Yes, I'm still alive

Okay, I am fully aware that it has been a long time since I last posted. I'm also quite aware that I have lots of free time right now and one could certainly assume that with all my free time I could have posted much more. Or at all. But. . . I haven't. No real reason.

Since it's been so long, I thought I'd just post a few sundry goings-on.

Unemployment. Yup, I'm still unemployed. It's been 9 weeks and counting. I've applied for many jobs, but nothing concrete yet. And I'm still waiting for my first unemployment check. On that happy note, moving on. . .

Life. At first I really quite enjoyed not having to go to work everyday and having lots of free time to pursue other interests. Now that it's been many weeks, the novelty is certainly starting to wear off and I'm learning that unemployment isn't always everything it's cracked up to be. However, I have had time to spend with family and getting caught up on various projects. My sister and brother-in-law just moved to Lake Havasu City and I spent a few days helping them unpack. I also have been back to Las Vega a few times to hang out with the family and keep an eye on things while my mom was out of town. As a great side story - several weeks ago my mom and Layne were headed back East on a school field trip. About a week before they were due to leave, my mom called and asked if I would go back to Vegas to help out - apparently she was concerned about my dad's and my sister's ability to take care of the house and themselves while she was away. It kind of made me laugh. :)

Aside from traveling, life is pretty quiet. I try to keep my days full and active. I've had a few people (very politely, I might add) basically ask me what the heck I do all day. So here are a few of the activities I try to fill my time with during the day:

• I try to make sure I spend at least 2-3 hours every day (usually lots more!) working on job search activities. This includes networking, Internet searching, working on cover letters and my resume, etc.
• I think I'm driving my roommates crazy, but I spend lots of time trying out new recipes and cooking up a storm. I'll be honest - over the past several weeks I've gained a few extra pounds I can't really afford to gain. :) I've found the New York Times a particularly interesting recipe source. Check out "The Minimalist" and "Bitten" by Mark Bittman.
• Cleaning up and cleaning out. I've tried to clean out drawers, my closet, storage boxes, and other areas of my house and life. For the first time in my life, I also make my bed almost every day. My mom would be so proud!
• I try to exercise almost every day.
• Laying out by the pool. So nice. :)
• Reading.
• It isn't uncommon for me look at the clock and realize at 2 or 3 pm that I have had no human interaction at all that day (Gmail chat aside!). In the afternoons or evenings I sometimes wander around the library or Target for some human interaction.
• I often spend the evenings watching TV on the Internet or watching movies.

Recent Reads. A few nights I started reading the book Wickett's Remedy by Myla Goldberg. It is such an interesting book, partly because of the structure. The author uses an omniscient narrator, presumably composed of deceased persons involved in the story, that comments on the story occasionally in the book's wide margins. It's quite interesting and entertaining - I've never seen a story structured quite this way. The narrator almost serves as a Greek chorus of sorts. Here is an example: the storyline says "Lydia's Southie girlfriends became formal. They moved as though they feared breaking something and invented reasons to leave after one cup of tea. None visited more than twice. . ." while the margin commentary says "Margaret Kelly is sure she made the trip not less than four times." It's an interested look at memory and how it can be so subjective. I'm only about one-quarter through the book, but it's quite interesting and I highly recommend the book!

Other Entertainment Pursuits. I'm typically not much of a TV watcher or follower, but with all this free time. . . I've been discovering the joy of TV on DVD and Internet TV. My two recent favorites:

• Pushing Daisies. I know it's off the air now, but I sure wish I'd watched it when it was on!
• Royal Pains on USA Network. It is a semi-shallow show about a doctor that moves to the Hamptons and makes house calls to the filthy rich. It kind of cool, though - the doctor is kind of like McGeyver. Every episode he has to deal with one or two strange illnesses and manages to figure out the weirdness at just the last minute, sometimes using cool things like ballpoint pens and duct tape. Very entertaining! The show is on Thursday nights, but I usually watch it on Hulu the next day.

So that's my life right now. Not much going on, but hopefully I'll have good news about the job search in the near future. Happy Tuesday!