Day 46: Required Meetng at EDD

Sigh. I got a letter from EDD (unemployment) last week telling me I had to attend a mandatory meeting this morning at 8:15 at one of their offices and if I don't go, my benefits will be affected. Oh, yeah, and bring along 2 pieces of identification that prove my eligibility to work and fill out a form telling them about my job search efforts.

So, I dragged myself out of bed this morning only to discover that I had a screaming headache and queasy stomach. Hmmm. Maybe it's just the stress of this meeting causing it. Into the shower and into what felt like a normal routine - it's before 7:00 a.m. and I'm dressing in "work" clothes, doing my hair and putting on makeup. Strangely enough, it felt really good.

I found my way to the facility where this meeting was to be held, and was somewhat surprised at the people just hanging around in the parking lot, some of whom were in line at the front door, waiting to get in. My meeting was at 8:15, and I arrived at 7:55. I guessed that the doors opened at 8:00, but couldn't quite figure out why all these people were hanging around.

Well, the facility is called Peninsula Works, which is a job/employment/career assistance office. There's 4 of these offices in this area, and it works in conjunction with the EDD and local adult schools, shelters and training programs to help people of all ages and skills get back to work. That explained some of the clientele I observed in the parking lot.

What I also discovered upon entering the building was that this wasn't a meeting with someone from EDD - it was a 2-hour seminar with about 20 other people! Yes, we were corralled into a room where a very nice gentleman led us through the do's and don'ts of collecting unemployment, how to use the Peninsula Works offices to our benefit, and answering questions from the group. It was very informative, but long, especially since I wasn't feeling so hot.

But, I did my duty, got my check mark for attending and my new identification card that allows me to use the Peninsula Works facility. It's just one more hoop that I managed to jump through to keep those checks flowing to my mailbox every other week.

Oy. I need to get a job soon!

Until Next Time,

Kel

Reno Reno Reno!!!!

My friend Marie is one of the most generous people I know. And I love it when she invites me to go to Reno with her!

It's been over a year since she and I have been there together; she's been up there on a few occasions with other friends and family, and I've been up there twice in the last year for scrapbooking retreats. But, this past weekend, we had a girls trip - just the two of us!

I picked her up Saturday at 6:15 a.m. to start our 4-hour long road trip. Why so early? We can't wait to get there! And, we miss any traffic that may build up later in the morning/day. Of course, there were the usual "pit" stops: Starbuck's in Vallejo (about an hour from our start), Safeway in Dixon (gas is way cheap there and we got a 30 cent-per-gallon discount on the Safeway gas reward I earned) and then one last time at Donner Summit for a potty break. We managed to pull up and hand the car keys to the valet at 10:30 - not bad timing!


When we checked in, Marie's casino host upgraded us from a regular hotel room to a "spa suite" on one of the upper floors - a birthday gift to her (she celebrated on 6/18). Wow - what a great room!!!!! It was bigger than my whole house! Had a big ol' jacuzzi, a walk-in shower, HD TV, a couch/seating area and killer views of the valley. The only drawbacks we could find: 1 king sized bed for us to share, and the jacuzzi was in the middle of the room! We decided that we've known each other long enough that sleeping in the same bed wasn't a problem, and that we'd just make appointments with each other to use the jacuzzi.

I normally don't gamble much when I go, not because I don't like to, but because I need to control myself or I'll happily hand over my rent money to the Lucky Lemmings video slot. This trip, I was really really on a tight budget - those unemployment checks don't even come close to covering what I'd like to gamble. So, I cautiously budgeted my money so I could spend time in the casino throughout the weekend. And I brought 2 books, 2 videos, my computer and my workout clothes to go the gym to cover the time I wasn't in the casino.


