don't knock it till you try it: unemployment

Since the age of 15, I've pretty much always had some kind of legitimate "job." The first one was at Cathay Chow Mein, at 54th and Nicollet in South Minneapolis. After that I worked at the Bruegger's bagel shop at 5oth and Penn (where I was promoted to "supervisor" at the age of 16), Orchesta Hall, and a coffee shop called Sovereign Grounds at 48th and Chicago. These were my high school jobs. 

After that I went on to college, where I worked in the cafeteria, the library, and the "career development center," respectively. During summer vacations I would work as a temporary file clerk, receptionist, or data entry "specialist" in a variety of suburban offices. 

And then after I graduated from college, I worked as a receptionist for a neighborhood newspaper, an "associate project manager" for an education assessment company, a proofreader at a direct mail company, an editor at a drapery trade magazine, and a technical writer at a communications consulting company. 

In other words, I was totally and completely sick of working. So I guess you could say it was a "blessing in disguise" when I was laid off from my job in mid-October. 

Being unemployed is pretty great. Probably the best part is not having to put on humiliating "business casual" clothing in order to go mince around in some suburban office park all day. 

However, with unemployment comes responsibilities. One of these is to complete a self-assessment that is supposed to help you figure out how to proceed with your job search. My favorite part of the assessment is in Part B (optional), under "Self Description." Here you can rate yourself in categories that include "Stress and Worry," "Conscientiousness," and "Extroversion." I left the "Extroversion" section blank, because if I answered honestly (Enthusiastic? Not at all. Sociable? Not at all. Talkative? Not at all...) the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development would probably freeze my weekly payments. 

Another nice touch comes at the very end of the assessment. After a friendly statement wishing me the best of luck in my job search, the following command appears in bold: "TRY, TRY, TRY AGAIN!" Despite the jaunty tone, I appreciate the implied negativity--that my road to re-employment will surely be a long and arduous one.