How I Spent The Fifty-Second Week Of The Rest Of My Life

Yesterday I officially became a resident of Maryland and I have the driver's license to prove it.  It feels like it has been a long time coming but it marks the fact that I'm really on the East Coast for good (not that my lease didn't do that).

Today I found out that I'm not Yelp Elite anymore.  Which is fine because I haven't written a review in four months as of today.  I've been too busy writing cover letters and blog posts and maintaining three Twitter accounts (seriously, it's easier than it looks - sometimes).  But since there's only so much writing that I can do, this ends the weekly portion of this blog.  If something exciting happens, i.e. I discover some tried and true new method of job hunting or find a full-time job, I'll pop back in to announce the big news.

For now, if you want to follow my endeavors in microblogging form, you can at @greenmind0428 on Twitter (or @MGoldman2_0 for my social media consultancy) or at my other blog at www.michaelgoldman20.com.

I'm still going to keep a spreadsheet of my expenses too.  If anyone even cares about that part anymore, you can ask for it.  Or be my friend on Foursquare I guess.  And so, with those words, I bring you the following...

Here's how I "spent" last week:

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 27 ($26.57)

• 1:03 p.m. Roti Mediterranean Grill - $8.52.  Since I got the ROTD in Washington D.C. for the first time for the Foggy Bottom location of Roti, I had to stop by there and celebrate with some deliciousness.
• 1:46 p.m. GW Bookstore - Free.  After I had fished the printer out from near the trash, I found out that it needed ink.  The printer is so old that this book store did not have it.
• 2:37 p.m. Staples - $18.05.  While I didn't buy resume paper, I did buy plain stock and the yellow ink that the printer was short on.  When I got home, it all magically worked.  If I need to, I'll buy resume paper at FedEx Kinko's since I don't visit there enough to fax.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28 ($7.00)

• 12:00 p.m. Washington Sports Club - Free.  One thing that I miss at home is cable news.  I don't know why I miss it.  But the gym has it and it gets me feeling caught up on hyperbole.
• 1:26 p.m. Tynan Coffee & Tea - $7.00.  I finally wrote another blog entry in my other blog.  It had been almost a month.  Rockville has not been good for my blogging by any means.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29 (Free)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30 ($10.00)

• 12:43 p.m. Mexico Puebla - $6.00.  Going all the way out the Gaithersburg and not knowing that the MVA was closed early for the holiday kind of sucked pretty bad.  But at least I got some food truck burrito satisfaction.
• 1:59 p.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  I finally got around to uploading my Christmas photos using the wi-fi at this Starbucks.  It felt like getting something accomplished I guess.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31 ($3.00)

• 4:30 p.m. Washington Sports Club - Free.  The fact that there are decision making general assemblies at Occupy D.C. really makes for a nice gym schedule as well.
• 5:53 p.m. Occupy K Street - Free.  It was unfortunate that the New Year's Eve party got cancelled since the Park Police were worried about the mall.  But I still got to take part in my first Occupy D.C. proper GA.
• 7:42 p.m. Starbucks - $3.00.  With the police cancelling my New Year's plans, I tried to figure out what to do.  This Starbucks ended up closing on me before I could.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 1 ($3.91)

• 2:17 p.m. Freedom Plaza - Free.  I had never visited the permitted, older, Occupy D.C. camp before.  It was cleaner.  But I'm kind of used to the chaotic vibe at McPherson Square now.
• 3:05 p.m. Occupy K Street - Free.  In theory, I was there for the Media Committee meeting.  But I couldn't find them and decided to just go home after visiting with a couple of people.
• 4:07 p.m. Washington Sports Club - Free.  Visiting the gym after Occupy D.C. was not the normal direction. But it did feel good to get a bit of the dust off of me.
• 5:23 p.m. CVS/pharmacy - $3.91.  As I knew I might get a call to temp starting the next day, I wanted to buy razors.  They were out.  But they had only essentials that I needed.

MONDAY, JANUARY 2 ($44.78)

• 3:35 p.m. Target - $16.05.  While I don't think Target is a great place to shop for groceries, they do occasionally have bargains.  I found a few.
• 4:51 p.m. Giant Food - Flagship Center - $28.73.  Fully stocking up on groceries felt pretty good.  I probably couldn't afford it, but I needed a bit of a pick me up.

So that's $95.26. A pretty good way to end this blog.  With a week under $100.00.  Technically I lost my job on January 4, 2010 so there were two days unaccounted for.  On these two days, I didn't leave my apartment at all.  Unless I find a job soon, there will probably be two and three day stretches of this and no one wants to read about those I'm sure.  So, until I blog on here with some news, I wish all my readers the best in the new year.  My total spent which I've been unemployed is $10641.78.

