How do the unemployed spend their time?

Reply to post by dawnstar

Essentially, yes.

I'm glad to see somebody can make that distinction. In hindsight stating that could have saved what appears to be earlier misunderstandings.

Though they are without employment and this is how they spend their time.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


How am i being obtuse, Im simply disagreeing with you. I dont need to calm down either im fine trust me. Sorry if you cant handle a two way argument. Its obviously your way or the highway. Just like i said before, you cant see past your own nose. As for others on this thread. From what i've read youve managed to find one person who'll gladly eat your bull#. Cogratulations!

Im off to do some trashy stuff now, hope you and your new buddy enjoy lording it over everyone.

Reply to post by KrypticCriminal

Considering "my way" is stating that nothing is absolute to all parties and different people behave differently are you suggesting that "your way" is all people behave identically?


Also, I fail to see the disagreement. You are attributing positions to my posts that directly contradict my posts then claiming this falsely attributed position is wrong. I can't just say the sun rises in the West and sets in the East and it magically becomes true.

Either you missed something pages back, ignored something pages back, or are intentionally misrepresenting ideas for the sake of offense.

The unemployed I know are looking for jobs and stressing out. I know a few who are relaxing and not worried because they got a nice severance pay when they lost their job.

Then there are those who are just doing nothing to find work and yet complain about not having a job or money. I know a few who are like this and they drive me insane. They don't even try to find a job and refuse to do the ones they have been offered. I would gladly take any job right now not to do what I do anymore. I would be happy as a clam.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


I think your heads so far up your own ass, that you cant see the light anymore. Im not sure what your woffling on about now but it sounds like the same self rightouse crap you've been drivelling on the rest of your posts. Stop trying to avoid the fact that your egotistical, and judgmental by switching the discusion away from the original point.

If your so sure that your better than me and anyone else that does'nt fit your short sighted and small minded ideology (trash). Why are you even bothering to post replys at all. I already said about three pages ago that i was happy to agree to disagree. Obviously you havent been paying too much attention to previouse posts your self.

Stop trying to make yourself sound more intelligent than you actually are and stop trying to shy away from your biggoted little arguments posted previously. You've made your position quite clear. Your quite happy to stand back and point the finger and label everyone, but not so keen to do something about it. This includes your own family. Now lets leave it there shall we. Or im quite happy to continue if you want to get back to the original discusion. I'll let you decide.

Reply to post by KrypticCriminal

Im still trying to figure out what it is we allegedly disagree on.

As far as I can tell we were saying essentially the same things until you went off on some tangent attributing false statements to myself. Unless you contend that there is no such thing as a bad person? If that is the case then we are left with a somewhat existential complication or perhaps a simple semantic one?


This for instance:

Your quite happy to stand back and point the finger and label everyone, but not so keen to do something about it.

I have said repeatedly opportunities were afforded, helping hands were out, and the only labels have been attributed to those who repeatedly fit the mold despite all efforts to lift them up and out.

I spend most of my time searching for work.......... Sending resumes to companies in my field who are not even posting jobs, and to the ones who are hiring as well. I try to network as much as possible, I have applied for entry level jobs, mid-level jobs and senior level jobs, jobs unrelated my profession and still nothing.

I have been on several interviews, only to be told

I am not qualified enough
Or the awful "you are over qualified"

I have had hiring managers tell me they are afraid and consider me a "flight risk", saying they think I will quit the moment I find a better job (don't most people do this?)

I have felt humiliated in interviews being turned down by hiring managers who have half or less than half the experience I have. Recently I had one of those interviews where you are hammered by 8 people sitting at a boardroom table all at once firing question after question........ only to see it become quite evident that I had more experience and knowledge than each and every one of them, and ultimately not get the job.

It is absolute hell being unemployed. You start to feel useless, and embarassed and begin to withdraw from social functions just to avoid the questions or conversations about work. You feel like you are letting your family down and the longer it goes on the more stressed you become. Then your confidence starts to go, and the person you once were starts slipping away. People you know start to question if you are really trying to find a job, when you know yourself that you are busting your a$$ to do so.

You hear thing like

Having a gap on your resume is bad............... whats wrong with this guy, why is no one hiring him? You see all of your friends and family going on with their lives and their jobs, and you are stuck, being held down, stopped in your tracks, you see the world passing you by and it kills you little by little you die inside.

All you need is for one person............. just one person at one company to give you a shot. But, people don't like giving others a shot........ these days its all about the "safe" and "perfect" candidate. They want to steal the guy from the competition, he must be good he is employed. Companies take months now finding the perfect candidate.

