Day Nine Hundred and Nineteen of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Early Morning Run to Free Lululemon Yoga Class

I was really looking forward to running this morning. Although it isn’t sunny, it’s supposed to become later today. I was glad that it wasn’t raining.

I left a little late so I was under pressure to run as fast as I could. The whole time I kept wondering if I should take a bus but managed to pick up my pace enough that I got to class in plenty of time. I felt great when I finished!

Yoga Class

I was glad that I was able to come to today’s yoga class at Lululemon. I had to skip last week’s class because I had been running the half-marathon. I can’t believe that it’s been one week since I was miserably running in my bulky ski pants.

Today’s class was taught by one of my favorite yoga instructors, the running yogi. He mentioned that he was going to do a 50 K race next week. I knew he was a runner but I didn’t realize that he did ultra-marathons!

Christmas Market

After class, I took photos of my yoga friends in some Xmas hats that I had brought. I was getting in the Xmas spirit. There was a Xmas area sponsored by the bank that coincidentally, is the one I am appearing in their TV commercial right now.

They had free ice cream, face painting, a photo booth, gingerbread decorating and lots of other attractions. I was getting in the spirit and happily milling around. It’s sort of ironic because I’m not at all religious. This is more a cultural thing for me.

Christmas Cards, Parcel

I’m going down across the border tomorrow. I need to mail my Xmas cards and one parcel. And I have to pick up my mail as well. It’s been about a month since I was down so I need to pick it up before it gets too much.

I usually get my Xmas cards out by Black Friday but since I didn’t go down this year, I’m behind. I have to get them all ready for tomorrow even though I need to concentrate on my job application.

Job Application

I started to work on my job application that is due tomorrow. I checked out the company website to see if I could tell who the person is who’ll be doing the hiring. I was a little dismayed to see who it was.

The person who is in charge of the hiring is somebody who knows me but also has met me several times and sometimes forgets who I am. So obviously I have not made a very strong impression on her. This makes me anxious.

I have self-doubt now. Should I do all the hard work to finish the cover letter and resume knowing who it is who’ll be seeing my application? Or should I try anyway and hope for the best?

 

Day Nine Hundred and Thirteen of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Big Cleanup Begins

I woke up to a sunny cold day again. This time, I didn’t have to wake up early. This was the first day that I would be able to finally clean up after my holiday party on Saturday night. It wasn’t so bad, most of my guests had put their plates in the sink.

I don’t know why, but most people chose to drink red wine. I was a little nervous because I have a light-colored carpet. Nobody spilled on that but somebody did spill some red wine and chose to wipe it up with my beige linen napkin?! Who does that? So now I can’t get out the stain and can’t use it again.

Not at All Sore from Race

I didn’t do much after yesterday’s half-marathon race. I was feeling a little sore and even took a painkiller. The next morning, however, I felt fine. I didn’t feel any different from any other morning. I was pretty happy about that.

I even felt good enough to consider going for a run today. I didn’t go but not because I couldn’t have gone. I just didn’t feel like leaving my home today. It was one of those days that I felt like hibernating again.

Holiday Depression

I was so anxious to the days leading up to my holiday party and to my last half-marathon this past weekend. Now that they are both finally over, I can do all the things that I put on hold. But I did not do that today.

I started to feel depressed again today. I don’t know if it was a combination of finally getting over those two events or the realization that I have so much to do that I had put off. Plus, my Dad and brother will soon be arriving in two weeks so I have to do more decluttering and cleaning.

Mystery Shop Report

I had stayed up late doing my mystery shop report for the restaurant visit that I did after my race. I don’t know why it took me longer than usual to finish it. I was agonizing over it into the early hours.

I probably took almost four hours to write it even though it usually only takes me two or two and a half hours. I kept editing and re-writing it. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t get any questions, I wanted it to be a perfect report.