How I Spent The Fifty-First Week Of The Rest Of My Life

What does it all mean?  What did 2011 teach me?  In this year that I, technically, started my own business and sent out I don't even want to say how many applications (more than 200 but less than 300), but what do I have to show for it other than a futon mattress in a strange city.  I love this strange city, mind you, but I do find myself missing Chicago sometimes and wondering what I could have accomplished there.

Goodness knows my life would be totally different.  And I was spending far too much there to keep living the unemployed lifestyle - even though I now pay about $40 more a month in rent.  I guess that's not too bad.

Living in Woodbridge definitely taught me that I can survive, though not thrive, without a car anywhere and being near Manassas taught me that not all small towns are isolated little pieces of crap.  Rockville has taught me that not all suburbs are homogeneous places of boredom. But none of these places has yet helped me find a job.  Well, Rockville got me on the books at a temp agency.  I'll have to see where that leads.

I'm staying put for at least another 11 months.  Which probably won't include this blog.  I still have one more entry next week to put it through to the one year anniversary of my becoming unemployed.  Though, for those still reading the blog, it's pretty obvious that I don't have much to say on a weekly basis anymore anyway.

Here's how I "spent" last week:

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20 ($37.40)

• 11:33 a.m. Roti Mediterranean Grill - $8.52.  After my interview at the temp agency and signing official paperwork, I took the train to Farragut West where it stopped for traffic ahead.  I decided to walk to Farragut North and enjoy some Mediterranean.
• 7:49 p.m. Giant Food - Flagship Center - $28.88.  Even though I still had food left from my last trip, I wasn't about to turn down a ride from my brother as he went shopping.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21 ($11.45)

• 1:05 p.m. FedEx Office - Free.  I was hoping they could just fix my laptop that had stopped working the last time I was there.  It turned out that I had to be on the phone with HP support for quite a long time.
• 2:55 p.m. Public Tenley - $11.45.  Since I was relative in the neighborhood, I decided to watch the Fulham match against Manchester United here.  I left at halftime since it was such a drubbing.
• 4:50 p.m. Washington Sports Club - Free.  Walking to the gym drunk should have warned me that working out drunk was not a good idea.  Of course I did it anyway.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22 ($13.49)

• 1:22 p.m. Motor Vehicles Administration - Free.  Finding out that I had to have my middle name on all of my documents after getting all the way out to Gaithersburg did not make me a happy person.
• 2:49 p.m. Capital One Bank - Free.  Getting some more temporary checks proved also to be stressful as I learned my permanent checks had gotten lost in the mail.
• 3:01 p.m. Lebanese Taverna Cafe - $9.49.  After all of the bad news, I just said to heck with it and got some comfort food.
• 3:26 p.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  Even though it was warm enough to get an iced tea, I decided to get a hot tea since I needed to relax.
• 8:22 p.m. Planet Pizza and Subs - Free.  My brother got a free Groupon for this Montgomery College tradition.  I wasn't going to pass up free.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23 ($39.02)

• 11:28 a.m. FedEx Office - $13.02.  Faxing is about the most expensive thing that I do in my life it seems.  But this time was to fax in some paperwork to the temp agency so, hopefully, it will pay off.
• 11:55 a.m. Washington Sports Club - Free.  Having a FedEx next to my gym is at least convenient.  It allowed me to get out of there by lunch.
• 12:46 a.m. Tynan Tea & Coffee - $7.00.  A grilled cheese sandwich has become my standard applying for jobs meal as of late.
• 7:51 p.m. Mama Ayesha's - $19 00. Using my last Groupon for food in Washington D.C. felt.  Of course I'll buy more once I have a job, but they turn out to not save me much money.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24 (Free)

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25 ($9.00)

• 2:00 p.m. Occupy D.C. - Free.  I usually go and feed the homeless on Christmas in some way.  Since most of the people left in the camp for Christmas wee just that, I felt like I did a double duty donating food.
• 3:09 p.m. National Channukah Menorah - Free.  It had gotten a bit cold and the walk to the Ellipse seemed further than I remember it.  I can't believe this is the first time that I had been by the White House.
• 3:31 p.m. National Christmas Tree - Free.  The trees of the various states made this more than worthwhile.  Though running out of room on my phone turned out to be problematic as something big went down by the Chamber of Commerce.
• 7:07 p.m. China Garden - $9.00.  It wouldn't have been a Christmas without going to a Chinese restaurant with my brother.  I thought about seeing a movie, but I was too exhausted from the city.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 26 (Free)

So that's $110.36.  I'm happy to say that I have spent far less than that this week.  Though there are three days left to screw that stat up.  I just found out that my New Year's plans got cancelled.  But that's okay.  I try to spend New Year's in the way that I usually spend it.  So that's probably going to be sitting on my computer until almost the stroke of midnight sending in resumes before I play on Twitter until all hours of the morning.  What a thrilling life I lead until I can find a job.  My total money spent since I've been unemployed is  $10546.52.

