Since my eviction notification on Friday I’ve been restless. Suddenly my whole world is changing, and I just want to get on with it. I check the online boards constantly, and there is nothing new. There is plenty of time until June, when my contract is up, and besides, I can’t really know anything before I find a job, but I want to start arranging my new home and stop obsessing with the unknown. As adventurous as I may be, I would like to know what lies ahead, or at least have a general idea.

Lethargy has hit me in the face too. There isn’t much left on my To Do list, but I can’t be bothered with doing what’s there. I even stopped going to the gym recently. It started with not feeling too well, or being too busy, and now I can’t even find an excuse anymore. I guess I’m not very good with long-term unemployment. It is probably time to start a new job.

The ideal order of things will be:

1. Find a job with enough notice before it starts (about a month will be good)
2. Find a home, in a convenient location for my new job.
3. Finish all my dental appointments and other tasks that need to be completed while I have the time.
4. Pack, move, unpack and get organized.
5. Wait a few days to make sure the cats are adjusting to their new environment, and everything is in place.
6. Start my new job, which will be so good I will wake up with a big smile on my face every morning.

Is this too much to ask for?

My landlady just came in to tell me that my contract will not be renewed in June, as she will be moving into the flat and renting out her big house, which is now too big for her. She will be sad to see me leave, and I will be very sad to leave this flat. I love this place, and the cats like it too.

I hate moving! I hate looking for flats! Doing it while I’m jobless is not a good timing either.

Here’s another task added to my To Do list.

Today, I got into the statistics officially.

If you hear of unemployment rates going up in Israel, that would be my responsibility.

Too bad I’ll have to be up early every Sunday morning to sign up for the next few months, but at least there will be some dole money coming in for my efforts. Also, the Employment Service offices are opposite the Azriely shopping centre, so I’ll be able to spend my money promptly. Yay!

I have been unemployed for 37 days now.
It has been 70 days since I was sacked.
I have been looking for a job for approximately 80 days.
I still have not gotten tired of having time off.
I still haven’t done everything on my To Do list, but I did cover most of it.
I still have not given up hope of finding a job in a large scale organization in which I will be able to develop my career.
I have, however, started re-thinking about my objectives.

I believe strongly in what I am looking for. A testing team leader job in a large scale organization, where I will have knowledgeable boss and peers from whom I can learn more in my professional field and in management, where there is strong and mature structures and procedures in which I can fit and learn an organized forms of work, and where I will have chances of promotion to a higher level managerial position in a field I am good at. Also, I prefer a company where the schedule is set in a way that does not force employees to spend more than the normal 10-hours day at work.

I am not yet desperate for money, so I can afford even a few more months of unemployment, but I am starting to fear the possibility of these few months turning into much more. I would also like to have some future goals I can plan towards. For a start, I would like to fly off on holiday somewhere, and for that I need to know that I have the time and financial backing.

The companies I was interviewed in so far were mostly fitting my description of a large organization, and I am still waiting for an answer from one place, where I have already been through four levels of interviews, and there are still more to go (that is, if I passed the most recent one). Yesterday I was in a company that did not fit that description. It seems like a nice enough place, but they are a relatively small company where the structure is not as I would expect from a mature organization. They already called to set up a following interview, and I agreed, but I am not sure whether I would like to continue the process there. I guess it will be good to talk with another person before I make up my mind.

While all this is going on, I am trying to keep my lethargy at bay, though it is slowly taking over. I’m enjoying my holiday, but I don’t want to feel too lazy. At least not until I know of my upcoming employment date. It is going to be so difficult to wake up for my first day at work…

Things are often funny when they happen to someone else, but in the midst of it, it is sometimes difficult to see it that way. Luckily, I have my sense of humour.

I was in a bit of a hurry when I drove into the service station this morning, with an almost empty tank and not wanting to be late for a job interview. Fuelling was quick enough, but I as I was about to start the engine and drive off, I felt a bang. The old man in the car behind me did not notice his car rolling down and banged into me. As I stepped out of the car to see what happened, he didn’t even notice that anything had happened, and when I showed him that his bumper was touching mine, he immediately blamed me of reversing into him. This is when I lost it completely! How can someone with so little responsibility that he doesn’t even feel an accident happening be driving a car?! I was shouting at him and just couldn’t stop! I told him that in his age his driving license should be provoked and he is an idiot for not noticing what was going on. People around just stared and laughed. I guess it would have been quite funny.

As I was in a rush to get to my interview, and there was no damage, I gave up and drove off. If I had a bit of time I would have taken his details and handed them to the police. A man in his state should not have been driving a car at all.

This was a sad reminder for the Eretz Nehedert sketch from last Friday, the one with the election campaign for the Sa Sabale (Get a move on, Granddad) party. It was funny, but that sketch was just too realistic.

It’s less than a month to elections day, and I don’t give a toss. It doesn’t matter who I might vote for, they are all corrupt at the end of the day. The ones whose manifesto I agree with will forget about it completely once they are in power, and obviously, I cannot vote for the parties that do not represent my views.

There is something that I noticed about the elections campaigns. All but one are nothing but rhetorical slogans and slurring the other side. There is only one party, which I happen to agree with its manifesto, that states their intentions and beliefs rather than throwing mud on the other sides. I would have voted for them, except that it is obvious that they will not live up to their promises (again).

So, if you are wondering what my choice is… I will either vote with my feet, or vote for The Cow:

Click for a larger picture.

E. is 32 today!

We had a lovely dinner with the Biking Geeks last night, I made E’s favourites: pizza, sangria, and a chocolate birthday cake. There was also a birthday lunch with his family today, which I survived. (I have a feeling E’s mum doesn’t like me much… hmm… not a good start).

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!