Guess Who's Back....

Hi.  My name is Rachael.  I have a real job interview on Friday.  Therefore, I'm lame.  And I plan on remaining lame for most of this week.  Nothing i could say right now would be interesting anyway....so I bring to you the always delightful Andy with another delightful foray into the world of guest posting!
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Stuff Unemployed People Might Appreciate, But Don’t

You’ve read and enjoyed other lists of things that unemployed people either like or dislike. All I can say about those lists is how pathetic I feel for agreeing with about 95% of the things mentioned.  I had peanut butter and jelly for lunch today, and you wouldn’t believe how much time I’ve spent thinking about what I would do for a Klondike bar. 

It seems like all good lists inspire at least a handful of more lists*, so here you have the list I was inspired to create.

There are several things that seem like perks when it comes to being unemployed/underemployed; I want to take this opportunity to introduce my list of things unemployed people are expected to like, but really don’t.

1.  7 Day Weekends – Remember when you were in school (or employed) and you looked forward to those two days of the week where you had no commitments other than to do something fun, something you’ve been waiting to do all week? Now think about how much you would have loved to make those two days last the entire week. Hmm…it’s not quite as fun as we pictured it. The two-day weekend served a higher purpose. It recharged us and gave us something to look forward to. Without those five days of build-up the weekend doesn’t really have the same effect. There is no looking forward to the days off when there are no days on. There is no reason to “thank God it’s Friday” or even to know that it is Friday. I usually forget what day of the week it is unless I read people’s facebook statuses that tell me ‘TGIF’ or “I have a case of the Mondays.” A constant stream of seven-day weekends only serves to disorient and discourage.

2.  Dressing Comfortably – Along the same lines as the 7 Day Weekend, many of the fully employed population envies the fact that we can dress however we want because we have no one to impress and no one to look professional for. We can dress comfortably every day; isn’t that great? It would be great except for the fact that every time I look down at myself to see I’m wearing pajamas (the same ones I wore yesterday), it reminds me that I have no one to impress and no one to look professional for.

3.  Talking About My Job Search – Everyone has an opinion. And I have pretty much heard all of them by now. I don’t want to be rude, but I also feel like I’ve talked to death about my search so can we move on please? As a quick disclaimer I should say that I don’t really mind talking about it with other unemployed/underemployed folks with whom I can commiserate. I also don’t mind original thoughts on the subject; they’re just so hard to come by.

4.  Encouragement – This is a tough one to write. To be completely honest, I do really need all the moral support I can get. Who doesn’t? The problem I have is that it often leads into something more like nagging and I don’t think that helps anyone.

5.  Reading Blogs About Being Unemployed – …oh wait…um…

And there you have it. Five things unemployed people might like, but don’t actually like. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.  Do you agree? Disagree? What would be on your list?

*a principle I will discuss further if Rachael ever lets me do another guest post