How I Spent The Fiftieth Week Of The Rest Of My Life

The timing couldn't have been better.  Although I didn't plan it this way, I'm finally (sort of) employed again.  I got hired by a temp agency on Tuesday and am supposed to get a call to start getting short term assignments after the first of the year.  I'm not sure if anything will actually come out of it, but it felt good to fill out paperwork to, potentially, get paid again.  I'm still searching on my own, and need to send out some resumes this weekend (because who can resist someone asking for a job via e-mail on Christmas), but there's less pressure on me.

It was good that I interviewed at the temp agency the next day as I was told that I was "overqualified" for a lot of the stuff that they had by my interviewer (who understood, of course, that after a year, I was willing to take pretty much anything). But since the next day I got an e-mail from Silver Spring that I did not get the Membership Coordinator position at the American College of Nurse-Midwives, I was better able to take it.

I actually learned a lot about what was happening to my resume at a lot of places and why I wasn't getting interviews during my interview at the staffing agency.  It turns out that people, at least by what the recruiter told me, would have no idea what an Education Delivery Specialist did on a day-to-day basis.  And that I needed to either really play up the fact that I interacted with and gave information to members on a daily basis either in my bullet points or my cover letter or people would not be looking at me for those kind of positions.

My interviewer actually asked, "was that really your job title?"

He also suggested that I pull the stuff from my Education Network Coordinator position up to my Education Delivery Specialist position because it wasn't beefed up enough for a position that I had held for five years.  So in the resumes that I've sent out since this interview, I've done so.  I already got one person who directly e-mailed me back saying she'd be in touch with me after the new year for a Communications Assistant job, so I think it might have worked.

As I'm not going to work anywhere in the D.C. area for the entirety of 2011 now, it will make my taxes really easy.  And that's good because I'm really going to need to survive on them if I'm temping and don't get the amount of hours that I need.  But that's next year.  I'm just going to consider the fact that I've got someone looking out for my resume now besides myself as an early Christmas present.

Here's how I "spent" last week:

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13 (Free)

• 4:08 p.m. Washington Sports Club - Free.  Having spent the entire day on Twitter, I realized that I needed to get to the gym if I wanted to get anything done.  Afterwards, I was tired so I still didn't.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14 ($11.82)

• 1:27 p.m. Noodles & Company - $7.85.  Finding out that I had underpaid my rent and that my bank was going to charge me $10 for a cashier's check, I was starting to get stressed.  So I got some noodles to calm me down.
• 1:52 p.m. CVS Pharmacy - $3.97.  Since I had to get a check at CVS anyway, I decided to get soap even though I wasn't quite out.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15 ($15.38)

• 1:23 p.m. Tynan Tea & Coffee - $7.00.  I got such a late start to my day that I went to get tea and a sandwich before I went to the gym for once.
• 3:01 p.m. Washington Sports Club - Free.  Even though I still felt sick, I went back to the gym to pick up my Kindle that I had left and exercised a little.
• 5:00 p.m. Roti Mediterranean Grill - $8.38.  I decided that I was going to go down to Occupy D.C. for their holiday party.  Which meant I was by Roti.  They were actually open this time.
• 5:21 p.m. Occupy D.C. - Free.  After being at McPherson Square on a weekend day, it seemed really empty this evening.  Even with a large group gathered for Christmas activities.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16 ($37.09)

• 12:30 p.m. Giant - $37.09.  Since it was a bit cold, I decided that I was going to go to the Giant closest to a train stop instead of the one closest to my apartment.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17 ($8.13)

• 11:30 a.m. Occupy D.C. - Free.  I talk a lot about how messy McPherson Square is on Twitter.  So I went down to talk to someone about it in person.
• 12:04 p.m. Cosi - $8.13.  Over pizzas, I discovered that a lot of people agree that it's time to clean up or get an indoor site.  It was refreshing to hear such rationality.
• 3:01 p.m. Washington Sport Club - Free.  Helping to clean up the park again left me feeling a bit dirty.  So it was a good thing I was planning on going to my gym anyway.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18 (Free)

MONDAY, DECEMBER 19 ($41.55)

• 1:26 p.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  I woke up with sinus issues.  So I thought that some tea would help.  While I was there, I got the call for the temp agency about an interview.
• 4:16 p.m. Rollins Barber - $15.00.  Shopping local this month has proved difficult in a lot of areas.  But the barber got my hair so close that I'm never going back to a chain barber while I live here.
• 4:52 p.m. Cafe Shawreen - $9.43.  Finally making it to the kosher place by my apartment proved to be a tasty, but expensive experience.
• 8:08 p.m. FedEx Office - $13.12.  I ended up messing up my references quite a few times before I finally was able to print them off perfectly.  But I just enjoyed the T1 connection in the meantime.

