I got a call from my mom.

We started off talking about the rest of the family; my sisters and dad are doing well, and everybody's certain that David Archuleta will be winning American Idol. Then we moved to the job search. I told her that I hadn't gotten any solid leads, just a couple interviews but beyond that nothing.

She said, "Well, I'm sure you'll do fine. You always come out of bad situations better off than you went in to them."

I agreed with her and, with a laugh, tried to sound unconcerned until we said goodbye…

In the past, I have always come out ahead when things have gone wrong. When I lost my job I was certain I'd do it again. But when I had my interview yesterday it didn't go well. I was overconfident, and as a result I seemed completely unqualified for the job.

I have been overconfident. Until now I'd relied on my abilities as a quick study, gotten myself in the front door, and excelled.

Now, I can't get in the front door. I can't even get anyone to answer the door.

My next interview is in a couple days, for a job that would require that I move (assuming I'm offered the position).

It wouldn't be a move across town, or even within my current state of residence. It would be a move taking me from one coast to (very nearly) the other. I can't say that I'm excited about this prospect — I'm very happy where I am. However, at a certain point I need to accept that telecommuting is most likely not a possibility. If that's not going to happen, it seems a move is inevitable.

It was pointed out to me today (thanks, Editor) that I haven't posted in a while.

I've tried a couple times this week, but each time have been unable to get started. The purpose of this blog was to chronicle my job search with an eye towards the humor of each day or event I described. I'm no longer finding my situation to be very funny.

I'm tired of looking at jobs, tired of submitting resumes, and tired of being ignored. More than that, I'm tired of keeping score in a game that I feel I'm losing. Where's the fun (or funny) in that?

The one face-to-face interview I've had (on Monday) went ok. I felt like I acquitted myself well, but while I was there interviewing for a part-time job they were, in fact, looking for a full-time employee (error in their post on craigslist). I told them that I couldn't afford to take the job at the per-hour rate they were offering, and that if they decided they wanted part-time, off-site support in addition to the full-time position they were seeking I'd be interested. They said they'd think it over and let me know. I haven't heard back.

I've been going back and for with a woman at a consulting firm, but every time we've had a phone interview scheduled she's canceled. That doesn't exactly make me feel as though they're interested. Other than that I have a phone interview scheduled for next week. If I end up getting that job it would be necessary for me to relocate — something I'm not keen on doing.

So, all in all, I can't say this is going well.

On the positive side I still have three-quarters of my severance package coming to me and, after that, unemployment. I'm using my free time to educate myself, learning some skills that should make me more attractive to prospective employers. Whether or not that will actually help me find a job, I can't say.

The long and short of it is this: I'm bored. As much as I try to stay active there is no sense of achievement in my day-to-day. I never realized how much having a job kept me sane.

We've reached the 3 week mark and I'm thinking a summary is in order.

Applications sent out: 16 (1 point per)

Responses received: 3 (5 points per)

Unsolicited contacts received: 1 (5 points per)

Interviews: 1 (10 points per)

Job offers: 0

Days started at 8AM: 0 (I'm giving one point to the Recession for each weekday, other than my birthday and the two days I took off, started after 8AM)

That brings our point total to date to Recession: 113, CotR: 50

I've get several call/emails out on the responses I received, so I'm hoping to have a few more interviews next week.

I'd been planning on using this week to recover from the disappointment of the first two weeks.

No responses to any of my applications, nothing but frustration and my birthday coming up Wednesday (now today). It seemed like a good time to recharge the batteries.

Then I received an email from an HR director who'd seen my profile on Monster and wanted to discuss my background. Finally! The position looked a bit outside of what I'd been looking for, but interest is interest and I was happy to have it. I responded and set up an interview by phone for 2PM today.