Surprisingly, I met Lady Luck Saturday night after a yummy stroll through the buffet (can I just say that the Silver Legacy has one of the best buffets in Reno!). I was playing a triple poker machine for nickels, sitting next to Marie, when it dealt me 3 aces on the first hand. I held them all, and turned to Marie with my hands over my eyes saying "I just can't look 'cause I know it won't deal me another ace." I hit the deal button and much to my surprise, on the third hand, it dealt me the 4th ace AND the 3 wildcard - I actually hit a little jackpot! Woo-hoo - 100 smackeroos on a 75 cent bet! It was the biggest hand I had ever hit. Suddenly, I was on the winning side of the street. I squealed with delight as I cashed out that bad boy and told Marie "let's go play somewhere else!"


We moved to another part of the casino where Marie introduced me to another triple hand poker machine, but this one had a twist: it was called "Times X" poker, and would randomly deal a wild card in the first hand that would grant you a winning multiplier from 2 - 12 times your bet. So, if you got the 5X multiplier and hit 2 pair, instead of just 5 (nickels, dimes or quarters), you'd get 25 on each line that you win. Well, after playing on my $20 for a short time, I was down to about $1.50 in credit left to play. It dealt me a pair of aces and as I held them I jokingly said to Marie "hah! You think I could hit the 4 aces with the 3 kicker again?" We both laughed as I hit the deal button and I watched the cards come up on the 3 lines. I about passed out when the third hand hit 2 more aces AND THE 3 KICKER for another $100!!!!! I was screaming so much you would have sworn I hit a million dollars!! I danced around a little bit, acting like a crazed, drunk gambler, and then cashed out that little ticket. At that point, I told Marie I was taking my $200 winnings and going to the nice room on the 31st floor for the night. I was quitting while I was ahead - my mama didn't raise no dummy.


Sunday wasn't as profitable, and I took a field trip to the local scrapbook store (which was closed for Father's day!) and then to the craft store just to kill some time. We enjoyed a very nice meal at the steakhouse at the Silver Legacy (one of Marie's 'gifts' for her birthday from the Legacy) and gambled some more for the evening.


I did give some of my winnings back, but, for the first time in all these years I've been going to Reno, I didn't go to the atm to get more funds and I came home with more money in my wallet than I went up there with. Woo-hoo.


And my friend Marie? Well, my Granny always said that if you were generous, you'd be rewarded two-fold. Marie proved that was true this weekend. She hit several 'large' jackpots on her video poker machines, and her name was pulled in a casino drawing on Sunday afternoon and she won $250! I think Granny must have been looking down on her from Heaven and giving her a helping hand for being so generous with me over the weekend.


It was a great break for me to be away from the house and both of us had a blast!


Until Next Time,


Kel

Twenty Years Ago Today...

When I was younger, thinking in terms of a span of 20 years seemed like such a long time. It felt like it took me forever and a day to reach my 20th birthday. My impression of people who spoke of things they did 20 years ago: they were old.

Guess what? Today I'm officially old by my own standards.

June 19, 1989. I walked into the law offices of Steefel, Levitt & Weiss at the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco to start my new job in my new home. I had just celebrated my 27th birthday, gotten over a bad divorce and only knew 2 people who lived in the Bay Area. What the hell was I thinking?

I was thinking that I needed to stand on my own two feet and be my own person. I didn't want to be referred to as "his" ex-wife any more. My family was extremely supportive of my new "single" life, but I needed to prove to myself that I could be independent and not call on them every time a spider crossed my path. I had lots of friends, but I needed new friends who judged me for being me and who didn't feel sorry for me for the drama I had been through in the previous 2 years.

I'll never forget that morning. I arrived early (of course!), and waited in the reception area with 4 other women who were also starting their first day at SLW. All legal secretaries of varying experience. We all nervously sat there, wondering what the day would bring. There was Patrice, a sharply dressed girl who didn't say much; Marilyn, a British girl that I had a hard time understanding (Cajun and British accents are both hard to understand - she had a hard time understanding me, too!); one girl that I can't remember her name (the mind is the first to go when you're old!); and Debra, a drop-dead gorgeous blond mother of three - who is still my good friend today.