So that's $113.97.  Not a bad week as far as spending went, but I still think that I went a bit too bit over my budget just the same.  I think I should spend next week inside just applying for jobs before I start getting temp assignments.  Then I, hopefully, won't have enough time to do too much of that.  Not that I won't. My total money spent since I've been unemployed is $10436.16.

How I Spent The Forty-Ninth Week Of The Rest Of My Life

Since I didn't hear from the place that I interviewed at last week, I'm assuming that's not going to happen.  I'm going to e-mail them on Monday and see what's happening.  I hold out hope that the marketing department was just really busy after their national meeting two weeks ago, but we'll soon see.

Not that I was sitting around waiting by the phone for them to call.  I finally got around to applying for a lot of jobs. To finally be (almost) less than two weeks behind in my applications, until today, feels pretty good.  I have started a system of highlighting every job that I want really badly so I can apply for them right away.  And I've discovered that a lot of good jobs are right here in Rockville.  I've been neglecting looking in Maryland for a bit too long (not that I've ever truly stopped).  Which was probably a horrible idea since it was one of the first jobs that I applied for in Maryland that has gotten me the furthest in the interview process.

Anyhow, if this place doesn't call back with good news, I will have gone the entirety of 2011 without a job (except for the one day at my old place to start the year).  The full 52 weeks.  I never even imagined that was possible when I started this blog at the start of the year.  It really is eye opening how hard it is to find a job in this economy.  Though part of me still thinks that I'm doing it all wrong and that it's my fault that no one has noticed how amazing I actually am.  And how experienced.  And how good I am at social media.  I still feel like it's my resume and cover letter that are not conveying my experience.  I feel like I haven't been following up enough.  And it feels like I'm one of the last people who are unemployed out there.

And that just reminds me that I'm running low on happy pills again and starting to live "paycheck to paycheck" with my money.  It's a vicious spiral of bleh.  Or it's just winter.  Either way, I've still got to redouble my efforts yet again and try harder.  And it's not like I'm not willing to do pretty much anything for the right place. It's not like I have a right price since I'm living on less than I'll make pretty much anywhere.

The worst part is that I feel like I've gotten less accomplished since I moved to Rockville than I had before I did.  But at least I'm spending less.

Here's how I "spent" last week:

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6 ($10.68)

• 12:10 p.m. Starbucks - $3.00.  Finally giving up on going to the city to listen to my weekly webinar, I just went to the local Starbucks.
• 6:11 p.m. Washington Sports Club - Free.  I made it into the city in the evening after a long day of not doing much of anything.  I hadn't started out the week feeling well and hoped this got me kick started.
• 7:43 p.m. Pizza Authentica - $7.68.  After a lot of decision, I decided to go to the Occupy Wall Street national GA downtown since I was already in the city.  Since I'm not really part of the whole camping setup, however, I decided to eat my own food on my own dime.
• 7:59 p.m. Occupy D.C. - Free.  I walked around and took a few pictures.  I'm sure that the group in McPherson Square marched over, but I decided just to take the train.
• 9:51 p.m. The National Mall - Free.  Since I could never get downtown when I lived in Woodbridge, this was my first big protest in the nation's biggest protest area.  The National Occupy Wall Street GA was pretty cool.  Though I only stayed through the introductory speeches.  I was exhausted.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7 (Free)

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8 ($7.00)

• 11:41 a.m. Washington Sports Club - Free.  After feeling crappy all day on Wednesday again, I figured that I needed to get to the gym.  It was sad that this was the earliest start I got to the day thusfar in the week.
• 1:00 p.m. Tynan Coffee & Tea - $7.00.  Since I was already in the area, I decided to actually drink my tea locally.  They have crappy internet here, but it's a really friendly local chain.
• 3:31 p.m. T-Mobile - Free.  After putting up with no internet the night before and crappy internet at the coffee shop, I decided to get my own internet again.  It's about $20 extra per month, but worth the lesser aggrevation.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9 ($8.43)

• 1:29 p.m. Washington Sports Club - Free.  It was yet another day of not getting out of bed and needing to get a jump start to get anything done.  For once, the gym actually provided it.
• 3:12 p.m. Lebanese Taverna Cafe - $8.43.  There is a really expensive Indian place by my gym.  I was so hungry (even though I ate breakfast) and tempted to go in that the only thing that prevented me was a promise to myself to get Lebanese on the way home.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10 (Free)

• 1:26 Rollins Congressional Club - Free.  My brother convinced me to leave the apartment to get free food at the complex's holiday party.  The food was good and the gym I get for "free" is nice.  But I pay for the gym in the city either way.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11 ($27.31)

• 1:20 p.m. Occupy D.C. - Free.  While I agree completely with the good government part of the fight of this movement, I understand the objection people have to it about its cleanliness.  Rather than just gripe, however, I grabbed a garbage bag and helped them clean.
• 4:30 p.m. Cosi - $3.00.  Part of the reason that I was in the park was to take part in a media training.  I ended up accompanying the newspaper group to Cosi for some more good discussion.
• 6:35 p.m. Public Bar - $17.00.  I had planned on going to the gym after my activities in McPherson Square.  Then watching the Bears game at the Public Bar in Tenleytown.  But I ended up downtown so late, I ended up watching it at their downtown location.
• 8:30 p.m. 7-Eleven - $7.31.  Running out of soap again (and toilet paper) was pretty much a pain.  But this time I bought a lot of both.

