, before my EI runs out, I hope ... But the jobs just aren't out there.  My field has shrunk, as I put it to friends, like a cashmere sweater in a laundromat dryer; every job posted  -  and there aren't many  -  gets an average of five HUNDRED applicants.  The odds are not in my favour right now, but that doesn't stop me from looking, nor from breaking out of my comfort zone to apply for jobs outside my field that I think I'm qualified for.
It's hard.  It's discouraging.  It's brutal on the ego.  But I WILL NOT let that stop me.

In the meantime, I'm doing whatever I can to minimize expenses, bring in extra income, and increase my chances of getting a new job.  And that's what this blog is all about.

Being frugal.
Being determined.
Being adventurous.
Being creative.

And  -  with a little luck, and a lot of hard work  -  being employed again.