Yes I am jaded, how can I not be.

For the record, I don't drink or do drugs or watch soaps or sitcoms or toons. I look for work, I keep the house clean and make dinner for my family every day.

Well as a semi-employed person (10 hours a week + substitute teaching and lessons if gigs pop up), I spend a lot of time reading and learning. As a former full-time teacher who was disillusioned with the system, my bubble burst when I was laid off due to budget cuts. I have been unable to find a teaching job in my career path since. Moving across country for a job is not an option as I take care of my mother who was diagnosed with MS last year (I'm the oldest in my family, and both of my younger siblings have left the homestead). I volunteer at the local community college in their music program through conducting and performing with the groups there. That takes a good chunk of my time out of the week. I make it a priority to send out at least 5 resumes/applications a week which takes up a lot of my time as well. So far in the 1.5 years that I have been underemployed I have had only two interviews with professions outside of my training, and I was passed up both times for someone with a GED and some certificates (and no offense meant to those with GED's. It just seems that these days those with advanced higher educations are getting passed up for those with less education). I've had several teaching interviews, but once again was passed up for someone fresh out of college, with no experience, and no Master's Degree. In New York State, one with a Master's Degree is guaranteed by the Union to get a certain amount of money. The difference between a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in the teaching field in NYS can mean a difference of up to $10,000, and a lot of savings when looking at budgets.

I do a lot of work around the house for my mother whether it's cleaning or light maintenance work. Her husband works long and late hours as a County Dispatcher and EMT, and is rarely home.

Basically, I try the best as I can to keep myself busy, try to keep from getting depressed/discouraged, and just try to ride out this wave.

I don't drink very often, if at all, and when I do it's in strict moderation. I do smoke cigarettes, but my grandparents do as well, so I give them a certain amount of money every month when they go to the Indian Reservation to buy smokes, and I get my fix.

Other than that, I'm just like many Americans who were doing well for themselves until this bubble burst.



Peace be with you.

-truthseeker

Kryptic and Thisguy,

What are you two fighting over? Kryptic, Thisguy made it very clear that he was only speaking about his family when talking about unemployed people who choose not to do anything with themselves. From the sounds of it, they have had every opportunity to better themselves and yet they have become welfare lifers. The problem with this country is our welfare system, and it makes me sick that people still abuse it. This system is needed for people who truly need it, but KICK THE BUMS OUT! What little tax dollars that I'm contributing right now are going to these types of programs only to have the money squandered and wasted on people abusing said system. Nothing that Thisguy said has painted ANYbody but welfare abusers with any kind of brush. It seems to me that you are the only one being offended by his statements. I wholeheartedly agree that welfare reform needs to come sooner than later, and habitual welfare abusers need to be cut off for good.

Kudos to Thisguy for sticking to his guns.




Peace be with you.

-truthseeker

reply to post by quantum_flux


If any of you out there are on a company computer and on work time you are cheating your company and probably breaking a major company rule. And I don't care if you are a manager or big $hit executive, rules should apply to everyone........that is one of the reasons America is not working the way America should.

After fifteen years of service and doing everything exactly according to "company policy" my job was outsourced to India.

I'm 58 and while there is suppose to be "no age discrimination" we all know that unless you are a CEO, scientist, doctor or went to Duke or Harvard, people over 45 aren't usually hired.

Now what do I do...........for one, while I worked I never broke company policy and posted on ATS during work hours.

Let's see:

6:00 am - up and fix husband (who does work) coffee (he refuses to eat breakfast). pack him a nice lunch. Watch news with him and while he believes everything CNN says I sit quietly and just allow him his dream of our news really reports all of the real news. I will compare what CNN reports to what I read on-line.
6:30 am - He's out of the bathroom so I shower and brush teeth and dress
7:30 am - He leaves. I look for and apply for jobs
10:30 am - dust, vacuum, wipe down counters, walls, floors - generally clean up any crud I find
12:00 pm lunch
12:30 pm look over bills, check banking online to make sure it is accurate play one game of Bookworm or watch BBC news / go online for news.
2:00 pm Yard work,now I'm raking leaves, before I woud cut grass (property is 75 X 155' so it takes me a while to mow. I also weed wack around the house and garage. When it snows, I will snow blow. For now I'm raking leaves. I also sanded, powerwashed and restained our deck (not very big but hard).
4:00 pm hang around maybe read or go on line for news.
5:00 pm husband off and headed home - start his dinner so it's nice and hot when he hits the door at 5:40
6:15 or so, when we are done with dinner - I wash he dries and talk about our day
7:00 pm laundry
8:00 off time for reading, watching TV (He watches TV and I try to read next to him)
10:30 bed

I also put in a flower garden and got my vegetable garden ready for next spring.

