Unemployed, Day Seven

Not much new to report here. The wife and I, with the two littlest usually ones in tow, spent most of the day running errands. It didn't amount to much, but gobbled up a lot of time: A trip to Lowe's to pick up eight 4 foot-by-eight foot sheets of "green board" drywall (mildew and moisture resistant, nach), a side trip to Belle Tire to have an annoying "Check Engine" light looked into, and a run-in at Sam's Club for "stuff." The van had us worried. People like us seem to have bad luck, if any at all, so we were prepared for the worst. While at Sam's, my mobile rings. It's the assistant manager from Belle Tire, calling to say we could pick up the van, that he "took care of it." I was curious what that meant, and hesitant to know what the damage$ would be. The amount? Nada, zip, zilch. The culprit was a split hose of some sort, which he was able to replace with a slightly used one laying around the shop, which he said would "last quite a while." What a deal! That made our day.

Unemployed, Day Six

I've discovered a pattern here. I do all of my blogging at night, usually after 11 p.m. After the little ones are in bed, after miscellaneous honey-do items are finished, after everything else. But that's to be expected in a household this large.

So today marks Day Six of unemployment hell. The only bright spot is I had a telephone interview (which seemed to go well) earlier, with the promise of a follow-up interview or in-person interview the end of next week. Sounds good. Good company, good opportunity, and closer to home. Something less than an hour and 15 minute one-way commute would be nice. Can't afford to be overly picky right now.

Unemployed, Day Five

Today was pretty much like yesterday, so just refer to that post for the daily log. I decided to switch up my diet a bit, though, by working in the basement on the renovation project mentioned earlier. It involved stuffing a small storage room with every conceivable piece of junk I could cram in there -- and after 18 years of wedded bliss and six little replicants there's a lot of it down there: Books, PlaySkool houses, Hasbro action figures, stuffed animals, oooooold school video consoles (we're talking a Sears-branded console game, circa 1979 or earlier), you name it. A quick trip to the local Lowe's for some drywall and tiling supplies was followed by more cleaning, then a second 80th birthday party for my mom, then ... this. Blogging while watching Jon Stewart, then maybe some Letterman.

This unemployment gig can't get any better than this, can it? Check back tomorrow.

Unemployed, Day Four

So this is it, the first day of my first full week of unemployment in a very long time. The kids also returned to school after Spring Break, so here's a run-down of today's view from the trenches:

• 5:15 a.m. - Get up and make sure our oldest son didn't sleep through his alarm after more than a week of sleeping in. He did. I woke him up in a not-pleasant manner, then shuffled back to bed.
• 6:08 a.m. - The cursed alarm clock goes off, this time reminding me I need to be up to make sure said offspring (see above) gets out the door in time to catch the school bus. He does, I shuffle back to bed.
• 7 a.m. - The cursed alarm clock goes off again, this time reminding me to get up and make sure youngest son -- next in line to leave for school -- has gotten up in time to leave for school. He has. My wife is in the shower, I realize said offspring needs a ride to school because he is carting a trombone (in a case), a backpack bursting at the seems with books, and a school project in a transparent, plastic container. The day is beginning beautifully.
• 8:15 a.m. - I walk our 9-year-old daughter out front to the sidewalk, then wave to her as she makes her way to the corner bus stop. Ten minutes later, the bus pulls up then away.

In theory, I'd be free, but then the two littlest ones remind me they are up and need something -- a clean diaper, hugs and kisses, food. The selfish little boogers!

The rest of the day wasn't much different, consisting mostly of playing with the two littlest ones, doing a little laundry, making lunch, catching the Tigers' opening day game (they lost, 5-4, by the way), making dinner. Ho-hum, just another glorious day.

Unemployed, Day Three

Do the weekends count toward unemployment? Hmm, that's a philosophical question I'm left to ponder, but hopefully not for long. I expect to have a busy week, as I already have a few phone interviews scheduled. Besides scoping out job opportunities, I expect to be fully engaged in the role of stay-at-home dad. I'm sure I'll have a better appreciation of what my wife goes through every day with the kids, so it'll be an interesting experience. Wish me luck. I'll file a battle report sometime tomorrow.