That day, my new, exiciting life began. I often wonder what my life would be like today if I hadn't taken that big step - would I still be working at the same law firm I left? Who would be in my inner circle of friends? Would I have met, fell in love and married the new man of my dreams?

One thing that I did not anticipte that day: the truly wonderful friends I have made over the past 20 years. There are so many of them that it would take me forever to list them here, but you all know who you are and just in case you were wondering, I love you all and thank you for being my friend (uh-oh, there goes the theme song from "The Golden Girls" in my head!) Without all of you, I would not be the woman I am today.

I do miss my family terribly, but thanks to today's technology, I get to socialize with them on a daily basis, something that I couldn't do 20 years ago.

Funny how life is cyclical. 20 years ago, I was nervous about starting a new job. Today, I'm once again nervous about starting a new job (and let's not talk about finding one!).

Until Next Time,

Kel

Day 35: Thank Goodness for Julie!

Today I had another session with Julie, my awesome career coach. Julie is like a personal trainer for my brain: she's making me rethink the process of looking for and landing a job.

Let's face it. I've been working since 1982 (longer if you count all those summer jobs in high school and college). Wow, that's a long time: 27 years I've been gainfully employed. 27 years? Holy crap, I'm old. But I digress. In that time, I've had a total of 5 jobs, 3 of which have lasted 7 years or longer. I'm definitely not a job hopper!

For each of those jobs, I applied either through a newspaper ad or with a recruiter. I sent in a printed resume, filled with my skills, accomplishments and references. I waited, got phone calls, went on first and second interviews and got offers and accepted one. Finding a new job always seemed easy.

Today? Not so much. Yeah, I could go online and search for a job on any number of job-search websites. But what I'm learning from Julie is that it takes a lot more than that piece of paper I called a resume to land a job. It takes a lot of work! For example: I need a web presence. Not just this blog or my Creative Memories website or Facebook. I need to have a profile on LinkedIn, ZoomInfo and Ziggs so people can find me. I need to have business cards with my contact info. I need a resume that has keywords in it. I need to network!

I need to go to the gym.....

Until Next Time,

Kel

A Little Sad....

I haven't talked about the "E" word (exercise) in a while.

You'd think with all the time I have on my hands right now I'd be spending way more time at the gym. Uh, nope. I've actually been spending less time there, mostly because the knee is still not 100%. Today was the first time in nearly 2 months that I didn't feel any pain all day. I'd say that's a little progress.

But, I just got home from my last paid personal training session with Denise. I'm really sad about it because right now, I can't afford to buy another 10 sessions with her. Heck, with that measly unemployment check I got this week, I can barely afford to pay my bills! I'm actually going to admit that I'm going to miss the workouts because I feel like I've come so far since I started working with her last June. Tonight, to celebrate, she increased my weights just for good measure. More than the workouts I'm going to miss hanging out with her on Friday afternoons. I can be myself with her, whether I'm being Connie Complainer or Wendy Whiner or Amy Angry or Gloria Goofy. She lets me be me.

And I think of her more than just a personal trainer. We've become friends and we talk about our lives and the things that are going on around us. Heck, I've even cried on her shoulder a time or two and she didn't seem to mind.

But, that's not the only thing that made me a little sad tonight. I had signed up for the summer session of boot camp, which was set to start at 6:00 a.m. sharp Monday morning. When I got to the gym, I was told they had to cancel it because they didn't meet their minimum enrollment. Rats. Phooey. Crap. Wussy women who are afraid to try it. I needed a good challenge, and boot camp always challenges me. Rats. Phooey. Crap.

Oh, well. There's still the Saturday morning Yo'lates class with Denise. And I'm sure I'll find a way to save up some cash to schedule some time with her sometime in the near future.

After all, my butt's depending on it!

