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Saturday, December 13, 2008

Getting through Christmas


Christmas is less than two weeks away, and while I think I have the holiday spirit and truly enjoy Christmas, this year is obviously a bit of a downer. Not from the standpoint of having family and friends around, but from the "spend, spend, spend" mantra of Christmas in America.

I've done minimal shopping and I don't plan on doing much. Normally by this time I've bought many gifts online and have contributed to the economy. But without a job and with unemployment benefits to expire for me in less than two months, my mind isn't so much on the holiday as it is on finding a full-time job and being able to pay the bills. I'm still enjoying the Christmas season, but that nagging feeling is always in the back of my thoughts.

I can count on one hand the number of job interviews I've had since being laid off in June, and I'm optimistic that more will be coming. I hate looking at a calendar and seeing that with two weeks left in the year, it's unlikely I'll fulfill my goal of having a full-time job by then. I don't expect employers to be rushing to fill vacancies during Christmas week or soon thereafter.

For the first time since in a long time, I'll have the entire Christmas week, and the week after, off. My daughter will be off for all of that time too, and my wife will be off for a few days, so I'm looking to make the best of it and enjoy the time off.

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