Where am I now?

I glanced up from my computer and jumped! Robert Burns is staring straight at me.

Of course, it's just a marble bust of him, but it's set to look directly at the seat I'm in.

And this picture to the right - that's where I am right now!

Turns out the public library has wifi. And this very cool reading room is equipped with many outlets hidden on the underside of the tables. Very smart! The old timey look is not compromised by the modern convenience.

Ironically, the newer parts of the library aren't as well-equipped with electric outlets.

So...

Today is the third-week anniversary of my being laid off. And where am I now?

The first week I spent getting organized, doing the budget, figuring out unemployment...

So I've only spent two weeks applying for jobs, contacting people. Only one nibble so far, but I wasn't exactly what they wanted. It *does* seem that there are a lot of openings in my field, so that's encouraging. I only need one, after all.

I've been exercising a lot. I take breaks to do stretches. I'm running 3 miles every other day, and an interesting thing happened! These stretches are resistance stretches, so they build some muscle. I'm not very muscular, but I noticed the difference when I went for a run. Turns out that having muscle makes it easier to run. Now that I wrote that, it sounds stupid, but I'd been thinking that it was all cardio, you know? Breath. Seems that even having a *little* more muscle in my legs lets me run farther and better.

I've been meditating every day, too. I figure that being calmer will help in many ways.

I've only had a couple, very brief, fearful moments. Six was reading Little House On The Prarie last night, and when I looked over, there was a drawing of the part in the beginning when the family tries to cross a ford and the wagon gets washed downstream, with the horses and family and all... It just struck me for a moment, until I told myself Get a grip! It's scary being the breadwinner, but I keep reminding myself that so many people have REAL problems while mine are only in my head.

Where I am with the job hunt

I spent a little over a week just organizing myself: sorting through all the crap I had to bring home from my office, figuring out unemployment, rewriting my resume, making lists and lists and lists...

Now I'm in the actual job hunt. It isn't so hard at this point. It's mostly tedious.

It's super-convenient that nowadays we can apply for jobs online, either by sending a resume via email, or by filling in profiles on company websites. The second part is the the tedious one. It's mostly cut-and-paste. It's just that it takes time.

When I say tedious I'm not complaining. I'm just describing.

Recruiters have started contacting me. I've been getting emails from ex-colleagues. One of my favorite bosses from the past just got laid off too, so we were comparing notes.

I'm doing other stuff, too. Last night I did a ton of ironing. Tonight I'll do another ton.

I've been running and doing some cool stretching exercises (see the picture). I've also been dressing up every day, so that if I ran into anyone I wouldn't have to apologize for my appearance.

Today I was a the library and realized I could do my job hunting there, if I got tired of doing it from home. They have wifi.

And last but absolutely NOT least, I went to the spa down the street to make an appointment for tomorrow. My mother gave me a gift certificate for a massage tomorrow. It's for an hour massage, but found I can extend it to 90 minutes for $40. So tomorrow I'm going to be kneaded like a loaf of bread.

God told me that Pat Robertson is going to hell

In case you haven't heard, Pat Robertson says that Haiti was struck by an earthquake because its people made a pact with the devil.

I got SO ANGRY when I heard this... I realize of course that the man is a crackpot, that he pretends that God tells him all sorts of crazy things, and, well, I'm not a Christian, so why should I care?

The reason I should care is that this nutcase is watched by people all over the world. And when he tells those people the screwy things he's dreamt up, they believe him.

He has a lot of influence. And although "with great power comes great responsibility," Pat Robertson is just plain irresponsible.

I'm sure the old reprobate will take back what he said, somehow pretend that it didn't come out the way he meant it. If God tells Pat something, but it doesn't work out well for Pat, God manages to change His mind.

He's a good god that way.

At least, he's good to Pat.

So, rather than boil in my anger, I looked up the website for the 700 Club, Pat Robertson's TV show. First, I put in a prayer request for Pat's soul.

Then I left a note for the CBN Editors, complaining about Pat's Haiti message.

And finally, I called those awful people on the phone (800-759-0700) and politely but firmly told them how wrong Pat Robertson was.