Until Next Time,

Kel

"I Wish the Dog Had a Snooze Button"

While out for the afternoon, I stopped in at Sur Le Table, a high-end kitchen wares store. Now, I'm quite amused and entertained by kitchen things. If I had a bigger kitchen, I'd spend way more money on these little treasures. I saw gadgets that I never knew existed and sometimes had to ponder what one would do with such a gadget in the kitchen.

But my favorite find this afternoon was a very large ceramic coffee mug. It was definitely a one-of-a-kind and it stood out among the other mugs on the shelf. This mug summed up my mornings right now: I Wish the Dog Had a Snooze Button. When I saw that, I just started laughing. And not subdued, lady-like giggles to myself, mind you. It was a hearty belly laugh heard by all in this fancy establishment who all looked in my direction to see what the noise was. I couldn't help it. It just cracked.me.up.

Because after 28 days, Aero still doesn't get the concept that I don't have to get up before the crack of dawn 5 days a week. He still aggravates the bejeezus out of me once the sun comes up and won't stop no matter how long I try to ignore him or fuss at him or pet him. He wants me to get up when he's ready to get out of bed and he promptly goes back to sleep on the couch. What a life.

So, yeah. I got a really good laugh this afternoon when I saw that mug. It made my day.

And I DO wish Aero had a snooze button....

Until Next Time,

Kel

Day 21: I Just Need to Keepy Busy

It's hard to believe that it's been 3 weeks since I got laid off.

My worst enemy is too much time on my hands. Oh, sure, I can do laundry. But there's only so much laundry one person can create! And I could clean my house, but where's the fun in that? I find that when I sit here, even in front of the computer, my mind wanders and starts to focus on things that could make me crazy: how am I going to pay my bills? How am I going to find a job? Am I too old to start over? How do I compete with a younger, smarter candidate? And let's not even go to the place where I beat myself up for my looks....

My friends have been so wonderful trying to help keep me busy. Angela and baby Max meet me once a week for a lunch outing. Joyce and I hang out on her days off, going to Target or catching an early movie. Marie has given me an open invitation to hang out at her house on the weekends. It's these "play dates" that help keep me unfocused on the scary stuff.

Yeah, busy is good. Maybe I should volunteer some of my free time...

Until next time,
Kel

It's Just Another Day....

Today is just like every other day. I mean, there's no real reason to celebrate. I told my friends that there's nothing to get excited about. Even Aero's treating today like there's no special reason to get up - he's been snoozing since we got out of bed this morning.

Maybe I'll treat myself to a movie and a nice lunch. Or maybe I'll get some Chinese take out from my favorite place for dinner tonight.

But whatever I do today, I'm not celebrating the fact that I'm a year older.

That's probably as close to a cake as I'll get today.

Until Next Time,

Kel

Day 17: The Sleepless Nights

I've always been a night owl, and have always hated mornings. Even as a kid, when Mom and Dad would put us to bed at 9:00 p.m., I'd generally lay awake in my bed listening to whatever show they were watching and then on to the news. I even stayed awake after they went to bed and the house was quiet.

As an adult, I had to train myself to go to bed before midnight so that I could get up before the crack of dawn to go to work and be semi-coherent.

But now that I don't have a regular routine, of course, I'm awake late at night and sleeping in in the mornings. I've been up to see all of the last episodes of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno; I've seen several Jimmy Kimmel shows; M*A*S*H comes on at some point on TV Land; did you know you can watch professional poker on NBC in the wee hours of the morning? The problem isn't that I'm just staying up late because I can. The problem is that I can't sleep.

It's been about 6 nights now. I just lay there awake, my mind racing. At least the tv distracts me a bit, but it is frustrating to not be able to sleep.

I'm getting tired. I try not to nap during the day because I know it won't help the situation at night. And I've given up caffiene again. But nothing seems to help. Of course, right now, it's the middle of the night again and here I am, up in front of the computer instead of in bed snoozing. I didn't feel like watching the poker game.

At least my little furry friend is snoozing away!

Until Next Time,

Kel