Settling In

Yesterday was my first real day being unemployed. After being a part of the 9-5 hustle for the last 2 and a half years I was quite looking forward to lying around the house doing nothing.

I had grand notions of getting back to some of the "stories" I was so fond of in highschool and the first couple of years of university. What are Bo and Hope up to now? Will John and Marlena ever crack a genuine smile? Is Sami still up to no good? But that plan was vetoed by The Boyfriend who is also off work--but for injury reasons. He did let me watch part of Sex and the City (the movie) and suggested we watch The September Issue again so I guess I can let it go about the daytime soaps. I just think they are funny.

I found myself thinking of everything in terms of what I would be doing at the office. I woke up at 9.30 and thought to myself that I would already be at work by now. When I was having waffles for breakfast I thought about how I would be going on that first break. While I was watching a movie in the afternoon and realizing that it was only about 3.30 I thought that if I thought my day was going slowly at home, I could only imagine that those still left in the Cubicle were ready to hang themselves. I wonder how long this phenomenon will last.

I spent a good chunk of the day making time to see some girlfriends that have been rather neglected lately. Today I'm going to the dog walk park with my mom. Should be fun. The weather isn't amazing (hate to say it Vancouver, but I think summer is over for us) but its dry so far. Honestly, I'm OK with the chance to break out my rubber boots in August. Quite a novelty. In the afternoon Gloria is coming over to kung fu her way through some computer-y tutorials.

So I was really getting into the groove of my unemployment by 5. I was watching a movie, was about to leisurely make some dinner, and felt really relaxed. Then I got a text message asking if I was still in for book club that night. Wha??????????? So I knew that the inaugural book club meeting was set for some time in August but didn't actually know the date. Something got lost along the way. I needed to be across town (and showered, part of the charm of the unemployed eh?) by 7.

At first there was panic. How was I going to manage this? Is there enough time to get there? Then I slowed down long enough to realize, that there weren't actually any problems. I didn't have to work in the morning, I wasn't rushing home from work only to have to turn around and go the other way, I wasn't exhausted from a day of Cubicle bullsh*t, and I had already read the book. If I had been working, I don't know how I would have worked it out, purely a timing issue. And the exhaustion. But I'm not. I was able to drop everything (stop watching my movie), shower and drive out there. Wasn't a big deal at all. It ended up being a fantastic evening. It was my first time telling people face to face (that weren't parents) about my "termination" and I was congratulated. Which felt good.

Today is going to be an action packed day, I can feel it. Its only been a day (aside from my vacation, which doesn't count) but I can already tell that this unemployment thing is so much better for me than working in that toxic hole they had the nerve to call an office.