Well, day one of the rules and I already broken rule number 2 which in turn postponed the rest of the rules. I blame it all on the Oscars, since I stayed up all night watching it and it didn’t finish until six. Lets just try again tomorrow.
Month: February 2011
Rules for the unemployed
I have realized that if I am to remain unemployed for a while (compared to the last time, which was two weeks unemployment and a month and a half of vacation), I will need to set some rules for myself.
- Set the alarm – have noticed that it easy to change night to day and day to night when you do not have a job to go to. Thus the alarm will go of at nine in the morning.
- Get out of bed when the alarm rings – knowing myself, there is a big risk that I will snooze for an hour or two.
- Get dressed – I have heard that one of the first signs of unemployment lethargy is spending the whole day in your PJ’s or sweatpants. Thus every morning after the alarm rings, I get up and get dressed.
- Apply for at least one job a day
- Plan the grocery shopping – time to stick to the budget. That means no takeaways, but grocery shopping is to be done, and it is to be done in the cheap grocery store following the shopping list written.
- Pub visits to be kept to a minimum – not only are they not included in the budget, they also have a tendency to mess with point 2, getting out of bed when the alarm clock rings.
That are the rules I can come up with right now, I’m sure I can think of some more, I sure have the time to do it. You have any good rules for the unemployed?
Another day of nothingness…
First cappuccino of the day has just been made, and it’s being enjoyed in front of this week’s episode of the Swedish version of MasterChef.
My poor body is still aching from the BodyBalance session that me and my favorite Latte Mum attended on Tuesday night. It sounds nice and relaxing, and it kind of is, except for the fact that my body doesn’t bend in all those ways and stretch as far as the instructors, thus in pain. But we are going again next Tuesday.
Straight after the gym, I took the train over to good old Copenhagen to watch the game between FCK Copenhagen and Chelsea. I figured it would be more fun watching the game in a pub in Copenhagen than Sweden, and it was fun. Chelsea won, so I can now determine that the Chelsea jinx is gone, up until now Chelsea have lost almost all the games that I have watched but this time they won, yey.
Wednesday was spent recuperating, sleeping in and watching some telly and hanging with a friend before returning home and straight to watching the game between Marseille and Man United, too bad the game was boring, but the company was nice.
After all this intense football watching, today is a day for grown-up stuff, paying bills and applying for jobs. Yippee!
An evening at the grocery store
One thing I do like about Sweden is the grocery stores.
I live about a ten minute bike ride from a really large one with a great selection and nice opening hours, it’s open until ten. I have noticed that after eight in the evening there are never that many people there, so that is my favorite time to go. It is quiet and calm which make it relaxing. I can take my time to walk up and down the aisles and just browse without stressed people with screaming kids disturbing.
Another good thing that they have is the self scanning, you have this little machine that you use to scan what you want to purchase, at the end of the trip you just pay with your card. No need to stand in annoying lines where you have to unpack all your groceries for the cashier to scan and then re-pack. Saves time and is good for the mood.
I have learnt that making a shopping list before I go there, and stick to it, is the most important thing. If I do not do that I will come home with large amounts of things that I do not really need.
Most of all, it is a great place to take your mind of things. You are so focused on the food and what you need that you do not have time to think about anything else. Right now, that beats everything. Too bad I don’t have to go grocery shopping every day.
Things to do when you have plenty of spare time
Been thinking what to do during the days, now that I have so much spare time on my hands. Starting the days slowly with a good book and coffee ensures that you have enough energy to deal with the day. Looking around in my apartment I have come up with the following things;
- Organise my books in alphabetical order, after author
- Organize my books according to type (fiction, non-fiction, etc)
- Go thru my clothes and give away the ones I do not use to charity
- Organize my DVD’s in alphabetical order
- Organise my CD’s
And of course, the most important part, look for jobs to apply for.
Any more ideas? All suggestions are welcome.
Unemployed bum or just a normal Saturday?
One of the dangers of being unemployed is the lethargy that sets in at one point. Where you sleep half the day, never change out of your PJ’s and watch way too much TV, and of course do not apply for jobs and move on with a ‘normal’ life.
Today is Saturday, I slept until about 10:45, turned the computer on and started to stream some Bones season 6. After one episode I made some coffee (no cappuccino today, no milk at home) and continued to watch Bones. It’s now 13:45 and I am still wearing my PJ’s, watching Bones and drinking coffee.
Outside the sun is shining, the sky is blue, I bet it is cold but still perfect weather for a walk. What I am asking myself now is if I got the curse of the unemployed or if this is just normal Saturday behavior?
To keep my sanity I will go for normal Saturday behavior and start working on the list for the grocery store that requires a visit sometime during the day. I will ride my bike there, it’s about a ten minute ride, and then ride my bike back. That will give me some fresh air, so no walk needed. I can even take a longer route there and the problem is solved. It is still early Saturday.
Friday night couch time
One thing I have noticed is that Friday night is perfect couch time, even if you are not working. Sitting on the couch with a good movie or/and a good book, a cup of tea or a glass of wine, and just chill, is the perfect way to spend the Friday. When you do that, it means that you wake up at a decent time on the Saturday morning and can be very effective during the day, have time for an afternoon nap and then be all fresh and ready for a good party on the Saturday night.
I thought that this was based on being tired and worn out after a long week at work, but that is not true. Since I do not work and still find the couch very comfortable and relaxing this Friday night.
