tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74389766722431140142011-11-27T18:23:47.736-05:00for your (un)enjoymentjoannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.comBlogger321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-9152785439893052862009-05-03T01:29:00.002-04:002009-05-03T01:33:14.093-04:00

This blog has moved to a new site hosted by WordPress.com.Please update your bookmarks.

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-20698161040270375952009-05-02T09:47:00.007-04:002009-05-02T10:22:47.308-04:00

This morning, I discovered a magical place where they say there are more jobs than people to fill them.It's a little town called Pinedale, Wyoming, where the county unemployment rate is a mere 2.1 percent. Let me say that again: 2.1 percent. That's almost the opposite of Michigan's 12 percent!This mountain town of 1,412 has more jobs than people, according to ABC News, thanks to a natural gas

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-59016638811183496752009-05-01T09:38:00.003-04:002009-05-01T09:44:42.014-04:00

May Day! May Day! No, no need to take cover: It's Friday, the first of May and time once again for our weekly Quote of the Day.Today's quote is from Orson Scott Card:"Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden."

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-58784693718934697502009-04-30T18:01:00.006-04:002009-04-30T18:13:43.728-04:00

According to WDIV-TV and WXYZ-TV's newscasts here in Detroit, the now-bankrupt Chrysler L.L.C. has already shut down three to four assembly plants in Warren and Sterling Heights, Michigan.Supposedly, Chrysler was going to shut its plants on Monday. But suppliers already won't ship parts to the company.To quote one worker walking out of one of the plants, "Where's Lee Iacocca when you need him?"

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-22657853121901230072009-04-29T10:12:00.007-04:002009-04-29T10:34:19.534-04:00

I realized I celebrated a major anniversary yesterday: My college graduation.I won't say how long it was since I graduated from college, but I listened to this album that summer. You can do the math. (Gosh, I'm old.)I graduated with no job into the midst of a recession. If you asked me that day what I'd be doing now, I would not have said I'd be unemployed in the midst of another, even worse,

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-67789309471637842062009-04-27T13:54:00.006-04:002009-04-27T14:12:19.651-04:00

General Motors announced this morning it is slashing 23,000 jobs, closing 40 percent of its dealerships, and dropping its Pontiac brand, all by next year. Which is only going to add to unemployment.In unrelated news, the dreaded swine flu may have moved into Michigan.I think I'm going to quit watching the news.

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-90241061005156829642009-04-24T04:19:00.003-04:002009-04-24T04:24:17.425-04:00

TGIF, WSFAU readers! Time once again for our Quote of the Day.This week's quote comes to us from Edward Heath:"Unemployment is of vital importance, particularly to the unemployed."

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-71505422386385578262009-04-22T15:34:00.006-04:002009-04-22T15:53:28.247-04:00

This doesn't have much to do with unemployment, except that I heard about this on the radio this morning while driving to my latest job interview:A tall and wealthy man in Birmingham, one of Detroit's wealthiest suburbs, is advertising for a wife. Actually, according to the Detroit Free Press, after about a billion bad blind dates, he's paying a New York matchmaker to search for a wife for

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-88110973579821190502009-04-21T12:10:00.002-04:002009-04-21T12:13:59.992-04:00

Bad news: I didn't get the job I wanted to get.Good news: I have an interview tomorrow morning for another job.

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-91573291509453305732009-04-17T09:46:00.003-04:002009-04-17T09:52:29.753-04:00

Happy Friday, everyone! Time once again for the WSFAU Quote of the Day.Today's quote is from President Harry S. Truman:"It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose your own."

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-31169486043225881552009-04-16T11:47:00.006-04:002009-04-16T12:04:32.606-04:00

Yesterday, the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth reported our state's unemployment rate had reached 12.6 percent in March.According to Crain's Detroit Business: "The new 12.6 percent level was a full 5 percentage points higher than a year ago, when the Michigan rate was 7.6 percent. During the same period, the national jobless rate rose by 3.4 percentage points."I don't

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-3844893497976491122009-04-16T08:43:00.006-04:002009-04-16T11:45:27.313-04:00

Today, the WSFAU staff and I tip our hats to "The Chad Show" at 106.7 The Fox FM here in Detroit. This morning, they're having an Unemployed Olympics for their unemployed listeners to blow off steam (and win concert tickets). Have fun smashing those computers and printers, guys!