So that's $53.42.  It's funny that the more time I spend at McPherson Square, the less that I spend.  If I camped there, which might make me a huge hypocrite and showered at the gym using my wi-fi to apply for jobs, I could really get away cheaply.  Except I hate camping in the winter.  And I'm still not fond of the lifestyle of some of the people there.  Though I realized that if I had gotten involved in the media group sooner, I might have some applicable experience to put on a resume.  But I don't know if that would help or hurt.  My total money spent since I've been unemployed is $10322.19.

How I Spent The Forty-Eighth Week Of The Rest Of My Life

How did it get to be Sunday again already?  And, more importantly, how do I feel like I got nothing done this entire week?  The entire week has been spent trying to tent in for the winter it seems.  I got tired of being without the internet all day, so I went to T-Mobile and got tethering activated on my phone (which should have, in theory, allowed me to apply for a lot more than the minimal five jobs this week).

What did I do with this time?  I slept a lot.  And I stressed out about finding out next week if I get the job that I'm come the closest to this entire year.  And I was doing other things that I really shouldn't talk about.

But it was, ironically, things that were getting me experience in my field but that I probably can't put on a resume.  But if I don't get a job soon, it's something that I might take on doing relatively full-time.  Boy I'm hoping that I get this job.

Here's how I "spent" last week:

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29 ($29.63)

• 12:15 p.m. Starbucks - $3.00.  The Starbucks on Rockville Pike has just gotten too annoyingly loud for me.  But since I didn't want to go into the city just to watch a webinar, I put up with it.  My headphones saved me.
• 4:19 p.m. Qdoba Mexican Grill - $6.63.  I had planned on printing out a copy of my resume at a nearby FedEx Office so I decided to give into urge of the Qdoba near my apartment.
• 7:08 p.m. Comcast Center - $20.00.  For my brother's birthday, we went to see a college basketball game in College Park.  He was rooting for Illinois.  I was rooting for my new state.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30 ($16.62)

• 8:25 a.m. CVS Pharmacy - $5.08.  As I had an interview and I was completely out of razors, I couldn't put off going to a pharmacy until my local one opened.
• 9:45 a.m. Liberty Gas - $10.00.  My brother let me borrow his car to drive to my interview.  But he didn't tell me that he was out of gas.
• 11:03 a.m. FedEx Kinko's - $1.54.  Printing up my resume and references turned out to be a huge waste of time since the interview that followed was for a purely sales position.  But it was good to print it out for a purpose.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1 ($26.63)

• 10:54 a.m. Washington Sports Club - Free.  My interview the day before had been conducted half awake.  I wanted to do better in my interview this day.  So I went to the gym to get my blood pumping.
• 12:20 p.m. Penang Star - $6.49.  Staying close to home as my interview approached seemed important.  So I just grabbed some Malaysian fusion.  It's not great but I do appreciate how close it is.
• 3:09 p.m. FedEx Office - $3.26.  The interviewer the day before, despite the worthlessness of the interview, took my references.  And I had to print up my unique resume. Thankfully Silver Spring has a FedEx right downtown.
• 8:08 p.m. Afghan Kebob House - $16.88.  While it wasn't the greatest Afghani that I had ever had, I enjoyed having one of my favorite cuisines again with an expiring Groupon.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2 ($58.21)

• 2:30 p.m. China Garden - $9.00.  They have both Chinese and Japanese.  I hadn't had sushi in a while so I got the more expensive choice.
• 7:21 p.m. Balducci's Food Lover's Market - $49.21.  While I was still trying to shop local, I went to the specialty market in Bethesda.  Looking at the prices, I longed for Safeway.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3 ($157.44)

• 11:27 a.m. U-Haul Moving & Storage - $116.80.  While it turned out to be cheaper to pick up a television and a futon from Woodbridge, I still probably could have waited.  Barely.
• 1:27 p.m. Taco Bell - $5.64.  I'm not planning on going to Woodbridge again any time soon so I figured I might as well go to my Taco Bell jam.
• 3:20 p.m. Executive Sunoco - $25.00.  I actually pumped gas three times at this station to try and get it to where it needed to be and it still didn't quite get there.
• 3:27 p.m. Liberty - $10.00.  At this point, I probably should have just gotten charged for U-Haul filling it up, but I tried one more time to get the gauge up to where it needed to be.  Gassing a truck is so expensive!
• 3:31 p.m. U-Haul Moving & Storage - Free.  I didn't get charged any more when I returned the truck.  That was a small miracle.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4 ($31.00)

• 2:30 p.m. Verizon Center - $31.00.  This doubleheader of college basketball was better than Maryland's loss earlier in the week.  Maryland beat Notre Dame.  Pretty rocking.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 5 ($4.00)

• 6:45 p.m. IHOP - $4.00.  My brother had a coupon for IHOP for his birthday.  Discovering that they still had pumpkin pancakes was probably a bad thing.