I guess it worked. I got an accepted report email today. It gave the same canned response of how it was done correctly and thank you. However, this time, the editor did not add any positive feedback and I felt let down a little. I don’t know why I’m obsessing over something that I’m not even getting paid real money for.

Job Application

I have put off finishing my job application because of my party and race. Now that I have time to devote to it, I did not work on it. I did think about it though. I wondered if I should do one more course so that I can add it to my resume or if I should just send it as it is now.

I wonder how many people are going to apply for it. Sometimes I wondered if I should even bother and if it will just be another waste of time and waste of energy only to be disappointed by a lack of response. I am plagued by these negative thoughts today.

Day Nine Hundred and Two of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Mystery Shop Assignment

I got up early this morning and saw that my mystery shop company was offering a larger than usual bonus to visit a particular restaurant today. I had toyed with the idea of applying for one today anyway. I applied right away and they assigned it to me.

Early Morning Run to UBC

I woke up early this morning. I haven’t run for a few days and I’ve been feeling really lazy. I need to do this run this morning. I’m feeling quite lethargic lately. I wonder if I will have difficulty running all the way to UBC this morning.

It was overcast but not raining when I set out this morning. I haven’t run in the rain for a while so I hope that it stays dry. I started out slowly and felt okay. After a while though, I started to get a pain in my calf! I wasn’t sure why because I don’t usually experience pain there.

Despite the pain, I decided to run it out anyway. I stopped briefly for a light and did a quick stretch. That didn’t seem to help that much. But I didn’t want to stop so I kept running. As soon as I got on level ground, I felt better. I made to UBC in the usual time.

Dressing Up Again

I felt good dressing up in a suit yesterday when I went to my seminar so I decided to dress up today to do my mystery shop. I was pretending to be a business person doing some work at lunch. I couldn’t get anybody to go with me at the last-minute.

Mystery Shop

I took the skytrain to the restaurant. Again, I felt good doing the fake commute in my suit and carrying my briefcase. I even took some fake ‘work’ so I could be doing something while I was eating lunch. I think that I looked totally authentic.

I was surprised again that this suburban location was so busy at 1 PM on a weekday. I had to wait a few minutes. I was actually looking forward to this because when I dine solo I can order the most expensive things on the menu.

The shop was uneventful. I knew that I’d have to start writing the report as soon as I got home. It should not have taken too long to write but for some odd reason, it took me longer than usual. It was probably because I was distracted watching videos while writing it.

New Job Position to Consider

I got an email from my friend about a job position. I hadn’t even noticed the posting so I’m glad that my friend thought of me. It’s a six month contract position but it seems like it would be a good stable gig. The pay seems pretty good, too.

I do have some experience in it and I even have the right educational background for it, too. But even as I read the listing and can totally see myself doing the job, I can’t help but have some creeping doubt in myself. I know that it’s no big deal if I apply and don’t get it. It’ll be good practice, blah, blah, blah. But how many more rejections can I take before I just give up applying all together? I have to think.

 

Day Eight Hundred and Eighty Six of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Sunny Run

I was so happy to see the sun this morning after the rain storm we had last night. The rain was pounding all night. This morning other parts of the area had severe flooding. Seeing the sun cheered me up.

This nice weather definitely affected my frame of mind, too. It’s been so dark and gloomy lately. I felt like I wanted to get out of bed. I wanted to get outside to enjoy the day!

Wasted Bank Visit

I talked to my phone company yesterday for over 30 minutes to find out how to do a pre-authorized debit from my bank every month to pay the bill. I had to do this in order to fulfill my air frequent flyer miles promotion. As usual, the phone person had to put me on hold three times in order to get the information.

She told me that if I did it through her, it would take ten business days. I was surprised that in this day and age it would take that long. I told her I was in a hurry and needed to make sure that it would come into effect for the next billing cycle. She told me the only way I could do that was to go to my bank and get them to do it.