I started the day by attempting to sleep in, but unfortunately The Editor called and woke me up so I could sign for a package she was expecting in the AM. Once up I decided to spend my birthday playing Madden 08 on the Wii. After a couple hours of video game-generated reverie, I was getting close to interview time, so I put down my controller and picked up my computer, ready to look at the websites I'd set up previously to provide work-related anecdotes to the interviewer. This is where things started to go wrong.

My phone rang. I checked the time: 1:55PM. "A little early," I thought.

It was my mother. "Hi! Happy birthday! By the way, we put Toonces down yesterday."

Toonces, my family's cat since I had been in high school, had lived a long and angry life. At 18 years of age, kidneys failing, his time had come. I'm not much for signs, but finding out about Toonces five minutes before my interview didn't seem to bode well (thanks, mom).

After saying goodbye to my mother I received the call I'd been waiting for, and it didn't go well. I believe that I represented myself well, but my area of expertise didn't quite match up with what they wanted (as I'd previously thought). Web developer, as it turns out, means different things to different people.

The call dragged on and at a certain point I lost interest. If I'd pushed, I probably could've gotten an interview onsite, but why bother? She and I both knew it wasn't going to work, so better to cut my losses and look elsewhere.

Happy birthday to me!

It only makes sense that I'd have to go to renew my license in the same period of time that I'm unemployed. 1) I have nothing but time on my hands, and 2) I'm very used to tedium as entertainment.

The trip started out uneventfully enough. I drove there, entered the building and took a number. It was 1:22PM, and my number was 389. The number they were serving was 382.

"This will be nice and easy," I thought to myself.

Then, unbeknownst to me, time stopped. The walls of the DMV began to run, then congealed into a sticky mess of shit. The curtain fell away and and the third circle of hell revealed itself. We were gluttons, alright — gluttons for punishment.

My fellow cursed souls began to question the logic of the system of service. Why were we taking numbers and just not standing in line? Roughly half of the people who entered the building ignored instructions to take a number and simply walked to the counter. Of that group, half of them were sent to take a number while the other half were given immediate service.

Who were these people and what granted them the power to flout the conventions of the DMV?

They were fools who'd attempted to renew their licenses earlier, but had failed to bring with them the required documents. License, social security card, and proof of address. They'd been sent away to retrieve said documents, and were given a golden ticket guaranteeing them service upon their return. Bullshit, I say!

Is it fair that people who were too stupid to bring the required documents are given a free pass to the front of the line? I don't think so. Fuck them. Let them sit and wait with the rest of us. Better yet, let them wait until all the first timers with numbers are served. Let them scrub the toilets with their toothbrushes and mop the floors with their tongues. I was on the verge of assaulting the next golden ticket holder who walked through the door.

Finally, mercifully, my number was called. I sprinted to the table to beat any golden ticket-holding interlopers who might cut ahead of me. We began processing my request and everything went smoothly until the DMV played its trump card: the out of state address transfer form.

Yes, even though I'd gone to every accessible table in the entire building looking for any forms I might need to fill out, there was an out of state address transfer form that was required in addition to the documents I brought. This form was, apparently, so valuable that they kept it behind the counter. The only way to get it was to have your number called.

I took the form and filled it out as quickly as possible, a difficult task given that it appeared to be the product of a thousand photocopies. I fought through the eye strain, guessed at what I was supposed to enter for nearly every blank on the form, and shoved my way back to the front of the line.

Did I take another number? Wait my turn? Fuck, no!

I'd already been through the line once - why should I have to wait again? I hovered around the counter with the golden ticket holders and awaited my opportunity. When the person being served at the counter turned to walk away I pounced! Victory!

Finally, mercifully, I was able to complete my request for a new license. They gave me an eye test, took my signature and my picture, and at 3:06PM I was done.

Nice and easy…

I started out by going to the unemployment insurance site for the state where my ex-company is located (find your state here!) and following the steps to create my account. This included entering information on my previous employer and my current situation — what kind of severance package I received, the circumstances behind my termination, etc.

