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

Even though last week was supposed to be some sort of milestone, it didn't feel much like one.  I'm sure a potential employer will hold it against me that I've now been unemployed for over six months, but the first four were spent in Chicago not really looking (and submitting an accidentally bad resume to the government), so it feels like two.

Still, I'm getting more and more frustrated that I'm not hearing back from anyone for an interview.  My unemployment has apparently not run out, but I'm not counting on that for much longer.  And my unemployment status kind of looks bad in other areas as well.

So I'm seriously considering going to keepersonline.net before the August 1 deadline that I set for myself.  It's kind of temping, but it's also kind of a trade school for administrative professionals (which research assistants and marketing assistants are both included in).

I think that I'm also going to a conference on Social Media for Non-Profits on Thursday.  It's $125.00, but it's better than I usually spend that sum of money.  And it will be good to go into the city for an actual purpose.  My only worry is having to explain to everyone why I'm unemployed in breakout sessions.

Here's how I "spent" last week:

TUESDAY, JUNE 28 ($15.85)

• 1:36 p.m. Subway - $6.03.  After the debacle of the night before, I could barely hold food down.  But I figured a sandwich was okay.  Just to be safe, I got it without mustard.
• 2:01 p.m. Harris Teeter - $9.82.  Even though I wasn't particularly hungry, I figured that I needed to eat.  I bought two packages of fake chicken nuggets.  No matter how sick I feel, I can always eat these.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29 ($15.84)

• 12:08 p.m. IKEA - $5.96.  The only good part about waiting an hour for the bus was that I had time to get pasta at IKEA.  It was delicious.  Though I kind of got lost since I still wasn't feeling 100%.
• 2:15 p.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  Even if it meant going to Alexandria, I was going to look for jobs at my favorite Starbucks outside of Washington D.C.  There was some good job hunting.  But I spent most of my time on OKCupid.
• 4:26 p.m. Potomac Greens - Free.  I had planned on walking north to Arlington and through Del Ray in Alexandria, but I didn't realize the road I was on didn't go through.  It did end up at a nice park though.
• 5:44 p.m. The Pentagon 9/11 Memorial - Free.  Knowing that I didn't want to walk anymore, I took a bus to the Pentagon to catch the train home.  I ended up seeing this really understated and awesome memorial.  And missing my train.  Worth it.
• 7:37 p.m. Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins - $5.88.  After I missed my bus, I panicked.  I took the Woodbridge train home rather than get stranded in Manassas.  This was where I grabbed dinner.

THURSDAY, JUNE 30 ($1.38)

• 8:26 p.m. 7-Eleven - $1.38.  I was pretty much too tired to leave the condo after my adventures in transportation the day before.  But I did want to get one last Slurpee while they were giving away movie tickets.

FRIDAY, JULY 1 ($59.29)

• 10:51 a.m. Ted's Bulletin - $17.00.  Lunch had always left me too full to try their desserts.  But breakfast was smaller and their homemade pop tart was incredible.  The only thing keeping this from being my favorite restaurant in Washington D.C. is the service.
• 12:18 p.m. National Museum of the American Indian - Free.  This time I got there too early for a tour as opposed to too late.  But I stuck around and took one later.  I still haven't seen much of the museum.
• 3:06 p.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  I ended up back at my usual Friday Starbucks near the Federal Center SW stop.  The staff there got my order wrong yet again.  They're the only staff that does.
• 4:29 p.m. Safeway - $29.77.  In order to feel more like I lived in the city, I decided to do some grocery shopping.  The fact that this Safeway is across from a Metro stop makes it easier to shop at than anything in Prince William County.
• 5:22 p.m. Roti Mediterranean Grill - $8.52.  Since I had discovered where the L'Enfant Plaza Roti was the week before, I decided to eat there.  This food court location left a lot to be desired aesthetically, but not in taste.

SATURDAY, JULY 2 (Free)

SUNDAY, JULY 3 ($131.04)

• 1:33 p.m. Target - $131.04.  I forgot to account for my meds in thinking that this would be a cheaper week.  Though I did discover that Target is the cheapest grocery store in the area.
• 2:04 p.m. Extra Space Storage - Free.  When we first pulled up, my code didn't work. We came back after Target and it did.  I finally put away my sweaters.

MONDAY, JULY 4 ($25.50)

• 3:33 p.m. County Center Owner's Association Clubhouse - Free.  I should have probably gone earlier since my bad Monday, but it did make me feel better.
• 6:43 p.m. G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium - $25.50.  Even though I didn't really love my first Potomac Nationals game, nothing said Independence Day to me more than minor league baseball and fireworks.  And too much beer.

So that's $248.90.  Far more than I thought it was going to be in the middle of the week for sure. The trip that I took to Ocean City this week will make for a similarly large sum I think.  Though it was entirely worth it.  I feel like a new person after I got back.  Maybe feeling good will have me spending less money than feeling bad.  Who knows?  My total money spent since I've been unemployed is $5376.26.