Unemployed, Day Two

Day two has pretty much come and gone, not any different than yesterday, really. I sent out a few resumes last night, got a nibble already, so we'll see how that works out. The day was spent on family things -- a few small errands, then most of the evening celebrating my mom's 80th birthday (which really isn't until April 1), which involved secrecy and relatives (my older siblings) flying in from out west. It was a nice event.

I haven't started (or re-started, rather) either of the novels-in-progress I mentioned yesterday, there hasn't been much time. But I'll get to them soon, maybe even post some here for critiques. Keep in mind I'm writing for myself. If I have an idea that sells, and someone thinks it's good enough for publication, great. If not, that's the breaks.

Unemployed, Day One

Well, I expected this would happen and it did. I have now joined the ranks of the unemployed, and it's not a good feeling. This happened once -- twice, actually -- before in 2000, so I can deal with it. I'll move on, and hook up somewhere else. The details really aren't important, as I've never been one to dwell on the past or get bogged down in "what if" scenarios. So here's a rundown of my first day as a Labor Department statistic:

• 11 a.m. - The other shoe drops. Unemployment begins.



• 11:30 a.m. - I call my wife at home to give her the bad news. There is no easy way around it. I hear silence as she catches her breath. Our conversation lasts about 1 minute, tops.



• 11:45 a.m. - My wife calls back. We talk for about 10 minutes. I tell her things will work out.



• 12 noon - My hour-long commute home has nearly ended. The passenger seat beside me carries a lone occupant: A mocking, legal-sized manilla envelope with an HR person's contact informations scribbled at the top. Inside, the details of my severance package.



• 12:15 p.m.-ish - I arrive home and pull into the garage. The family meets me in the kitchen. Hugs all around, but no pep speeches.



• 1 p.m. - I am fast at-work restoring an old laptop computer to its original factory settings. It has been running slowly lately, mostly due, I suspect, to the onslaught of online games and plug-ins the kids have been running. Not to mention instant messaging programs, bloated cache files, and the like.



• 2 p.m. - I decide to go online and register for unemployment benefits. No time like the present.



• 3:10 p.m. - I drop my oldest son off at a nearby movie theatre. He is seeing "Horton Hears a Who" with his girl friend, so at least he'll have a few laughs.



• 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. - I am running errands with my wife and three youngest daughters. A trip to a local indoor mall, then a stand-alone Target store, then a Little Caesars on the way home to grab a few pizzas for dinner. During that time, we also pick up our son from the theatre. He says he had fun.



• 6:30 p.m. until now (around 10:30 p.m.) - I play with the two little ones, keeping them entertained while I continue to work on the laptop computer. It's a pain-in-the-butt, as every system restore requires a full-scale installation of the latest Microsoft Windows and bloatware updates. The little ones are in bed, recharging. Yippie.

So, what will I do with this new found freedom? I haven't given it much thought, but here's a quick punch list:

• There is no time for a woe-is-me routine. I need to find a new job, quickly. A mortgage and six kids won't wait. Luckily, even before the hammer dropped, I had some other job opps on the horizon. Hopefully, one will pan out soon.



• Obviously, I'll spend time with my wife and the two little ones (two and a half, and one), who aren't in school, yet. Even though my wife is a stay-at-home mom, she carries a heavy burden, so I'll do more than my share while I'm home.



• Some lingering home improvements will get worked on. A major basement renovation, however, will slow down as the cash reserves are, well, reserved.



• I'll blog more, probably offering up a daily log of my trials and tribulations as a new unemployed labor statistic. You're thrilled, I can tell. If it's any consolation, I'm not interested in any publicity or pity, like this lady. I know that probably seems harsh, but we all have our crosses to bare.



• I'll get to work on two long-suffering novels I've been toying with for years, one about the Vatican, the other about Leonardo da Vinci's secret inventions. Here's the deal: I have no illusion about the success rate here. Less than one percent of published writers support themselves with the written word, so the odds are stacked. I'll try and give it a shot, though. The only caveat that matters: No print-on-demand or vanity publisher options. I'm looking for the real deal. Wish me luck.

That's about it. More to follow tomorrow.