You've been eliminated!

If you've ever watched an episode of The Biggest Loser or The Amazing Race or Survivor or American Idol, you've probably heard people talk about being eliminated. How badly they want to avoid being eliminated. How they will react if they are eliminated. It all builds the drama. And as viewers, we talk about who we want to be eliminated, knowing that the drama has already happened (except for Idol) and that the participants know who won.

Well, I've never been on a reality show, but I now know what it's like to be eliminated. Last week, 2 of my 3 bosses at Tweedee Productions sat me down and informed me that my position will be eliminated effective July 1. They gave me 6 weeks' notice. That allows me a lot of time to try to find a different job. But I've been looking for work since they cut my hours in half in November. And I am still looking. I've been focusing on teaching jobs, and I remain hopeful that something will come along for me before school resumes in the fall. In the meantime, I also look for non-teaching jobs. To be honest, there aren't many jobs out there right now, though the economists say things are improving. We'll see.

Jobs

This week, I've been struggling with motivation: to exercise and to go to my cleaning job, mostly, but also to mow the lawn and to vacuum the house. I don't know if it's the weather, or if it's the fact that I work 3 part-time jobs for an average of 50 hours/week except for last week and this week when I worked 60 hours/week. I don't mean to complain. I am truly thankful to have each job, since it allows for bills to be paid. I am just getting tired of working from 7am-9:30pm at least once a week. And last week, I worked 7am-10:30pm on Monday, 8am-9pm on Tuesday, and 7am-9pm on Wednesday. That's 40 hours in 3 days. Yuck!

I have applied for and received my Wisconsin teaching license, and I've been applying for teaching jobs when I come across them. But the school year doesn't start until August, so I still have to make it through the summer. And there's no guarantee that I'll be hired as a teacher somewhere. It has been 9 years since I've been a classroom teacher, and in case you haven't noticed, the economy still sucks. There are a lot of people looking for jobs, including teachers. That said, if you have any connections in any school districts, I'd appreciate any advocating on my behalf.

On the upside, I'm spending this Saturday volunteering at Habitat for Humanity with my parents. Hooray!! And without requesting the night off, I'm not waitressing afterward. Even bigger hooray!!

Happy Valentime's!

Last year, just before Valentine's Day, Einar and I watched an old 30 Rock episode which featured a character that kept saying, "Happy Valentime's!" thoughout the episode. It was hilarious! So now, we wish each other a happy Valentime's instead of happy Valentine's.

I had to wait tables all weekend, and even though I'd rather not have to spend my weekend nights working, it's actually kind of fun to waitress on Valentine's day. You get mostly couples who are in a good mood, ready for a nice night out. And because it's a special occasion for them, they are usually quite generous with their tips, which is nice when you've given up your night to be at work.

Speaking of tips, I've noticed a difference in tipping amounts over the past year. It used to be that I'd average 18% tips on a typical night, which I was quite happy with. I'd get some people that would tip exactly 15%, the magic don't-tip-less-than-this percentage. But I'd get quite a few customers that would tip 20% or more. In the past year, those groups have flip-flopped. Now, I get quite a few diners that tip exactly (and I mean exactly) 15% and only a few that tip 20% or more. I'm sure it has to do with the economy. Business at the restaurant where I work is definitely down, despite what the owner tells you - not only in volume, but in what people are ordering. It's been kind of interesting to watch.

I'm hoping the economy, especially the job market, turns around soon. From what I keep reading, it has already starting to improve, but then, why is unemployment predicted to stay above 10% for 2010 and still be above 9% in 2011?

Looking for Work

On October 26, my bosses called me into the conference room and told me that they needed to cut my hours. In half. Effective November 1. While I wasn't totally surprised that they were cutting my hours, I was surprised by the size of the cut and by the short notice. I had been reading about the crummy job market for months, and now it's my turn to see for myself. I've applied for a few full-time jobs, but so far nothing has come of them. Luckily, my church was in need of a part-time custodian. That means I'm now working 3 part-time jobs. Not fun. At all. But it's what needs to happen for now. Please keep your eyes and ears open for any opportunities you think would be good for me.

I put together a video slideshow for my father-in-law, and he wanted his kids to see it. So I'm posting it here for them and for you. I hope you enjoy it!

Recession

I know I've written about the economy before, but I've been trying to avoid that topic, since it's all over the news and I feel like we all hear enough about it. But when I was reading the Planet Money blog today, they had this post about the IMF naming our current recession a "synchronous recession," which is not good. I continue to be thankful for my jobs and Einar's job. I continue to pray for all of the people who are unemployed or underemployed, especially my brother and others I know personally. I am trying to stay optimistic. . .