So that’s what I did. I went to my bank today and told them what I was told. The teller told me that only the phone company can set it up. This visit was a waste of time. The phone person had made an error. I’m getting so frustrated with this all.

The only thing that keeps me going, to put up with all of this, is the promise of 60,000 points if I fulfill all of the requirements. Those points will put me over a higher level with my airline. And ultimately, it will allow me to travel again, like when I was a normal person and had a job.

No Response from Online Etailer

I was supposed to get a call from the online etailer I had complained to yesterday but here it is, 24 hours later and no response. They also ignored my tweets and emails. Some customer service. What a disappointment.

No Response from Mystery Shopper Company

I was disappointed that I have not heard a response from the new mystery shopper company. I applied for a shop over four days ago and have not been assigned the shop. I wonder if they are just waiting for somebody else to apply.

The shop itself has to be completed by next week. I’m still really hoping that I’ll get it. If I don’t get it, I might not bother with this company. I hate wasting my time if they won’t even acknowledge me.

Brother’s Job Application

It’s been such a long time since my brother asked me for help with his latest job application. I didn’t look at it carefully but I did make a copy of the listing in case it disappeared. One time my brother got an interview and the listing had disappeared so he couldn’t study what they had wanted. So ever since then I make a copy.

I went to the job listing and it sounded familiar. But then again that would make sense since they are all in the IT industry. But this one really sounded familiar. I went back to the website and the job listing had disappeared. I looked at my copy.

I checked all of the job applications I had made for him and saw that we had already submitted a cover letter and resume in September! I guess he had forgotten.

 

Day Eight Hundred and Sixty Seven of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Worked on Brother’s Job Application

It was another gloomy, overcast day. I wanted to finish my brother’s job application this morning. I was working on it and then I got so frustrated with the document I was using. It’s a free open source document offering but it does not work very well. Or maybe I just don’t know what I’m doing.

My brother said that he would get a copy of Office for me. That is what I have been using for years. That’s what I’m most comfortable with. I just can’t afford it right now. It’ll help a lot if I can use that to do these applications.

Waited for Fire-Place Maintenance Guy

Today I had to wait for the fire-place maintenance guy. I had to make sure that I was not available on my online calendars for work. They gave us a 5 hour window. That drives me crazy to no end. Cable companies and others do the same thing, they can’t pinpoint a time of arrival.

He came earlier than I thought he would because a neighbor of mine did not answer his knock. He was fairly fast. We chatted a bit because my computer, where I was working, is not too far from where my fireplace is. I gave him a can of pop and he went to the next suite.

Online Retail Work

Now that I didn’t have the anxiety of waiting for the fire-place guy to arrive, I was able to relax a bit and do some work. Although I am still far from where I had planned to be by this time, I did manage to get some work done today.

I really have to concentrate on staying at my computer. I get so distracted working at home. I’ll be working and then I’ll remember something, jump up and go into another room. Or I’ll be on the website and then remember something and open a new window and check something out. I used to be better at working at home years ago. I wonder why I have such a short attention span now?

Short Run

I ran a short run to the theater. By that time, the weather was fine. It was not raining. It was overcast and a little cool-perfect weather for running. Since it was such a short distance, I concentrated on doing it at the fastest pace that I could.

I darted around people, dogs and watched cars before I got to the light to cross. By the time I got to the theater, I was drenched and exhausted. It’s not likely that I will ever have to do this fast pace, except maybe at the end of a race, when I’m approaching the finish line and want to give the impression that, that’s how fast I was going to whole way along!

Free Movie Preview, St. Vincent

My friend gave me passes to Bill Murray’s latest, St. Vincent. It was nice to see a lighter movie after the previous night’s war drama, The Fury. I invited friends I hadn’t seen for a while so it was nice to catch up with them.

The movie was nice, showcasing Bill Murray in his best ways. I’m really glad that I got passes for this movie. What was unusual with this film is that most of the audience stayed in their seats until the very end of the credits because it showed more of Bill Murray. Usually people start to leave when credits start. And when it was finally over, there was a rush of applause.

