Tag Archives: laid off

Making Up A Schedule (or What To Do With My New Free Time)

Now that unemployment has officially hit me, I’ve been learning how to schedule my life again.  I’ve been so used to scheduling around a work schedule for so long, that it’s been nice to actually have more than a few hours a day to do all the things I need to do.

Some of my chores I’m going to keep on my usual schedule. There’s no need to screw with what day I do laundry, water plants, or do major house cleaning (as those are once a week things).

But now, I’m adding in a new type of meal planning (where I actually can make things for all 3 meals instead of 1). I’m also trying to schedule my free time. I don’t want to turn into someone who is lazy on the couch all the time. I did a lot of that last week when I still had a few shifts left. I watched all 3 seasons of “Veronica Mars”. But I can’t do that anymore.

I’m trying to build a schedule that allows me to have fun while I’m not working but also work hard on finding a new job. When the unemployment breaks were just temporary breaks, I’ll admit that I didn’t work that hard at finding a new job. I knew I had one to go back to so I could be picky. And I was probably way too picky.

I’m still going to be picky as far as finding a job that pays a certain amount or has flexibility, but I can’t just pick jobs that I would want to take. I have to look at the undesirable ones too.

In the past, I spent a majority of my day looking for work. That is a way to get burnt out quickly. So I’ve built a schedule where I spent 1 hour in the morning looking for work and another hour looking in the afternoon (just before the close of business for most jobs). That way, my time is structured but I’m also allowing for some fun free time.

So far, I haven’t found anything right. And the jobs that looked right for me turned out to not be what they said. For example, I applied for a job that was supposed to pay $15 an hour, but when they emailed me back to schedule an interview, they said it was actually an unpaid job but the value of what I would learn was worth $15 an hour. I need a job that pays money to pay the bills, not something that has perceived value.

If any of you blog readers know of any decently paying jobs that are flexible for actors (no MLMs please), please feel free to let me know in the comments. While I’m enjoying this time off for now, I know that the sooner I’m back at a job the better.

One Last Work Happy Hour (or I Guess I Really Am Unemployed Now)

To be perfectly honest, it didn’t hit me that I’m actually unemployed until yesterday. Before then, it just felt like one of our usual breaks from work. But it’s now sinking it that I don’t have a job to go back to in a few weeks.

It’s actually been a while since I was really unemployed. In 2011 I started working at a credit card dispute company. I worked there until I got my telesales job in May of 2012. I’ve had plenty of times that I’ve been out of work, but this time feels so different because I had been working pretty steadily for a while.

Part of the reason the unemployment is starting to sink in is because I only have one more show shift at work. I’m working tonight, and then after that, they might not have any people working a member table at shows anymore. If they do bring it back, it won’t be for a few months. I’m still trying to see if there is another position open for me at my old work, but it’s not looking too good.

Another reason this is all hitting me now is because yesterday was the goodbye happy hour for my boss. Everyone in telesales was invited as well, but I was the only one who could make it.

Everyone else at my work is still pretty much in shock that our entire department was let go. All through happy hour people kept asking me what I knew about the lay offs and what my plan was to do next. I wish I had a plan, but right now, I’m just trying to get my cover letters and resumes in order and start going crazy with applying for jobs.

Happy hour was fun, but it definitely had a somber vibe to it. I think that with so many people being let go at once, everyone is feeling a little insecure about their jobs.

After most of the people left happy hour, there were still a few of us who wanted to hang out and get some dinner. We had a great time just chatting about crazy things that have happened at work and random facts about our lives.

It’s a little sad that most of the people I worked with I didn’t know too well. The trailer that the telesales team was in was a little isolated, but I always tried to make an effort to get to know people. But I have to say that at the dinner part of the happy hour hangout, I got to know my co-workers better than I had in the entire time I worked there.

Eventually, we all had to head home. Everyone else had to be at work early the next morning and I just wanted to get home (it’s a bit drizzly out and my hip was killing me).

Tonight will probably be my final goodbye to my workplace. I know that I’m going to see some of my co-workers again (we are trying to organize a monthly get together even if we are all working in different places), but it does feel like I’m closing a chapter on my life. Hopefully the next chapter just gets better from here.

Day One Of Unemployment (or Trying To Not Stress Out)

I’m out of work again for the end of the season. This is now the third time we’ve had this break, but this time it’s different.

We aren’t sure when/if we are returning to work.

Nothing has been communicated with us officially, so I’m still waiting to see for sure what is happening. But just in case, I cleaned out my desk before I left after my last shift on Saturday.

I’m still working some show shifts (I did one after my last shift on Saturday and I have another one tomorrow), so I’m not completely out of work, but those show shifts aren’t enough to live on.

I’m going on unemployment again, but I’m looking hard for a new day job. I don’t want to be in a situation where I’m out of work for too long. And best case scenario, we do get asked to come back to work for the next season and all of this looking is unnecessary.

But this uncertainty has kind of screwed up my plans for this time off. I was planning on taking an improv class (finally). At UCB, they have an intensive class where you go every day for 2 weeks instead of 1 day a week for 8 weeks. But now I don’t want to take that because I don’t want to be unavailable if I get a new job.

And I have my trip in March with my sister-in-law to New York. No matter what, I’m still going on that trip, but I have to remember to mention that to any potential new jobs as a non-negotiable vacation.

I’m still planning on having fun, I just have to be more structured with my time. I’m hoping to make it to Disneyland this week (my pass expires soon and I want to make sure I get a few more visits in before then). And I’ve made plans to see friends who I feel like I haven’t had a chance to see in forever.

I know that I’ve been saying for forever that I want to get a new job. Now, I pretty much think I have to. I don’t have the crutch of my other job anymore to rely on. I am going to see if there is another job at my workplace for me, but I’m not sure there will be one with enough flexibility for me. But it can’t hurt to ask.

I’m really not trying to worry about things, but when everything is up in the air like this, it’s hard not to think of the worst.