- Monday
Right now I have lots of lists going—things to do and ideas
to keep me productive until I get a new job.
Some of the tasks I’m doing are things I’ve been meaning to do for a
while but just haven’t gotten to yet.
One of them was moving my safe deposit box from Wicker Park to a bank
closer to where I live. That seemed like a simple enough task for a Monday, so
I jotted that down. I noticed my small
box of pennies and thought, “It’s a Monday, so the bank should be able to count
and deposit a few bucks worth of pennies.” Then I realized I’d pass a Home Depot
between bank stops, so I’d drop off those lightbulbs for recycling . . . and oh
yeah, we need gas tanks for the grill. Then my sis realized we are almost out
of chicken breasts, so I offer to stop at Marianos while I am at it (trying to
eat more organic meat and can’t buy that at the store around the corner). My computer has been acting up—finally bought
a new battery, but the power cord wasn’t staying connected enough to charge, so
added a stop at the computer store to Monday’s to-do list. Then sis mentioned
in passing that we need to do one of our monster shopping trips ‘cause the
cabinets are getting a bit thin, so a stop at Target gets added to the
list. By Sunday morning, I realized I
needed a battle plan to get through Monday’s to-do list, and—being unemployed—I
also needed to hit the coupon sites before shopping.
I left at 9:30 on Monday and returned at 1:30. At the bank, I got the new safe deposit box
for free by signing up for a checking account (I may have to close it in six
months if I drop below a certain dollar amount and pay the fee then, but we’ll
see), so that stop took longer than I thought, but I saved $50. I hit all the stops mentioned above and with
couponing at Target and using my Target credit card saved $40 (okay, that is
unusually high savings and I suspect the coupons were better due to Easter
sales). The new computer cord seems to
be working (mostly), so that will hopefully delay the need for a new computer
or a computer repair for a few months.
While it was a long day, I saved anywhere from $90 to $800, so not a bad
Thriftista day!
- Tuesday
I did some job searching before heading off to a volunteer
project—mosaic creating in a West Town park.
It was COLD! Three hours outside, so treated myself to a good cup of hot chocolate while waiting for the bus.
Since learning I was losing my job, I’ve had two people
approach me about selling—skin care products or environmentally friendly dry
goods. One of them had a meeting Tuesday night, so I decided to go. While I am not convinced I have the mind-set
to do something like this full-time, I am trying to keep myself open to
new possibilities. It was interesting, but
I’m still not there yet.
- Wednesday
Wednesday I had another meeting with a new recruiter. This one told me that I interview well. The second recruiter to tell me that—I assume
it is because I am a bit animated (bubbly?) but not in a blathering sort of
way. Either that or there are a lot of
dour paralegals out there! I tend to
think that 80% of the reason I got my last job was due to personality; they
knew I wouldn’t frighten other employees (important when working as an in-house
paralegal).
Then off for another segment of the Chicago outdoor
sculpture tour (free!). While looking at
one sculpture, I may have found a new favorite sculpture that wasn’t on the
list. Daphne by Dessa Kirk near Michigan
and Congress—on the street median! I
will have to go back when the plants are growing and see what they have done to
her “skirt”.
There were two sculptures I couldn’t find—anyone know where Alexander
Hamilton by Bela Lyan Pratt is now located? The web says it is supposed to be there, but I
just couldn’t find it.
Splash by Jerry Peart was the other one—supposed to be
near Millennium (but that one had construction on that corner, so maybe it will
return in a few months?).
Watched the fountain get turned on! Took a few good pics of the Bean.
Oh, and the thing I always try to remember when walking
around Chicago? Look up! (Not while walking or during rush hour, but
otherwise...) I randomly spot beautiful
buildings that or angles of objects that I would miss if I just looked at it
straight on. A new favorite sculpture is
by the Art Institute. The Large Interior
Form by Henry Moore looks completely different at different angles. Here’s the “up” shot and one with a beautiful
old building and a skyscraper behind it.
Then I took the free tour of the Chicago Cultural Center. If you like stained glass domes or mosaics,
this is a MUST see. They provide free tours
on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons at 1 pm.
This may be a better cold weather activity as the docent said attendance
is much higher in the spring and summer than winter. I think I’ll write a blog for Thriftista
about this free event.
- Thursday and Friday
Thursday and Friday were less eventful. A friend had an unexpected business trip when
she also had a sick cat. I picked up the keys and checked up on the sicky
cat. Trying to shoot florescent pink
medicine into a feline mouth is messy!
Then hit the gym both days, before returning home for more job hunting. As the paralegal listings seemed a little
light lately, I started thinking about whether or not/how to expand the job
hunt—only to have two companies similar to the one I just stopped working for
post paralegal jobs. I should get calls
on those (even if I don’t get interviews, I should at least get calls or their
HR departments aren’t doing their jobs!).
One of these companies had what I consider to be the best job
application website; insert name, address, email, upload resume, upload cover
letter, and hit submit! Simple and sensible. No importing or pretending to import (then
having to insert the data myself on) the same info into the same job
application. Many other jobs appeared as well, so spent both afternoons working
on job applications. Putting my
paralegal skills to use for myself; drafting a contract for my editing
services.
Since Thursday was sis’s b-day, I bought a mini-peanut
butter pie at First Slice. Yummy! And
season ending of Scandal, of course...
Then on Friday met friends to celebrate sis’s bday—local pizza place
with outdoor patio (enclosed, when needed) and beer.
- Saturday
Saturday was another volunteer day; this time at the Lincoln
Park Conservatory. We were cleaning out
one of the green house areas—sweeping leaves and debris, pulling weeds that had
already begun to grow in the gravel and cement.
There were some furry parts among the dead leaves—blurg! When I got home I needed a NAP! I’m also
discovering another sign of age. I used to hurt the day after physical labor,
now it starts a few hours after the labor has ended. Anyway, got to see the koi pond and other
flora. This is another one of my favorite
free places in the city.
Then drove to burbs to see a friend that night. I slept well.
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