This morning I awoke to read that our Governor was slashing 3 billion dollars more from the state budget. Dumping thousands of people into the unemployment rolls.

This if coyote-ugly news. I have been gainfully unemployed now for two and a half months with no end in sight. I feel badly for my new comrade's that are soon to join me, but even worse for myself. Because now instead of the usual 150 applicants that I am up against in my typical applications, there will now be twice that many.

I started this blog today at the behest of a good friend who said it would be good for me. Nurses say this to you all the time before they stick a sharp needle in your toosh, so I am not convinced it will feel any better. At the very least it will provide respite for me from a life of quiet desperation....

The last time I went looking for a job was 1976. Fresh out of graduate school. We were just coming out of a business cycle recession then too. I was newly married and newly settled in our new city, Seattle. I couldn't find a job for 6 months, and we started to liquidate wedding presents near the end. This time will I end up liquidating my meager retirement fund or electric bike? If you have the stomach for it, stay tuned for the "Adventures of One flew over the unemployment desk, part II"....