So that's $323.53.  But that is the last of my moving expenses.  Period.  I can't afford to do anything else until I have a job.  If I have to lock myself inside for the rest of the winter, however, at least I have a television to keep me company and a mattress to sleep on.  Of course I might not have anything else.  Goodness I hope I got that job.  My total money spent since I've been unemployed is $10268.77.

How I Spent The Forty-Seventh Week Of The Rest Of My Life

While it's challenging enough to find a job it seems, I'm taking on an additional one this month.  Since I bought big box on Thanksgiving, I'm taking it upon myself to only shop locally during the week in December.  During the weekend it seems I have to do stuff like rent trucks to pick up televisions from Woodbridge and the like.  I'm going to try to stick to my pledge during December all seven days, but I'm considering it like Lent, sort of.

After all, the entire point is to invest more of my money locally (and Rockville has no shortage of small businesses).and help other people in Rockville keep their jobs.  And, of course, it helped to get my face out there to Rockville and Bethesda's small businesses who might one day be looking for social media people.

The job search, however, is going pretty well.  I had a second, group interview with a place in Silver Spring and it seemed like a pretty open interview where I was asked a lot of questions outside of the job description on social media.  I think I answered them pretty well to prove my chops.  At least I hope that I did since they seem like a nice office with a sense of humor.  They're having their national meetings next week so I won't know and will keep applying for a bunch more job next week.

Hopefully none of them will be "lead generation" like the other interview I had last week in Vienna.  The only reason it wasn't door-to-door sales was because it wasn't actually selling any products - just apppointments for estimates.  My bother calls it a scam.  I just call it a really crappy job.  I'm not above it, per se, but I'm also not very good at it.

Though it seems that I'm good at organizing my bedroom.  That's done.  It's so much more peaceful to be in a well organized room.  I just hope I don't spend many more days in it.

Here's how I "spent" last week:

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22 ($30.90)

• 11:06 a.m. Starbucks - $3.00.  Since they were out of bagel, I knew that I could only stay long enough to watch a webinar before needing to get lunch.  Ordinarily this location is too noisy, but with my headphones, it was okay.
• 1:23 p.m. Penang Star - $5.83.  After eating at the more expensive Chinese place near my apartment, I'm glad I found this place.  Though it's actually Malaysian.
• 6:19 p.m. CVS - $22.07.  While I was hoping to not have to go out in the insane November rain in D.C., I was out of both laundry soap and laundry.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23 ($15.00)

• 10:44 a.m. AMC Mazza Galerie 7 - $6.00.  I wasn't going to wait until after Thanksgiving to see the new Muppets movie.  I saw the second showing of it in Washington D.C.  After the midnight showings.
• 1:39 p.m. Tynan Coffee & Tea - $9.00.  While I was trying (and failing) to get the internet to work, my brother told me that we might be driving home for Thanksgiving.  So I went home instead of going to the gym after eating lunch.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24 (Free)

• 10:29 a.m. Liberty Gas Station - Free.  My dad paid for all of the gas on the way to Michigan so this was gratis.
• 1:08 p.m. North Somerset Service Plaza - Free.  This is where my brother took over driving.  My dad also paid us back for food.
• 4:08 p.m. Great Lakes Service Center - Westbound - Free.  For the last part of the drive, we switched here in Ohio.  It was a pretty amazing rest stop.
• 8:14 p.m. Champps Americana - Free.  My mother was working all weekend so my dad took us out to dinner.  This was about the only place open on Thanksgiving night.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25 ($10.60)

• 2:26 p.m. Taco Bell - Free.  This might be the only place that my brother, my dad, and I agree on.  It was also close to shopping.
• 3:08 p.m. Target - $10.60.  I couldn't let a Black Friday go by without buying something at Target.  They didn't have the pillow I was looking for, but they had pajamas again.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26 (Free)

• 7:52 a.m. Kohl's - Free.  My sister stayed in California this Thanksgiving so my brother and I went clothes shopping with my mother.  I found some nice pants and a sweater.
• 8:23 a.m. Macy's - Free.  At Macy's, there wasn't really anything that I liked.  I had tried to go there the day before, but all of the stuff that I wanted was sold out.
• 8:48 a.m. jcpenney - Free.  While I also wanted to go here the day before, they were also out of everything that I wanted.
• 9:18 a.m. Kerby's Koney Island - Free.  Even though I had a bad experience at the last Coney Island that I went to, I went to this one.  It was a pretty good family meal.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27 ($23.48)

