Unemployment Day 2

Wow! My lawyer friends are awesome! Everyone has been forwarding my resume out, and many have forwarded me recruiter e-mails. I’m feeling very hopeful that I’ll find something soon.

One of my girlfriends, who went through something similar when she was pregnant, summed things up very well when she said:

I can't help but think that if you were a man, this would never have happened....in a law firm at least. Men are able to work like dogs bc they are not the "caretaker" of the children like women are. We HAVE to take off when the baby is sick....because that's "our job" too. We have to leave work everyday before daycare closes to pick up our kids....so no more "work until 7pm" nights anymore. And then we get punished by our employers bc we cannot be 100% there for TWO fulltime jobs. It sucks.

I had a pretty snide e-mail drafted to Gruff Old Boss basically accusing him of firing me for missing work for a sick kid. The purpose was not only closure, but also to say, “I know why you did it, even though you won’t admit it.” Yesterday, Margaret suggested that instead, I send him a nice “thank you for the opportunity to work for you” e-mail. I thought that, despite being nine months pregnant, she must have smoked some serious dope. Why on earth would I send an e-mail like that? To not burn a bridge. I thought about it, and thought maybe she was right. And just to see if it would work, I decided to toss in a little play for sympathy. I reminded Gruff Old Boss that Big D is in a residency (thus, not making a whole lot) and that we have a baby… and then I did the unthinkable: I asked for severance. And you know what? He granted it. Two whole weeks. That’s awesome! I would have never have done that if Margaret hadn’t suggested I be nice. I would have sent the bitchy e-mail.

And then I had the idea to call the credit union that handles our car payments and ask for a payment holiday for September. They said “yes,” so maybe we won’t be out on the streets quite yet.

I had lunch with Margaret today (thanks!!!) and then I had to go pick up my last paycheck. That was fun. The receptionist was cordial, but I swear she acted like I was a stranger. “Mr. So-and-So will be with you in a moment, if you’d like to take a seat.” Whatever.

So I think for my birthday we’re going to use one of the gift cards I’ve got and then take a bottle of wine to the park where Big D proposed to me. When we used to live near it, we went there often. It’s kind of hard to get out there these days, because it’s not close by, and our schedules are busier than they ever have been. I think it will be nice to go back there and remember the early days.

Some pictures of me and The Monster taken a few weeks ago...