 

Day Eight Hundred and Sixty Six of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Ran Downtown

I’m not sure what I did all morning before it was time for me to run downtown for my meeting. I’ve been noticing that I somehow wake up and then for the next few hours, time goes by and I don’t have much to show for it.

It was a little rainy and I was bundled up for the weather. After a few minutes, I became quite warm. I managed to keep up a good pace the whole way down. By the time I got to the office, I was out of breath and felt satisfied with my run. I’m feeling more confident about my half-marathon coming up soon.

Actor’s Union Meeting

I was a little bit concerned about the meeting today. The last time I came, it was quite crowded. I didn’t even get a seat. I spent the whole time sitting on the floor. But this time, there weren’t too many members in attendance at all.

I made a promise to myself that I would try to make an effort to attend all union meetings if I wasn’t working. I have been good about it. I was disappointed that there weren’t more people. It made me think, is it because everybody else is working?

Library Visit

I had some time to kill so I went to the library. I checked my email and then just read for a while. I’m always curious about the people who are there during the day. Do they have jobs? Do they work at night? Do they work part-time? Don’t they have computers at home to use?

I only go to the library because I don’t have a smart phone to check my emails. And I go there to do any printing I need to do. I have around 5 printers at home but none of them work. All of the ink has dried out. It’s cheaper to buy a new printer rather than buy a new ink cartridge. I really need to get rid of them.

Free Movie Preview Screening, The Fury

I won another pass, this time to Brad Pitt’s latest, a World War 2 movie, The Fury. I had won passes to another movie, but it was a sappy romance so I opted for this drama instead. It was a really good movie and well acted. I’m glad that I went to this one. I think that it will be an Oscar contender, too.

Worked on Brother’s Job Application

I worked on my brother’s job application when I got home. I had intended to finish it but I still had more work to do on it. I was tired so I ended up just closing it and vowing to finish it the next morning. I’m not sure why I’m so tired. The deadline for applications is next week, so maybe I am just procrastinating.

Day Six Hundred and Sixty Six of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

 

Depressing Morning

I woke up this morning after a good night’s sleep but to an overcast, rainy day. It’s been rainy, cold, windy, overcast weather for the last few days and it’s been quite depressing. I had a fairly good night’s sleep before and yet I still didn’t feel like leaving my bed.

Not Motivated to Do Anything

Today was yet another day when I didn’t feel motivated to do much of anything. I did manage to do one load of laundry but that’s not really much compared to what I should be doing. What does this say about me when the only useful thing that I’ve accomplished today is one load of laundry?

I have so many things to do on my computer but I get so discouraged because this spare laptop that I’m using has so many problems. I’ll be working on something and then the laptop will just freeze and I can’t get it to do anything unless I shut it off. I know that it isn’t the proper way to shut down a computer and that it will only wear the computer down faster.

Ran to Granville Island

I forced myself out of the house even though I didn’t want to leave. I had won a $10 gift card for a specialty fancy food store on Granville Island so I thought it would be a good excuse for me to get outside. I’ve been meaning to go there to redeem it.

I had also won a $50 card for an optometry store that was on the way. This was a boutique style store and I knew that it was not likely that I’d ever shop there. I thought that I could maybe get some kind of accessory, like eye-glass cleaner or something. I told the person what I had and asked if there was anything in the store that I could get for $50. Unfortunately, the cheapest thing in the store was $170, a pair of sunglasses. I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to get anything with the card I had won.

Despite the weather, it was crowded at Granville Island. There were even some runners along the way. I had never been to the store that I had the card for. I had won it when I did a contest at the wine festival.

I had some fun there, looking for things that I could buy for $10. Most items were over $10 but there were a few that I could choose that were under that amount. Some of the things were prohibitively expensive, like $20 for some marshmallows. I’m sure that they were good but I couldn’t imagine spending that much for it.