• 9:27 a.m. Early Bird Of Northville - Free.  We had our family Thanksgiving on Saturday night so we decided to go to brunch before my mother went to work for the fourth day in a row.  It was a weird Thanksgiving.
• 10:42 a.m. Meijer Gas - Free.  My father sent us on our way with one more free tank of gas.
• 11:21 a.m. IKEA - $23.48.  The best Black Friday deal that I saw was actually at IKEA for a bookshelf on Sunday night.  I ended up buying one.  And so did my brother.  It will let me return my more expensive earlier IKEA purchase.
• 2:18 p.m. Towpath Service Plaza - Free.  The drive home took way longer than the drive there.  I should have known this was going to be the case when we hit traffic before we were even far into Ohio.
• 4:35 p.m. Oakmont Plum Service Plaza - Free.  Since we ate breakfast kind of early, we grabbed an early pre-dinner.  Amazingly, I still had enough oomph to keep driving.
• 9:21 p.m. Taco Bell - Free.  I wouldn't have considered it a drive from Detroit to Washington D.C. (well, almost on both accounts) without a stop in Breezewood.  And a stop at Taco Bell.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28 ($31.41)

• 12:17 p.m. Noodles & Company - $5.41.  Even though I had some really good butter noodles at Thanksgiving, my desire to have more was not quenched.
• 12:38 p.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  When the weather turned back to good, I just couldn't help but get an iced tea one more time this season.  Even if it was raining.
• 1:49 p.m. Capital One Bank - Free.  My brother owed me money for the security deposit.  Putting it into my account meant it was no longer anemic.
• 8:42 p.m. Buffalo Wild Wings - $22.00.  I decided to go watch the Monday Night Football game with the Giants at a bar.  I ended up making some new friends in the process.  Though they were Redskins fans.

So that's $111.39. It's amazing that I probably spent less going to Michigan than I would have spent had I just lounged the holiday away at home.  And I got to see my family for the first time since April.  The week we're currently in was far more expensive than that one, but at least I have a television and a futon out of it.  And I'm about to go to sleep on it for a big week of applying for jobs.  My total money spent since I've been unemployed is $9945.24.

How I Spent The Forty-Sixth Week Of The Rest Of My Life

At this time last week, I had no idea that I was going to be in Michigan this weekend.  My brother wasn't sure if he could get Friday off, so I had no way that wasn't prohibitively expensive to get here. And still it was only when my parents were able to pay for the expenses that I was able to afford to come here.

This year was almost a "Buy Nothing Day" for me on Black Friday.  I didn't need to buy anything, really, but Target has $10.00 pajamas just like last year and I can always use more of those.  The only thing that prevented me from buying more was that when I drove to the mall to take advantage of J.C. Penney's sale on pants, I couldn't find a parking spot.

But today on Small Business Saturday, I didn't buy anything at small businesses.  My parents bought me pants and a sweater at a large business.  We're having our Thanksgiving dinner (because my mother had to work) tonight so maybe I'll go to an independent coffee shop after dinner.  But I've failed both "holidays" that I would have come home for besides the family.

It's probably better because had I been home, I probably would have gone to one of the many mini-malls in Rockville and bought a lot of crap that I didn't need.  As it is, on the way home tomorrow, I'm probably buying a TV stand at IKEA.  Even though I don't have a TV right now.  That's going to have to wait for next weekend when I have money to make a trip to Woodbridge to pick them up.

Other than that, there's no news on the job front or living front really.  I did apply at an organization that a friend is affiliated with so hopefully there's an in there.  I don't think employers are thinking about hiring much more than I'm thinking about being hired during Thanksgiving week.  Even though I put in a bunch of applications.

Here's how I "spent" last week:

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15 ($16.00)

• 6:58 a.m. Washington Sports Club - Free.  Before the second day of the conference, I got a ride into the city with my roommate since I was up and ready at that time anyway.  It let me get to the gym at an insanely early time.
• 9:07 a.m. Kellogg Conference Center - Free.  The second day of the conference, I was so tired that I didn't get that much out of it.  Though I do have the notes to look through when I'm awake.
• 6:37 p.m. Katerina's Greek Cuisine - $16.00.  For my last meal in Prince William County, I decided to go to one of the places that I enjoyed the most in the area.  And one of the few place I'd visit again.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16 ($173.91)

