During this time of job searching I'm finding that my character is being tested. I was laid off in May of 2010 so it's not very long before I've been out of work for a year. The part I hate the most is answering the question about what I'm looking for. It's a valid question to be sure, but what I'm looking for isn't necessarily what I'm qualified to do.
Here's the deal. About a year ago I began looking through a study guide for taking the GRE test to get into the Masters program for education, specifically, Elementary Education. About a month before I figured I'd be ready to take the test the bottom fell out of the teaching field and no new teachers were being hired. In fact, many first year teachers were not having their contracts renewed. Shortly after that I lost my job, so even though returning to school is still an option I'm not sure if I'd have a job at the end of it to pay back student loans.
I'm not going to sit and blame Obama for this mess. He inherited a less than stellar economy but he didn't do anything to help it either. I don't think the administration thought through the ramifications of forcing employers to pay for health care. One major difference between me and Obama is that after he's no longer "working" he'll still be drawing a paycheck. I'm not that lucky. My personal belief is that the major flaw in the American political system is that whoever wins the election is wealthy so we know where their priorities lie from the get-go. Hell, you can't even run for office without being rich. I'd love to see how the country could be run by a blue-collar worker who's been in the plants, warehouses and factories working first hand. Just a pipe-dream but it ranks up there with winning the lottery.
Anyway, I digressed a little bit there. My point was that I'm still trying to come to grips with having no job. I've heard it said that women get a large chunk of their self-worth by the cleanliness of their homes (and / or children). Typically the first question men will ask each other is, "What do you do for a living"? This question is devastating to self-image for men who are unemployed. Granted it doesn't necessarily have a bearing on how good a husband or father I am (outside of the whole bread-winner thing) but it doesn't help.
So, who am I? I'm a guy who likes to have a lot of fun dressing up and entertaining others. I'm not the best at it but I enjoy it. I'm a guy who doesn't make New Year's resolutions unless it's something I'm serious about changing. I'm a guy who spends more time than he should in front of a computer wasting time with facebook and blogging, etc. I'm a guy who has to watch Alzheimer's turn his father's once-brilliant mind to intellectual sludge and trying to do it with grace but failing miserably. I'm a guy who wants to do right by his family but is finding it difficult to do it in this economy.
In short, I'm a regular guy who's going through some stuff. Having said that I don't want to come across as complaining. You can always find somebody who's suffering on a grander scale. It might even be you.
-LG
