- Being unemployed isn't all fun and games. I've forgot how much work does go into looking for a job. Contacting, researching, insuring it's the correct job for myself, and prepare, prepare, prepare. I've learned I can never prepare enough for an interview.
- Prepare for the worst case scenario. You never know when life is going to throw you that interesting wrench into your daily plans. Last week I was preparing for an interview that afternoon. I had gone to lunch with some friends, came home, parked the car in the garage and closed the garage door. I took a shower and prepared for my interview. Walked out to the garage, hit the garage door button and the garage door only went up about a foot. It turns out the wire the pulls back one set of the springs had broke. Now my garage door is a solid wood core door, this thing probably weighs about 300lbs. Here I am in my suit, car is stuck in the garage, and I'm trying as best that I can to lift this thing. It's not going anywhere. I was just very lucky that I have a friend who works from home most of the time. He was able to come get me and bring me to the interview. Tim, I owe you huge for that still. Moral of the story, if possible, prepare for something horrible to happen and make sure you give yourself enough time. I had a professor in college say "If you're 15 minutes early, you're on time." I've really taken that to heart. Now does that mean that I'm showing up at the interview 15 minutes early? No. What it does mean is that I show up 15 minute or more early to the interview and I'll sit out in my car until about 5 to 10 minutes before. Which brings me to my next point
- Cops like to setup "donation centers" more during the day. Now that I'm driving around a lot more during the middle of the day, I tend to find out the local law enforcement really keeps tabs on the speed limit during the day. Now I've been know to have a "heavy foot" or participate in "spirited driving" sessions, but I'm really watching my speed now. This tends to make me leave for an interview that much earlier to insure I'm not making any unwanted donations to my local police officers.
- My dog is spoiled. As I spend a large amount of time on my computer during the day doing job stuff, my dog has become accustom to sitting on my lap while I'm on the computer. As I type this now she's making sure the back yard is free of vermin. She also enjoys using my right arm as a pillow for her head, making mousing a bit tricky at times. Oh the things we'll do for our pets.
- Daytime TV Sucks. Now, I don't spend that much time watching TV. I don't have a TV in the office and we only have basic channels. I do watch the news in the morning and evening, and there has been a few times I've flipped it on during lunch. I forgot how much I don't associate with the advertising of daytime TV. I'm not a mom, I'm not injured/bankrupt, and I already have a degree (not saying that means I can stop learning, just saying I don't need one from the local community college). Needless to say, the tv stays off.
- Home Repairs are expensive. When not performing job searching duties, I'm typically doing something around the house. I'm not as skilled as a professional, but I can perform most common repair tasks. One thing that is nice is that with this time I'm now able to fix/repair/replace that (fill in the blank with something around the house) that I've been meaning to do for (fill in the blank with a number) days/months/years. When I bought my house my father told me "Ryan, If you walk out of Home Depot under $50, you had a good trip." Well Dad, I've had a few of those, but I've learned there's a small caveat to that statement. Under $50 per day, not per trip. My dad's local Home Depot and/or Lowes is a bit of a trip for him, so I'm assuming for the most part he plans ahead on his trip. Mine is about 4 miles away. I don't really plan ahead, causing multiple trips. Now though my repaired work bench cost less then buying a new one and is crazy stable now, it still ran around $60 in lumber/parts/screws/etc. That was a bit more then I was expecting, but it's awesome now. While we're talking about Home Depot...
- Going to Home Depot at 7am on a Monday is the BEST TIME EVER or anytime M-F during the day for that sake. The wife and I had gone there on a sunday at around 2pm. WORST...IDEA....EVER. I've been enjoying my daytime M-F Home Depot trips where, for the most part, it's only contractors in there. I'm sorry to the rest of us who don't do construction, but when I'm trying to find a particular part that I know where it is and you stop to show your husband that plant you think would be wonderful in the front yard, stopping directly in front of me, it drive me a bit nuts. My local Home Depot opens at 6am M-F, I went in there at 7am on a Monday. It was heaven. Which brings me to my next point...
- Walking into Home Depot with dirt, oil, and paint marked Carhartts and a shirt to match gets you instant help. They know I mean business.
- Walking into the local eletronics store wearing the same cloths as Home Depot does not get you any help. Apparently I looked like a bum. *Shrug*
- I really don't like painting. I'll tape, clean, whatever, but I really don't like painting. I enjoy the end result though.
- When sanding patchwork in the office, make sure to cover the desk/computer/everything. It made a huge mess. Yes, this was a "Duh Ryan" moment. Sometimes you need to learn by doing. Last but no where near the least...
- Thank your friends, family, and anyone willing to reach out. It means a lot to me that so many people reached out to me to help me during this time. Like I said at the beginning, everything helps. A huge thank you again! Hopefully I'll land something here shortly.
Prost!
-Ryan
