Revelations & Epiphanies!

For the last 15 months or so I’ve been wracking my brain on what I want to say in this blog. Do I want to use it as a writer’s platform? Do I want to have fun with food? Do I want to flip out on politics? Do I want to show my art? Do I want to promote myself as a job seeker? Do I want to tell of my love of Des Moines?

How do I find my voice?

Like a bolt of lightning it hit me. Why stop at one blog? Why not have a blog for all of my “voices?” I could write faithfully every day because I would write according to the whims of my… erm. “Personalities.”

I think I’ve unleashed a monster.

Pajamas & Juice; Straight From The Bottle

I’m thankful for today’s blue skies, but that’s doing little to lift my somber mood.

I’ve been unemployed now for three and a half months. My nineteen months as an editorial assistant leaves me with little upon which to sell myself as a writer, but initially I jumped on the networking bandwagon with enthusiasm. A brutal winter soon set in, and I allowed myself to become complacent. I stayed home on snowy days when I should have been out handing out business cards. Which brings me to where I am now: Still unemployed. The early enthusiasm, now a dull sense of isolation.

Obviously, I’m doing what I need to do to keep my unemployment benefits. I send my resume to at least two contacts each week, but it’s hard to think positive when there’s no response. So, how do I break out of this funk?

I’m following Unemployed In Des Moines, Net2Work, and other career-related blogs and websites. I’m getting a lot of information on how and where to connect with potential employers, but I could also use a little emotional support. Staying in pajamas all day and drinking juice from the bottle would have been fun in my 20s; not so much, now.

Knowing A Good Line When You See It

This would be a great beginning for a novel. It’s the additional 60000-100000 words I’d have a problem with.

It was a very dark place. A place where thoughts took the form of monsters, and dreams were among the clouds, unreachable.

Git ‘er Done!

My business cards arrived today. Prominently displayed are the words, The Beauty Of The Blog. I guess I’d better start making something of this if I’m going to advertise it. A couple of weeks or so ago, I decided I’d try blogging about the Des Moines Experience. I proposed a once-a-week experience that is either free or reasonably priced, since the reason for the very creation of this blog is that fact that I’m unemployed. I haven’t been delivering, and I will continue to struggle with writer’s block if I don’t find something to write about. The black-and-white television picture look of Iowa in December doesn’t exactly motivate me to seek a reason to leave the comfort of my home, but it’s time to get busy.

Unemployed In Des Moines

Great networking group I found today. It was energizing (and that’s not just the latte talking). Good to get out and talk with people who are also unemployed. I met a guy who actually worked for The Iowan in the 90s (when it was owned by the Cedar Rapids Gazette). Small world. He was recently let go from Meredith following the shutting down of Midwest Living.

I think I got some self-esteem back today. I can do this.

http://unemployedindesmoines.com/