I ended up getting some specialty bacon salt and a piece of candy. It was nice that I was able to spend time shopping at a place like this, since I wouldn’t ordinarily be able to afford it in my present situation. I left happy.

Applying for a Different Job at the Same Firm

I had been thinking of my friend’s suggestion about applying a third and last time at the firm I was wanting to work at. She said that she had heard that they were hiring for counsellors but when I checked on the website, there were no such positions. I wondered if she had gotten the information wrong.

The position that was available was at a lower level. I wondered what would happen if I were to apply for this other position? Although I know that I have the education and experience for counselling positions, maybe I need to try for this one?

My friend had said that they like to promote from within. So could I get this position and then work my way up? But part of me is worried. What if I didn’t even get an interview if I applied for this lower job? That would really demoralize me. I’m going to continue thinking about this.

 

Day Four Hundred and Fifty Four of Unemployment-Fifty and Unemployed

Costume Fitting

I got up early to get together my wardrobe for my costume fitting this morning. I usually keep a suitcase full with staple pieces that usually get requested for most work. This time however, this production was a little more specific and wanted pieces that I don’t usually wear. I had a few pieces that I could have used but I had just donated them to charity a few weeks ago.

I managed to get a suitcase completely filled with clothing, hats and footwear. Although we are only required to bring three full outfits, I tend to go overboard and bring a lot more than that. It’s preferable to use your own clothing than to use their costume department’s so that you don’t have to line up in the morning to get your costume and then line up at the end of the shoot to turn in your costume. When you have your own, you can leave right away.

Unfortunately, they only accepted two pieces of my clothing. So that means I’ll be one of the many who will have to line up to get my costume and turn in my costume at the end of the night. Oh well. I was paid a minimum of two hours and I was finished in well under that, so that’s good at least. I’m just so happy that I will be working on this production!

Lunch with Friend

I ran into a friend at the costume fitting so we decided to have lunch together. It was so nice that we were able to get together unexpectedly like this. I had wanted to pick her brain a bit about applying for that medical training job. She had forwarded me the email a few days ago and I had meant to ask her about it.

She explained the whole situation and how she had enjoyed it the last time they had the training session. She went through the whole process with me so I knew what to expect. There are 30 trainer positions and they gave first preference to those who had already done the job, so there aren’t probably that many left for me to apply for. She suggested that I apply for it asap.

Blood Donation

On the way home, I stopped off to make a blood donation. I usually can’t donate that often because I go on vacation to some country that upon return requires a one year break from donating. Since this year I did not do my usual exotic vacation, there’s nothing from stopping me from donating every 56 days even.

Before long weekends, there is always a media blitz to get people to donate since levels are low. I figured I’d be in and out in less than an hour. To my surprise, my hemoglobin level was too low by one point so I could not donate. The nurse asked me if I was perhaps vegetarian. I am not. I was perplexed because I thought I got enough iron in my diet.

The nurse said that if I was concerned, I could discuss it with my doctor. She said that some symptoms are fatigue, shortness of breath and a fast heartbeat among others. Aside from the one day when I was running like an elephant, I haven’t experienced any of those symptoms. Now that I am aware of it, I can keep an eye on things at least.

Job Application

I worked on a job application the rest of the day. As opposed to sending my resume and cover letter, I decided to just sent an email cover letter. Since I am being referred by my friend and it is not a formal application, I decided not to send my resume. Besides all the education and experience on my usual resume is not at all related.

This is just for a job that will be two days only. So I have to admit that I didn’t think that I needed to devote too much time to applying. If I’m applying to a job that’s a career full-time position, then I will take the time to tailor make my cover letter and resume carefully.

Even if this was just for a short-term job, I did take the time to try to do my best. Sometimes, I’d get writer’s block so I’d have to do something else and then go back to it. I was glad to complete it and hit that submit button.