• 1:18 p.m. IKEA - $4.18.  Since the next time I would be at an IKEA, I would be closer to the College Park location, I decided to eat there one more time.  That and I got a late start.
• 4:41 p.m. Budget Rental Car - $155.22.  There was no way that I could have possibly gotten through moving without a rented car.  And since I was moving, I definitely needed to get insurance.
• 6:44 p.m. Burson-Marsteller - $6.11.  I was exhausted after travelling from Woodbridge to Rockville but I still managed to make it to the Social Media Club of D.C. event.  Having a drink there just knocked me out of it.
• 8:44 p.m. Taco Bell - $6.31. Since I had a rental car and a drink, I needed to go to Taco Bell for my last meal as a Woodbridge resident.
• 9:19 p.m. Walgreens - $2.09.  Trying to go to the gym on moving day was pointless.  So I needed to buy soap.  I figured that I needed soap for the new apartment anyway. 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17 ($42.41)

• 10:51 a.m. Extra Space Storage - Free.  It felt weird to be taking stuff out of storage instead of putting it in.  And getting almost all of my boxes out in one trip was even weirder.
• 12:18 p.m. Noodles & Company - $7.00.  Since my brother was at the dentist, I decided to get lunch.  There was no fast food restaurant I wanted to go to more as my first as a Rockville resident.
• 8:33 p.m. Extra Space Storage - Free. Going back to make sure that I didn't have to pay any more fees for storage was well worth it.  We managed to completely clear it out.
• 8:58 p.m. Target - $28.42.  I had absolutely no bedding.  Rather than sleeping on the floor, I bought a pillow and a mattress cover.
• 9:17 p.m. Taco Bell - $6.99.  Rather than try to figure out where to stop on the drive home, I ate one more time in Woodbridge.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18 ($187.70)

• 10:23 a.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  I had a phone interview.  Right before it, the Starbucks got really noisy so I ended up out in my rental car right when my potential employer called.
• 12:36 p.m. IKEA - $141.72.  We had most stuff from my brother but we did need lamps since the apartment was pretty dark.
• 3:38 p.m. Liberty Gas - $32.50.  Again, had I not gotten lost, I probably could have spent a little bit less on gas.  As it was, I had to pump twice to get it completely filled.
• 4:19 p.m. Budget Rental Car - Free.  Even though they billed me twice, I technically didn't owe any more.
• 7:49 p.m. Lebanese Taverna Cafe - $9.49.  This was a restaurant that I had never tried.  I was actually surprised how expensive it was.  But it was worth it because they had kushari.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19 ($7.00)

• 12:33 p.m. Washington Sports Club - Free.  To save money, I switched my gym membership to the Friendship Heights location.  Taking the train into the city on the weekend felt like freedom.
• 1:58 p.m. City Cafe And Caterers - $3.00.  Not knowing where to eat in Bethesda, I took out my phone and checked Foursquare.  It told me there was a Groupon special here.  It might have been the nerdiest meal that I ever had.
• 2:25 p.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  I returned to the Bethesda Starbucks that I went to after finding the apartment. It seemed further without a car.  I don't think it's going to be my go to Starbucks now.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20 ($43.00)

• 2:32 p.m. National Museum Of Crime And Punishment - $10.00.  Using my Groupon Now the day before, I saw that this one was about to expire.  Being as there was a Redskins game, there were not a lot of locals here.  But it was still pretty busy.
• 5:20 p.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  Since it wasn't quite time to go and watch soccer yet, I went to my old Starbucks near the Archives.  It was surprisingly crowded and they still hadn't fixed the power outlets.  I remembered why I switched to the Chinatown location.
• 7:09 p.m. Ireland's Four Courts - $29.00.  Having been friends with this bar on Twitter for a long time, I decided to finally pay them a visit.  They are pretty cool.  It reminded me a little of Small Bar Fullerton.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21 ($26.33)

• 12:21 p.m. Maria's Bakery And Cafe - $9.00.  For such an English sounding name, they served really authentic Hong Kong cuisine.  But it was a bit too pricey to be my "cheap" after-gym Chinese place.
• 1:04 p.m. Capital One Bank - Free.  While I went in to open a checking account, I ended up just cashing in a bunch of coins that I had around the house.
• 1:52 p.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  I really needed to write a blog entry since with the move I hadn't had a chance to in about a week.  I actually accomplished publishing one!
• 7:27 p.m. Cici's Pizza - $6.35.  In all of the times that I had been back to Michigan, I meant to try this buffet pizza chain.  Now that there's one nearby and I tried it, I'm not really that interested in going again.
• 8:21 p.m. Target - $6.98.  Looking at the boxes left unpacked in my room, I knew I needed more storage.  So I bought a stand to put my stereo on and some of my books under.  I still don't think I have enough storage.

So that's $496.35.  I knew moving was going to be expensive, but that seems a little bit excessive.  No wonder my bank account is lower than it's been than at any other time that I've been unemployed.  It's weird that I was never more than 50 miles from Rockville the entire week and spent more than it cost to be in Michigan for Thanksgiving.  Hopefully the next time I spend that much in a week, I'll have a job.  My total money spent since I've been unemployed is $9833.85.