I use to have to have a 4-6 ounce glass of wine at around 10 pm to settle my nerves because of the office games. Now that I don't work, I don't drink at all, nada - zip. Don't need to.

None of us take drugs other than blood pressure and my husband comadin.

Any more questions????

Again, I know from my work policy and my husband who is a manager says it's also his work policy - any of you out there posting on ATS during work hours is probably breaking your company's work policy regarding using a company computer for personal reasons.

It is also most company's work policy to bring in or use personal lap tops.

I'm glad to be done with Corporate America and all the silly games and back stabbing...........I work twice as hard now doing stuff around the house

I'm and many others are unemployed. We just hang out. If we can find work we work part time and then are later fired. Cruel government and to many yuppies. I hate em'.

At different points of time, I have found myself unemployed. When I found myself unemployed in the 1980s, I built the house that I now live in. I saved a lot of money and we had to move in before it was completely finished but I didn't sit around watching TV and eating bon-bons.

When the house was complete, I was fortunate enough to find a job.

The next time that I was underemployed, I went back to school and got a job in the computer industry. Eventually, I went full time as a programmer.

Currently, I'm still employed. I always tried to view my time off as a gift and tried to make the most of it.

reply to post by quantum_flux


Hi,

Based on some of the recent posts on ATS, I'd say many try and wish for an external change (world destruction, vistations, revelations, soap boxing etc...) rather than face themselves, reality and responsibility. Instead of making an effort - they hope an external factor will prevail and will change everything (mainly negatively from what I have read).

That said, there are many who have worked hard and because of 'stockmarket pressures' have found themselves jobless and are trying hard to maintain themselves, their pride and their families. I guess they are looking for work and looking to move to where they might find work rather than sit there bemoning their lot?

Hopefully, most fall into the latter camp - unfortunately I doubt it as to whinge is easier than to do..


Peace!

Originally posted by ofhumandescent
reply to post by quantum_flux

 

7:30 am - He leaves. I look for and apply for jobs
I'm glad to be done with Corporate America and all the silly games and back stabbing...........I work twice as hard now doing stuff around the house

edit on 13-10-2010 by ofhumandescent because: spelling, grammer and needed to rant a little.

Not sure what point you are making - are you content or not? Why are you looking for a job?

Peace!

reply to post by The Wave


Hi Wave,

To answer your question;

In order to collect unemployment you need to apply for five jobs per week and maintain a file with proof that you applied for these jobs in case you are audited by the state I reside in.

That extra money comes in handy. No, I'm not really hoping to be re-employed, but am adhering to State regulations in order to collect unemployment.

Although I am physically working harder, I am much happier - it is so nice to be at home.

I sit around and read the ATS forums all day. XD
j/k

I spend 99% of my day looking for a job. I do some sub contracting right now and I also have a part time job to make up some of the difference, Losing my job was the best thing that has ever happened to me in all seriousness. I work more then I did before but on the other hand it made me appreciate the things I took for granted and it has made my family bond grow beyond belief. Sounds crazy but that's how I feel.

Edit: By the time I applied for unemployment I already had another job and simply never went back. I added this after reading the previous post.

Well, I've probably got to go back to work some time soon, those bills aren't just going to keep paying themselves...yet that is.

They are probably spending most of their time molesting children or making hoax crop circles.

Seriously though, when I was unemployed I spent about 5 hours a day looking for a job.

reply to post by RestingInPieces


I'm trying to get up the enthusiasm to fruitlessly search for work. Actually, the only thing that seems to motivate myself is running out of money (and thereby "free" time which isn't actually very free when you think about it). I love my time, perhaps more than most, that's my freakin' problem. Now I've got to go back to work, I mean like serious full time work, and it's totally going to suck big time, but thankfully I've worked out a financial plan for how to invest my excess income when I do (as opposed to doing all sorts of random odd jobs and stuff)....oh, looking for work is going to suck because I hate being rejected after taking the time and energy to provide those scrutinizing jackasses with my info.

Yup hanging out mostly, playing video games helps the time go by too... It's not easy even finding minimum wage jobs anymore and even if us unemployed do find jobs their just temporary or seasonal until we've been used like a discarded tissue...