Another Day 26 & 27: Life Goes On

 

Today is day 18 of being unemployed, because holidays and weekends don't really count. Considering I'm getting paid, am I really unemployed ? I guess so. It's going to continue to be a scary place until I have a job, and it looks like that may happen soon. For now, I consider this time off to be an extended vacation. I got paid for 12 vacation days, so today is brought to you by my severance pay, whenever that shows up.

I didn't write yesterday as it was so hot. I spent the entire day in my bedroom with the ac on, watching YouTube and playing Cookie Jam on my tablet. I didn't bother doing any job searching, as I was still hoping for the Accenture job. Well - late last night I checked my email and discovered an interview request from their recruiter !!! I was so excited. It is scheduled for tomorrow at noon. That gives me the morning to make sure my hair is good and to do makeup and decide what to wear. 

I had so much trouble trying to get to sleep last night. I was still awake at 2 am when a thunderstorm rolled through. My power went out shortly after 2:30 am and after reporting the outage to National Grid I noticed the nightlight in the hallway was on. Ok .. so apparently part of the house had power and part of it didn't. I ended up going into the basement and found 3 breakers were tripped. Once I reset those, all was good. I finally got to sleep sometime after 3 am and I was awake just before 9 am. I really need to get back on a sleep schedule because the Accenture job, if I get it (please God!), is an 8-5 just like my old job. Starting Monday I am reinstating my 7 am alarm and will plan to be in bed by 10 pm each night.

I got a call from Juli at Edward Jones today. Apparently the transfer of my Computershare holdings was rejected as my SSN didn't match what their records show. Well, I've known for a while their records were screwed up and the holdings are under my maiden name, so I'm hoping EJ is able to resolve both issues. It feels good to have someone local managing my money. The fact that Joe trusts them is also comforting.  Anyhow, I took a ride there then went to Delta Sonic for gas. On the way home I stopped at Walmart in Central Square (which is undergoing a facelift starting with a resurfaced and repainted parking lot) and then Dunkin for a frozen mocha coffee. I didn't really "need" anything at Walmart but left there $185 poorer ! I really enjoyed the coffee even though I still can't taste anything. I had a pizza for dinner because I was craving it, but I couldn't taste that either. I'm wondering how long it will be before my sense of smell and taste will come back. From what I've read online, there is no hard and fast rule. It seems like the sinus inflammation is the culprit, and I'm still blowing my nose a lot. I feel like I'm not eating as much because I can't smell or taste anything. I tend to eat only when my body signals it is hungry.  Anyhow, I wasn't feeling very energetic, but forced myself to go out. I'm glad I did because it reminded me I need to get moving in order to get my strength back. I really hope to mow at least part of the lawn tomorrow after the interview.

Tomorrow night I'm going to a drum circle with Michelle. I don't know if anyone else is going, so that'll be a surprise. It's not until 7 pm, so I'll plenty of time to mow a bit after the interview unless it rains. If it rains I'll try to mow on Saturday. I'm not really in to the drum circle thing but I didn't want to say no, especially if no one else from the family is going. 

After spending hours scrolling my phone instead of sleeping last night, I went through again today and unfollowed a lot of junk accounts on Instagram. I'm going to work harder at avoiding the trap of endless reels pumped out for views. If I get the job at Accenture I'm going to need to be 100% focused all day, so I need to break the phone habit now. Plus, I'm tired of all these so-called "influencers". A lot of them put very little effort into their skits and they're probably making a ton of money from idiots like me. I mean really .. pretend to be on the phone using a bottle of perfume ? Buy a cheap un-activated cell phone at Walmart. I can get behind those who put in effort and use props or a greenscreen that are appropriate to the content, but not those who don't even try. There is one who pretends to be a restaurant server and you can clearly see her doing the transitions from each role on her laptop. That is lazy - as you shouldn't be able to see the transition. So I'm not going to waste my time on that nonsense anymore. I also need to break away from the news websites. I keep falling into that hole and spending hours reading junk. I'm going to limit myself to local news only for a little while. I'm tired of reading about murders and other crimes, along with the vicious garbage that politics has become. 

In good news, I don't have to report for jury duty next week ! Next Thursday is the last time I have to call and see if I have to report. I suspect there will be little court action the week of July 4, so I'm hoping to escape it this time. If nothing else, if gets me off the hook for state jury duty for 6 years. It doesn't get me off the hook for Fed, so they could call me again. My life seems to be mirroring my mother's - they used to call her all the time and she would have a nervous breakdown every time. The last time she was summoned, my sister had to call on her behalf to get her excused, as mom was pretty much hysterical about it. They need to focus on calling young people instead of forcing seniors into it. If I ever have to report again, I will "play the game" to ensure I get excused right off the bat. I never should have registered to vote - until I did that they left me alone.

My severance payment hasn't shown up, but the bills will be paid with no problem. I really hope to get the Accenture job so that paychecks will roll in again soon and I can add more to my retirement savings. First priority if I get the Accenture job will be having my dental work done. Then I'll move on to getting some wellness checks. Once I am 100% feeling better I will be getting back on treadmill and working hard on losing the weight.

The heat wave is over now and temps have dropped below 70 .. which is a welcome relief ! I won't have to swelter through the interview tomorrow. I do need to put the air conditioner in the window in my office so that it's ready for the next heat wave, but I can do that over the weekend. My office needs some work and if I do get the Accenture job I am planning on putting in a 2 monitor setup for work. I am sure Accenture will provide a laptop but if their software can't be installed on my personal laptop I'm going to need a monitor, as I can't see well enough on the typical 14" corporate laptop. I also need to figure out how to get my printer to stop printing with an all black background and also buy a new toner cartridge. I also still need to install the blinds I bought for my office. I really do have a ton that needs to be done around the house and I've accomplished nothing in the 4 weeks since I stopped working. I guess I can give myself some grace as it's been hard to accept the reality of being unemployed. I've wavered from feeling financially secure to worrying about the future and my money lasting. Getting the Accenture job will remove that fear and hopefully allow me to get that fresh start and move forward on a happier path. Having a job without the constant worry of layoff will be wonderful and Kurt seems like he'll be an amazing manager. Win - Win !

On that note, it's midnight and long past time for bed. Tomorrow is a big day and I need to be at my best.