It is so weird sometimes. Every day rolls into another day and another, and every day is the same as the day before. I am losing track of what day of the week it is. Is today Wednesday or Thursday? I have to check to make sure. (Looks like it's Wednesday.)
It doesn't really matter.
Here's part of my morning routine. I wake up around 6:00, because that's when my alarm clock goes off. It's the time I had set it to go off when I was working. I haven't bothered to change it. I lay in bed, listening to Morning Edition on NPR. (I miss Bob Edwards. For some reason, Steve Inskeep's voice and sarcastic attitude annoy the heck out of me. Bob Edwards' voice was so calming.)
After awhile, I turn the radio off and get ready for whatever day of the week it is. I take a shower, get dressed, brush my teeth and comb my hair. (What the heck? Are my eyebrows GROWING? I don't want them to turn into bushy caterpillars. Am I slowly transforming into Andy Rooney? God, I hope not.)
My wife, Jane, always gets up before me and fixes me coffee. She even sets out a cereal bowl, puts various boxes of cereal on the kitchen table that I can choose from, and pours me a glass of juice. Sometimes she even makes me toast. ("Poof! You're toast!" It's a little inside joke between us.) Occasionally she'll forget, and she'll race around the kitchen setting things up for me, like it's a crisis. It's not. Even if I'm still sleepy and come across as being a morning grouch, I know my wife is an angel. I often tell her that I love her and appreciate her, but I'm sure I don't do it half as often as I should.
Our dog knows my walk. She can hear me come out of the bedroom, and she suddenly appears from wherever she was in the house and is ready at the front door. Mocha has never had an "accident" in the house. She'll let us know when she needs to go. She rarely barks. The dog just smiles at us, is happy to be around us, and shows her pleasure by wagging her entire butt. Not just her tail. Her entire rear end bounces from side to side when she's happy. And she's happy most of the time.
So Mocha and I go out the greet the new day. I go out to get the paper, and she goes out to check her "pee mail" by sniffing the mailbox and the tree and the bushes. She'll look into the distance, freeze with one paw in the air, and sniff something interesting from far away. Then she'll very methodically do her business, choosing the exact perfect spot on the lawn. Sometimes this takes her awhile, and when it's cold outside as it's been lately (it's late January), it can be a little aggravating having to wait for her to make her choice.
"Come on, Mocha!" I'll call out. She might look up at me. Most of the time she doesn't. She has business to attend to, and she won't be easily persuaded otherwise. "Mocha, it's cold out! Come on!" Eventually, she'll grace the yard with her presence (maybe I should say "presents"), and be ready to come inside. "Finally!" I say. "Did you have fun?" She just looks up at me, smiles, and wags her butt.
So I read the morning paper, have breakfast and drink my coffee. The Dallas Morning News seems pretty useless for job search. Most or all of the job listings are produced in conjunction with monster.com. I look them over anyway, just in case. Haven't seen anything yet, except for an upcoming job fair that the News is promoting over in Richardson. I may go, although I'm dreading it. Have I become one of those guys in a suit, standing in an endless line with other people also in suits, straightening their ties and pulling at their collars, eager to hand out a resume?
I guess I have. I guess I have TO. I guess I will do what I have to do.
The rest of the morning is spent in front of the computer, using the proper keywords, searching for jobs on sites like Indeed, CareerBuilder, Monster, etc., etc., etc. And of course, I can't forget LinkedIn. I'm pretty happy with my LinkedIn profile, but it could probably use more work. I definitely need more recommendations from people.
There were no emails this morning related to my job search. I hate that.
Since I am receiving unemployment benefits, I have to keep a journal of my job search activities: when I applied, what job did I apply for, where did I apply, what were the results of the application... It's all in PDF format, with a week-by-week account of my job search. I thought for sure, hoped at least, that I would have a job before the end of January. Although I have some "irons in the fire," I am not so sure that this won't extend into February.
Maybe beyond.
It's really quiet in the house right now. Back to the search.
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