How I Spent The Thirty-Fifth Week Of The Rest Of My Life

What has begun to cross my mind is that the things that have been allowing me to live for free have been holding me back  The wake-up call was when I applied at the temp agency.  The first problem was that I tried to take the Microsoft Word assessment on my netbook and the bottom cut off.  I thought it was a bit difficult but when I heard my score, 29/50, I was shocked.  I think there had to be some sort of reading error.

But the worst part was that I got turned down by the temp agency because of the score.  They said that the combination of the score and that I lived in Woodbridge made me a poor choice for their on-call program.  I'm guessing, that despite the fact that I'll get a better score in the future, a lot of other temp agencies are probably going to say the same thing.

As far as moving closer to the city, that might be a bit too expensive.  Though if that's what it takes to get a job, I guess I'll have to get a room in the city just to have an address.

I did take the other step in correcting the situation.  I bought a new laptop.  This wasn't directly in response to the temp issue, but in response to the response.  When getting turned down for the temp job, I decided to try and freelance.  The problem was that I had nothing to show anyone who I would be freelancing social media for.  So I decided to create a personal website.  I bought a domain on godaddy.com and started to design.  And, again, the bottom of the screen was cut off.

There's a store that sells dirt cheap used laptops that always advertises in Express.  I ended up getting an large screen HP for $229 (which is what I'm typing this on) and working on my site.  Honestly, at this point the social media is probably just a dream that I'm going to work on while temping or working in another administrative job, but now I've got a start on it.

The site is at http://michaelgoldman20.com/ but there's nothing on it right now.  I'm probably going to put a blog up on "claiming your virtual property" sometime this week to get started.  And, at some point soon, I'm going to write up a blurb about myself.  If nothing else, it can provide a little break from the job search stress.

Here's how I "spent" last week:

TUESDAY, AUGUST 30 ($17.03)

• 10:48 a.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  Immediately off the train, I decided to go to Starbucks instead of to the gym.  The reason was I was in a horrible mood.  I needed my tea fix.
• 12:23 p.m. Sauca - $7.00.  Parking outside of the Starbucks before I went in was certainly a way to tempt me into buying from them.  And it worked.
• 1:27 p.m. National Zoological Park - Free.  I didn't feel well, but it was a nice day.  I decided to go to the zoo on a day when it was nice out and see the pandas.  They were hiding but I caught them during feeding.
• 5:01 p.m. Subway - $6.03.  At the zoo, I knew I wasn't going to make it through the rest of the day so I just went home early.  I didn't even go grocery shopping like I had planned.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31 (Free)

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 ($47.03)

• 12:09 p.m. Potomac Mills Mall - $5.03.  I got such a late start that grabbing lunch in the city seemed pointless.  So I got my healthy noodles for lunch.
• 2:24 p.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  Since I was meeting a girl from OKCupid in Alexandria, I decided to go to my Alexandria Starbucks instead of going all the way into Washington D.C.
• 5:18 p.m. The Pita House - $38.00.  After meeting a bunch of transplants who turned out to be horrible, I finally met a local who turned out to be awesome.  It was the complete opposite of the girl I met in Chicago.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 ($37.25)

• 1:12 p.m. Roti Mediterranean Grill - $9.00.  Even though I had just had Mediterranean the night before, I couldn't help but try out the newest Roti in D.C.  It had just opened the day before.  It's really nice and right by all of the non-profits.
• 1:36 p.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  Since I had my interview with the temp agency, I was wearing a suit.  I think I fit right in with all of the lobbyists here.
• 2:44 p.m. FedEx Office - $6.25.  It felt nice to actually print off my resume for a reason.  And to keep it nice, I bought report covers as well.
• 3:18 p.m. James Monroe Park - Free.  Since I was really early for my interview, I decided to sit in the park and look over my resume.  It was a little hot in my suit coat.
• 4:31 p.m. Keepers - Free.  The internet was down at their office so all I could do was interview and take a clerical test.
• 6:18 p.m. Kateina's Green Cuisine - $18.00.  When I looked in my backpack and discovered that I hadn't brought my gym clothes, I just want home early.  And stopped at Katerina's where I finally ate a full dinner.  I liked the pita better, but it was still pretty good.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 (Free)

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 ($34.00)

• 6:16 p.m. Great Clips - $18.00.  Even though I had just had my interview, I figured a haircut was in order for anything in the future.
• 6:33 p.m. Amici's Restaurant - $12.00.  After finishing off the last of my dry goods from the hurricane, I decided I needed another buffet.  This time was better.
• 6:58 p.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  Even though I had gotten a lot accomplished, I figured the only way I was going to write a blog entry was to sit in Starbucks.  It worked.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 (Free)

So that's $135.31.  Not nearly as much as I spent this week when the computer is counted.  But I feel like the stuff that I bought this week was far more useful to getting my life in order than anything that I bought last week  Well, except for one of the dinners.  My total money spent since I've been unemployed is $7013.06.