What the dickens...!

"No man knows till the time comes, what depths are within him." (Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend)

Lucille La Verne as The Vengeance from A Tale of Two Cities (1935)

Early in December, 2016, I was told that, due to budget cuts, my contracted work would not continue beyond the end of the year.

It seemed to become a scene out of A Tale of Two Cities: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….


On the one hand, they were giving me notice (many people don’t get that much) and I would continue to work and receive a regular paycheck. But the company always shuts down between Christmas and New Years Day, so there was one less paycheck this month.

We had already saved enough for that shut-down week, but we had planned on a much needed vacation away from home. Our previous “vacation” (for my husband’s birthday) was cancelled for us by Hurricane Matthew; for this vacation, we were going to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge…which was being ravaged by forest fires. Not only did we feel it wasn’t prudent to spend money we were going to need to carry us through the beginning of the year, but our usual joy at discovering a new place would probably be nonexistent.

Finally, businesses don’t normally hire in December. It would be mid-January before the first hiring decisions would be made. In all likelihood, there would be no new income before the end of January at the earliest.

Within hours of having told my husband I was being laid off, I started to receive job listings from several employment sites (the Mr. took it upon himself to sign me up for regular emails of job listings). For my part, I took a look at the Georgia Unemployment website to prepare myself for life after December 31^st.

"More?" Mark Lester as Oliver Twist from "Oliver!" (1968)

Together we started to set up our plans to make sure we wouldn’t end up in some Dickensian debtor’s prison singing about food, glorious food. We did this for practical reasons...and because my husband is not as enamored of my singing voice as I am.

Sigh.

I was able to complete almost all of my unemployment forms online. One form, however, had to be completed in person: an affidavit confirming my right to work in the US. I think it’s more likely a check to make sure you are who you say you are to prevent fraud. As I sat in the lobby of the GA DOL Unemployment Office, I couldn’t help but notice that a local prison was looking for guards. I tried to imagine myself as a prison guard. On the one hand, there’s a uniform! On the other hand, the only good way that job could work out only happens in porn. No, this is probably not a good time for a career change.

So now, after a lovely chat with my DOL Services Specialist, I am fully certified to be unemployed at less than 20% of my normal pay.

The biggest challenge so far has been trying to break my work habits. I feel guilty emerging from my office before dinner. It’s an unnatural act. It’s not at all like the carefree vacation we looked forward to.

Still, the one thing more important than a vacation from work is having work to take a vacation from.