How I Spent The Sixth Week of the Rest of My Life

Today, I bit the bullet and applied for a job in Chicago.  In playing around with Monster.com, I'm noticing that most companies (not surprisingly) do not consider playing around on Twitter all day and studying the Foursquare habits of your friends to be the same as running a marketing campaign.  So it seems as though I probably need some on-the-job training in the actual day-to-day of a marketing department.  Since I hated the Director of that at my old job, I never bothered to observe it that closely.  Ironically, a similar job came up at my old place but I had no desire to apply and wouldn't have gotten it since the hate went both ways.  Anyway, here's the job:

Marketing Assistant - Medicaid Chicago, IL-1100319

About WellCare: WellCare Health Plans, Inc. provides managed care services targeted to government-sponsored health care programs, focusing on Medicaid and Medicare. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, WellCare offers a variety of health plans for families, children, and the aged, blind, and disabled, as well as prescription drug plans. The Company served approximately 2.2 million members nationwide as of September 30, 2010. For more information about WellCare, please visit the Company�s website at www.wellcare.com.

Our History: Founded in 1985 with three associates, WellCare grew to more than 800 associates and 467,000 members in Florida, New York and Connecticut by 2002. In 2004, the Company acquired Harmony to enter the Midwest and became publicly traded. By 2006, WellCare served 2.2 million members as it became a national PDP provider and the largest Medicaid plan in Georgia. Today, WellCare has approximately 3,500 associates and 2.2 million members nationwide. 

Description

The Marketing Assistant is responsible for executing the marketing strategy according to the prescribed rules and regulations of the AHCA Medicaid Contract and as directed by Management. 

Essential Functions:

• Deploys marketing materials into pre-determined field locations
• Develops sites/centers of influence
• Outreaches to Community-based organizations, business etc.
• Develops great name recognition
• Maintains brochure/site
• Is responsible for branding
• Maintains routes defined by deployment strategy
• Rotates working locations as defined by Team Leader/Manager

Qualifications

Education/Experience:

• High School Diploma
• Experience in HMO/Managed Healthcare or Insurance Industry, preferred

Computer Skills:

• Knowledge of Microsoft Office including Outlook, Word and Excel

Primary Location IL-Chicago

Travel No

Is a relocation package available? No

One thing a lot of people don't know about me is that I *LOVE* branding.  It kind of fits my personality to make sure there's a cohesive message and stylebook.  I think it's one thing that I bring to a social media job (if I manage to land one of those).  And the rest of the job, I actually meet the description perfectly (except experience in Managed Healthcare).

Now, I'm still not sure if I'm going to stay in Chicago or if I want to move to Washington D.C. (there's a whole blog entry circulating around in my mind on that), but at least I can, with a clear conscience, get my next unemployment check now.

Here's how I "spent" the rest of last week:

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8 ($4.00)

• 9:36 p.m. Cole's - $4.00.  By the time I finally arrived to meet up with my friends who were there (after watching "V"), they were getting ready to leave.  Score one for cheap drinking.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9 ($30.00)

• 8:35 p.m. House Of Blues - $30.00.  While it was a major expenditure (at a crappy venue), I could not miss Thursday playing the album "Full Collapse" (pretty much the soundtrack of my 25th year) in its entirety.  I figured as long as I was there as well, I might as well have a beer.  Though in a victory for good sense and good taste, instead of paying $11.00 for one beer I just left.  I hate this place!

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10 ($31.65)

• 2:35 p.m. El Charro - $12.00.  The weather in Chicago had gotten nasty.  So, naturally, I didn't want to get out of bed and face it.  This meant that when I finally did it took the promise to myself of tostadas to do it.
• 3:08 p.m. Chicago Public Library - Logan Square Branch - Free.  Even though I wasn't done with the book I was reading, my library card had expired and I had a movie on reserve.  So I braved the cold.
• 5:47 p.m. Aldi - Milwaukee - $14.65.  In truth, I had been really spending too much money because I had no food left in my refrigerator.  Or freezer.  This trip remedied that for far less than I was expecting.
• 7:22 p.m. Logan Theater - $5.00.  If I needed another reason to go to Washington D.C., it's that my local second run theater raised its prices.  Not on all movies.  Most are still $4.00.  But The Fighter, since it's still playing in good theaters was at Premium price.  It was worth it though.  The movie made me both cheer and cry.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11 ($7.82)

• 1:31 p.m. Taco Bell - $3.82.  While I forgot to print out the coupon for a free taco, the latest Taco Bell Facebook marketing campaign did remind me that I hadn't been there in a while (since before I was laid off).  I went to the one on Milwaukee that I used to haunt when I had a car and got a couple of burritos.
• 2:34 p.m. Hot Doug's - $4.00.  One of my peeps goes to this place a lot.  Since he checked in, it reminded me that Doug was going on vacation and this was his last weekday in the "office."  I got just one veggie dog (with a tip) so I wouldn't miss him while he was gone.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12 ($15.21)

• 3:04 p.m. Seven Ten Lounge - $15.21.  I had a Groupon that was about to expire so I brought a group of bowlers together for a day on the lanes.  While were waiting for a lane (my fault since I didn't bother making a reservation) I had a beer and some food.  Then another beer.  The bowling itself cost each of us $1.00 since we had two people whose shoes were not covered by the Groupon.  Not so bad for an hour.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13 ($8.60)

• 12:30 p.m. Walgreen's - $8.60.  I was out of various bathroom sundries yet again.  I think I spent more on soap, shampoo, and paper products than anything besides food and, maybe, alcohol.
• 1:15 p.m. McCormick Tribune YMCA - Free.  I ended up walking the entire way to the gym, so it was a nice short session as I let myself skip the treadmill.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14 ($39.63)

• 11:46 a.m.  Bubbleland - $2.90.  I woke up to a horrible surprise.  The washing machine in my building, despite being plugged in, was still broken.  With my hands covered in detergent, I took the bus over to Bubbleland.  I never thought a laundromat would be less stressful than the machine in my building.
• 1:00 p.m. Panaderia La Central - $3.24.  My day had started out so badly that I figured some pastries might hit the spot.  They did, but not enough that I didn't still want to get drunk.
• 2:32 p.m. Small Bar Division - $17.00.  Watching Fulham play Chelsea was great, but really it was just an excuse to drink a bit while the sun was still out.  And I did.  Those ciders absolutely hit the spot.  Though Clint Dempsey missing a winning penalty kick from the spot made me want to drink more.
• 4:37 p.m. Jimmy John's - $6.49.  While the alcohol and pastries made things okay, I still gave myself a Valentine's treat by also getting a sub.  I love their subs.  And their subs love me.
• 9:16 p.m. Rocking Horse - $4.00.  It was not my idea to drink any more on Valentine's Day, but I didn't turn down a chance to drink with some of my other single friends.  Only one PBR there though.
• 10:36 p.m. Cole's - $6.00.  It would seem as though the night was going to go downhill fast and by the end, when I lost at pool, it couldn't have ended much worse but I felt absolutely no pain.  I should go on a bender every Valentine's Day.
• 12:39 a.m. El Charro - Free.  I was treated to drunken food.  That was very nice of the person I was there with.  And I didn't even have to put out.

So that's $136.91. After chastising myself last week about spending too much, it's almost exactly the same amount.  The good thing is, however, that since I don't have any concerts this week and I don't plan on binge drinking (though I am about to head to Rogers Park for a birthday party), I should be well below $100.00 again.  My total money spent while I've been unemployed is $836.56.