Once I finished filling out their forms I was told to wait until this week and then submit a request for payment. On Day 10 (as detailed previously) I followed their instructions, submitted the payment request and was told that my account had issues that needed to be resolved prior to me receiving any money. This (eventually) lead to me filling out a self-assessment form, where I had to make a number of commitments to maintain my unemployment eligibility.

From the options I received I chose the following:

1. Join a Networking/Job club
2. Network with work peers/friends
3. Register on any job bank
4. Take a Career Assessment exam
5. Utilized the resource room at the Workforce Center

Join a Networking/Job club: Signed up on LinkedIn, so I'm covered here

Networking with work peers/friends: Requested and received reference letters from my ex-manager and a client.

Register on any job bank: I placed my resume on Monster. Uh, that's a job bank, right?

Take a Career Assessment exam: I took the JASPER test. According to the results I'm a Mentor. Yes! Perfect for project management! I think…

Utilized the resource room at the Workforce Center: That's the tough one — I don't live in the state where I applied for unemployment, so I need to figure out where my local workforce center is, and hopefully use the phone in their resource room. Or something.

After selecting those I was given the option of entering in a couple commitments of my own. I thought about writing in "Locate a potential employer" and "Get hired" but decided that the person reviewing my claim might not have a sense of humor. Better paid than funny.

We've reached the two week mile marker, but I can't say I've actually moved forward in this endeavor.

I've sent out a number of resumes, but haven't had any response. I've filed for unemployment, but am not yet eligible to receive any benefits. I'm going to lose my health insurance at the end of the month and I haven't taken any steps at getting a replacement for it.

I know part of my lack of progress is my own doing… it's difficult to get any momentum when you're inactive. But the rest is… I'm not sure what the rest is—what am I doing wrong?

I haven't even received my first severance check yet, so is it too early to be worried? Probably. At the same time, I haven't heard a response on any of my applications, much less been called in for an interview. Why shouldn't I worry?

The search continues…

Since I started looking I've sent out five applications. To this point, no response. It's an odd feeling, being ignored. Do I wait a couple days for an answer? Do I email and follow up? At my previous job I would often review resumes and participate in interviews. Whenever an applicant seemed pushy I'd remove them from consideration — figuring out who to hire was hard enough without the added guilt of perceiving their desperation. Perhaps this is payback.

I found an ad for a part-time webmaster position today, it looked like something I was doing for my old company around four years ago. Do I go after this job and buy myself more time to find something better or do I stay on the search full-time? If it were just me I'd be leaning towards sticking to the search, but I've got other responsibilities. As much as I'd like to stick to the search I need to make money anywhere I can (of course, I probably won't hear back from them).

In addition to all the job searching I did today, there was time spent on unemployment as well. I put in my first request for payment and, as expected, received notice of pending issues on my account. I called the customer service line and they confirmed that my severance package would most likely delay me being eligible to receive payments. After the call I hopped online to fill out a self-assessment form to be reviewed by the unemployment office once I became eligible. This is where the fun really began.

I started out answering yes or no to a bunch of questions about how i was looking for my job. Was my search too narrow? Were my expectations unreasonable? All good questions. I answered them the way they needed to be answered, but beyond that I can't say that I answered them correctly. There were other questions, but I'm tired now and I think those questions are best saved for another post.

I promised a post on unemployment and I WILL DELIVER (some other time)!

I'm an unemployed motherfucker without any prospects.

Today was one big fucking waste of time. I added a resume on Monster and spent the rest of the day looking at various job sites — NO GOOD LEADS! Monster, HotJobs, 37signals and Craigslist, and no goddamn leads.

There were plenty of positions that seemed like possibilities, but I always came up short once I got to the technical requirements. Is it possible that after eight years at the same company my area of expertise has narrowed to the point that I'm only qualified to work for the people who laid me off? Un-fucking-believable.

On top of that I haven't heard back from any of the companies I contacted over the weekend. Not going to panic on those just yet (don't want to seem desperate) but I'm not feeling very good about that either.