Happy belated New Year!
If you’re wondering how I spent my New Year’s or what I did with those six free airline tickets, well here’s a recap of the last two weeks of my life:
* I went to New York with my friend Kanako
* I was there a total of 36 hours…
* During those 36 hours I….
1. Caught the flu and came down with a mysterious stomach virus
2. Spent over 100 US dollars on coffee, pizza, thai food and New York City public transportation fare
3. Had a major freak-out in a Soho Starbucks about the amount of money I was spending, my impending uemployment situation and the fact that I still have no idea what I’m doing with my life.
* I then left my friend Kanako in New York and took the next flight back to San Francisco.
* Not wanting to spend New Years alone and worried about my finances, I picked up a shift working at the airport and spent New Year’s Eve in the baggage claim, helping passengers fill out lost baggage forms. When the clock neared midnight, I got on the loud speaker and with as much enthusiasm as I could muster, tried to lead the passengers of Boston flight 712 in a countdown. But most of them were so jet lagged and cranky from all of the delays and cancelled flights, that they barely looked up. No one cheered or hugged anyone and only a handful of people clapped.
Well, happy crappy New Years to you, too.
* I ended up giving the rest of my free airline passes away to friends. I’ll be unemployed again in a few weeks and with no new job lined up, it would be crazy of me to go on a travel spree when next month I might end up collecting food stamps.
* For right now though, I’m just trying to work as much as possible and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that one of the airline jobs I applied to will eventually call me back. But I’m also working on a Plan B, which involves moving to any country where US $3,000 is enough to jumpstart a new life, (which limits me to SE Asia, Guatamala or parts of South America). I’m really reluctant to move abroad again, mostly because there’s so much work involved and the idea of having to start all over again just sounds so exhausting.
Well, that’s it. That’s the whole sad, unexciting truth of it…Here’s to beginning another year filled with uncertainty!
I know this may sound like I’m joking but I’m not: Why not move in with your parents and finish your book?
If you have some kind of support system, having the free time of being unemployed (and single with no kids) may be a blessing in disguise.
Trying to do a personal project while working your butt off at a day job really sucks.
oh no 🙁
all i can say to you is that there are so many opportunities. they abound. and the right one will come at the right time. just hang on. and i know its tough at the moment, but life works out. and i agree with G… maybe you have all this free time for a reason. maybe you need to just accept that you have it and use it in a way that makes it worthwhile.
good luck xx
Hi G,
I don’t think my parents house would be the right environment for writing a book. But you’re right, working full time (most weeks I work 50 or 60 plus hours) makes it near impossible to find time for writing…or anything at all really. Some days, it seems like I barely have enough time to brush my teeth. I think I really need to find a new job and / or a part-time job or just move to a city where it’s not as expensive and I don’t have to work so hard just to make ends meet. I don’t know how you live in SF and survive! It’s as bad as NYC or Tokyo (well almost, anyway). : )
Hi Sarah,
I’m pretty sure it’ll all work itself out. It always does…already it’s looking like I’ll be able to keep my job until the end of Feb. and maybe longer. So at least that’ll give me sometime to figure out what to do next!
I just found your blog and I really like it! Where did you end up going? I moved to Mexico with that budget and six years later, I’m still here!