Funemployed it is!

Jake left last night and today when I woke up I was feeling really down. The sink was full of dirty dishes, with more dishes that had to be put away on the counter, my boyfriend was all gone and I was still unemployed. I felt useless and didn't see any reason to get up. I started to watch a DVD on my computer in bed and feel sorry for myself. After a while I thought I'd use the computer to look up a book club on Craigslist so maybe I could make some new friends. I searched under 'Groups' in Brooklyn and didn't find a book club but I did find a listing for a group called Funemployed in Brooklyn. Here is what the post said:

Are you an UNEMPLOYED Brooklyn resident under the age of 35, interested in
replacing Facebook-stalking, The Price is Right, and week-old takeout binges
with stimulating, social, and FREE activities? Do you have a practical, unusual,
or supernatural skill or ability you’d like to share with other people in your
situation?

We are a small group of highly creative, educated, and currently
unemployed individuals looking to share our useless/useful knowledge and talents
with other people who are free during the day. We want to improve our own
skills, explore new interests, and help others discover and improve upon their
own --- all for free, because we don’t have jobs.
To be considered for
admission to the group, you MUST:
-Be under the age of 35, and open-minded
-Have the desire to remain creative, collaborative, and motivated while out of
work -Be able to make at least one contribution to the collective betterment of
the group. This is a purposely vague requirement; we really hope you have
something to offer that we’ve never even thought of wanting to learn.
Some
examples of valuable things you might share with the group are:
-fluency in
a foreign language -HTML/flash/photoshop/dreamweaver/protools/finalcutpro
skills, etc. -creative writing skills -culinary skills -athletic skills
(preference given to experts in obscure/foreign sports) -musical skills
-pool-hustling skills -card-gaming skills -drink-mixing skills -belly-dancing
skills -bow-hunting skills -and the list goes on…
If you’re interested in
hanging out, teaching something, or learning something new, send us a note
telling us a little bit about who you are, why you’d like to participate, and
what you hope to bring to the table. If we think you’re a good fit, we’ll
schedule an interview and help you get to know us as well. This is just a fun
way to collaborate with your peers and explore new interests, while preventing
muscular and neurological atrophy in this dreary economic climate.
No cover
letters or resumes, please.

Laying there in my bed I didn't see any way I could not answer the ad. What did I have to lose? I came here for adventure and to meet new people, not to lay in my bed at home and be pissy about not having a job. I e mailed the given address and heard back pretty quickly from Sarah. The group was meeting in a bar in a neighborhood called Greenpoint at 2:30 today to play Scrabble. I jumped up from bed, washed and put away all the dishes, cleaned the bathroom, showered, got up and headed out to make new friends and play some Scrabble.

Greenpoint is in the northern part of Brooklyn, almost to Queens. It was a bit different than our neighborhood and it took an hour and two transfers to get me there. Once I found the bar I met Sarah, Kate and Amanda. They were really nice and we had some nice chatting and began to play Scrabble. During the game we all talked about job hunting and what we were doing last, where we came from etc.

During the game my cell phone rang with temp assignments from BOTH temp companies!! I accepted the first assignment before the second company called so I had to turn them down, which really hurt. I couldn't believe it and the other girls were really impressed. I tried to assure them that the temp companies NEVER call me really but I don't think they believed it.

After Scrabble we all walked to the train together and rode together a while. I stayed on the train the longest. When I got home I got online and looked up an infant and toddler dance program I had seen a poster for in a different, fancier neighborhood. The program sounded really cool so I e mailed them and then followed the ads on that site to other interesting child-centered websites. I ended up also e mailing a kids photography studio.

Finally Laura and I had to take our laundry out. We had a tip from a woman on the elevator that there was a 24 hour laundromat on a block further down than Courtelyou. Since both laundromats on Courtelyou are cramped and there's no place to sit and never a table to fold on we decided to try it. We ended up having walk about four blocks and then some over to get to it but it was much larger and fancier than the ones close by. It was really big and most all the machines worked AND they had seats, tons of folding tables AND TVs!!! It was a bit more expensive for washing but the dryers cost the same. Instead of a coin-op it had a card system where you had to go to a sort of ATM and purchase a card for $3 and then put the money you wanted to use on laundry onto the card and then use the card in the machines. You can't get your money back from the card but you can get the $3 back if the card is empty. Well whatever: They had TVs and seats and tables!! Oh and video games! NOT that I have video game quarters at this time. We watched some of the big baseball game and listened to all the Yankees fans around the place cheer for their team.

Tomorrow I have work so that is good. I'm supposed to wear all black so who knows what I'll be doing. For a day that started off on the blah and mopey side today shaped up to be pretty good.