Today is sunny and Fall has clearly settled in. There is a cool breeze with no humidity. Everything looks beautiful. Hipsters are wondering around after brunch at 4pm or to brunch. Williamsburg living.
Unemployment is for the Unemployed, not just the unemployable
I am working on the next phase of my career which involves getting a job. I know that is very typical behavior but I decided to conform on this one. I have had a lot of great coffee meetings and several interviews. Nothing has stuck so far. However, I am very impressed with the generosity of the people in NYC who meet with me and network me into their business relationships to help out. Everyone I meet is supportive; creating a sense of social support I had not anticipated. My gratitude to you all!
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| On my way to an interview on the Long Island Rail Road |
I rode the LIRR to an interview. That’s right; I went all the way to Long Island for an interview. It took 3.5 hours to get there because of poor communication. I ended up on the wrong train. The interview went well regardless. In the end the hiring manager and I both decided the job would not be a great fit but she was very willing to pass my resume on to another hiring manager looking for someone with my skill set.
The trip back from the interview was 4 hours. There was a rain storm which I got caught in. Turns out that lightning from the rain storm put the train out of service headed west so we sat on the tracks for an hour. Then we had to get off the LIRR and transfer to the Subway which was a mess because there were crowds of people going in opposite directions all at the same time. It was a long day.
A Lesson in Tenacity
One principal I come back to over and over is that you cannot control all the circumstances of your life. But you do get to decide how you handle them. Here are some specifics about what I am doing with unemployment:
I am volunteering for a non-profit, The East River Development Alliance (ERDA Website), to write a business plan. They are a forward-looking organization that seeks to be financially self-sustaining by building profitable business into their programs. Their goal is to help end generationally entrenched poverty within public housing neighborhoods. They do this by providing hands on personal finance classes and job training among other things. They believe that people don’t need hand outs but tools and opportunities to help themselves out of poverty. I’m a huge fan of the concept and their work.
One of their money making programs is a Credit Union which they started, bringing a bank to a neighborhood that previously had none and depended on expensive Check Cashing Companies for the services they now receive for free. The program I am working on would provide short-term employment for public housing residents as Livery (Borough Taxis) drivers with the long-term potential of becoming self-employed.
I am applying for jobs. This is an intense research project believe it or not. I spend as many as 20 hours a week doing research and reaching out to contacts. It is challenging to constantly put yourself out there and often receive rejection through an email that says, “We are considering other applicants at this time…” with the subtext of “You aren’t really good enough for us.” Tenacity!
Socializing. I am really good at that. I am in a running group and try to meet up with friends from various circles every week. Aside from being healthy for this Extrovert it provides great opportunities to network towards that career objective of getting a job. The results have been great; the people I meet are generous, gracious, fun loving, friendly folk of the best kind.
Coffee shops are the center of my day because the key to successfully surviving unemployment is to get out of the apartment as much as possible. The two most visited are Grounded in the West Village and Connecticut Muffin in Park Slope. Both wonderful places that offer free Wi-Fi, the best feature of any coffee shop or café. I have also recently discovered Minerva has a delicious food menu as well.
I went to a Museum finally, the American Museum of Natural History.
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| Self Portrait of me and the map of the museum |
So many stuffed animals! The place is gigantic and I saw a life size whale (hanging from the ceiling). I also saw Dinosaur skeletons. I covered the entire Museum in a day; needless to say, I didn’t sit around and take in one exhibit for very long. Except for the star show which was very informative and a fun “ride” as you sore through galaxies that are very real looking.
I went to Boston: Boston Photo Album. I have wanted to go to Boston for about nine years. One of my favorite United States’ historical stories is about the Boston Tea Party and I read Johnny Tremain as a child. These painted a picture of the US as a free thinking revolutionary place rather than the status quo setting, leading nation we have become. That was a beautiful day trip in which the weather and city conspired to seduce me. It worked; I’m in love. I walked the Freedom Trail featuring historic graveyards, homes, and buildings. I saw the first public school, Paul Revere’s house, and Bunker Hill Monument. Check out the photo album for more than words can tell.
So, that is how I spend my time. Research, write, correspond, engage, repeat. I think I’m doing the right things and believe that with tenacity I will accomplish the goal of becoming fully employed.
Post Graduate School Goals
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| The Diploma has arrived!!!! |
There is also a segment of my life called “Post Graduate School Goals” which I am working on. Here is a list of things I have accomplished:
- Yoga, loving it so far.
- Running routinely
- Read a non-fiction. I completed “London” by Rutherfurd last month. Great historical novel.
- Move to New York City!
- Go to Boston in the Fall
Goals yet to be accomplished (all a bit more long term):
- Run a Marathon
- Learn how to swim
- Learn a foreign language (preferably French, German, and Spanish)
- Get a job
- Go to Europe
The City and some of its Uniqueness
ATM’s are like a plague here. They dot the sidewalks and stores in the most peculiar places, like next to the vegetables. On Bedford near my apartment there is a block with three ATM’s in a row. All unrelated ATM companies. There is another one on each corner of the block and several across the street. They often stand alone, as opposed to other ATM’s which are generally attached to a building such as a bank branch. Whenever artificial intelligence takes over planet earth, the ATM’s will be the foot soldiers of New York.
The city is loud…all the time always. The trains in the subway are loud. The cars on the street are always honking. People are loud. The bar across the street from my apartment is loud. I jump a lot still. This is also somewhat uncomfortable because it puts you in a state of subconscious panic. Whenever I go to a park I suddenly feel very relaxed surrounded by the gentle noises of nature, and people walking, running, biking.. Which causes me to want more time in parks. They are extravagant affairs with huge monuments and gated entrances at Central Park and Prospect Park or the trendy art instillations entwined with the plants at the High Line.
New York City: a many splendid thing.
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