There’s something reassuring about being jobless in a sea of joblessness. Nobody asks you much about *why* you’re jobless. The same string of suspicious questions you usually face about your peripatetic approach to the day job don’t come up.
Oh, sure, they still pose the usual ‘why did you leave your last role’, but once you begin your answer with ‘Economic downturn –‘, the thoughtful phrases you’d put together to follow aren’t required.
I read this morning that Sydney is set to be ‘ringed by an arc of joblessness‘, a nonsense description, surely. But it does make it clear I am not alone. The clan I’m travelling in is hard to pinpoint, though. They almost never meet in cafes or venues requiring an admission fee.
Money is an issue (eventually), sure, and I’m finding even unemployed I don’t have all the time I want. But what a buzz, to have days that are too short rather than too long!
The economic downturn is terrible news, of course. People are losing jobs they really need, houses and families are at stake. People are suffering & there’s a whole lot more need to be addressed financially, mentally, emotionally.
But for me — for now — it’s the eye of the storm. It’s abuzz with electricity. It’s a delicious tingle on the skin.
It’s a dangerous and heady thrill.