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-81496073079432340812009-04-15T14:53:00.006-04:002009-04-15T16:00:02.698-04:00

Once again, it's April 15. I've already seen the yearly news coverage of drivers crawling up to the massive Royal Oak, Michigan post office, last-minute returns in hand. I have to go to downtown Royal Oak in a few hours; I may just go down to the post office and watch the fun in person.Unlike some unemployed people, I TurboTaxed and e-filed my returns the moment I took my former employer's W2

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-25350875444404551152009-04-15T00:33:00.007-04:002009-04-15T00:54:14.892-04:00

One of my old college friends posted a 2007 The Onion story to my Facebook news feed tonight. I thought I'd share it here: Thousands Lose Jobs as Michigan Unemployment Offices Close.As I've said here before, Michigan's unemployed don't report to unemployment offices. We file our initial claims over the Internet. Then we call into the unemployment agency's telephone system -- the dreaded MARVIN --

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-59574866215100159182009-04-13T17:45:00.003-04:002009-04-13T18:01:30.116-04:00

Now that Easter's over, I'm back home from spending the holiday with family and friends. I'm back to work on the unemployment front. So to speak.My job interview today went well. I met with my potential supervisor and the person who now has the job to hear about the job. It's something which is well-suited to my background and experience, and I hope they were able to see that in between my resume

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-73503368121260910042009-04-10T00:07:00.004-04:002009-04-10T00:16:15.235-04:00

It's Friday. Time once again for the WSFAU Quote of the Day:"The nearest to perfection that most people come is when filling out an employment application."Source: Unknown.Happy Easter, everyone! I'll be away from the blog (and the Internet) for the next few days. Enjoy the holiday!

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-50128286648292684982009-04-09T16:26:00.008-04:002009-04-09T17:06:09.339-04:00

I have a job interview on Monday.I'm both happy and nervous about this.Happy because it's an interview for a job I want at a place I've wanted to work. I have a good chance of getting this job, and I want and need to go back to work.Nervous because it's a job interview. Job interviews make me uncomfortable, and I haven't been on an interview in a little while.When I was in outplacement counseling

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-37115293482440204742009-04-07T23:42:00.004-04:002009-04-08T00:44:22.744-04:00

I just took the WSFAU staff out to the Jay Leno Comedy Stimulus Plan Show for metro Detroit's unemployed. We spared every expense: The show was free. Even the parking, the Coke and a bag of Doritos were free, thanks to the sponsors.After the crowd was warmed up by a local jazz-funk band, the show began with a surprise introduction of Leno by Kid Rock, ovations for Rock and Leno, and Leno's little

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-78017329128296470562009-04-07T13:37:00.006-04:002009-04-07T14:09:02.848-04:00

A Yahoo News story today described a San Francisco woman who created myhusbandneedsajob.com to find work for her unemployed, newly-MBA-degreed spouse. It's the 21st century equivalent of standing on a street corner with a "I need a job" sign around your neck, only the Internet is the street corner.I have mixed feelings about this.First, she put together a good site. It's a serious effort, and it

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-79471482414740932332009-04-06T15:29:00.006-04:002009-04-06T16:05:40.220-04:00

I've been spending the day watching too much daytime television while looking for jobs online and waiting for people to return my telephone calls about jobs. It's that kind of a Monday. And I don't want to go outside; it snowed here last night. As Prince sang and my father used to say, sometimes it snows in April.While writing and editing this post, I have seen three commercials about training to

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-66452387586621826822009-04-05T10:38:00.007-04:002009-04-05T11:15:26.257-04:00

As I mentioned in this blog's very first post, Jay Leno is coming to the Detroit area (don't say he's coming to Detroit, or the Detroit City Council will beg to differ with you) Tuesday and Wednesday to give a pair of Comedy Stimulus concerts especially for the unemployed.I'm going to Tuesday's show. I'll review it for WSFAU.Until then, here's a Detroit Free Press interview of Leno, his working

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-61841813416732362492009-04-04T12:55:00.006-04:002009-04-05T11:29:11.852-04:00

This morning I read a Sunday Los Angeles Times interview of my favorite musician, Bruce Springsteen. (Yes, it's only Saturday, but the interview's already on the LA Times web site and posted to Springsteen fan sites.) At the beginning of the interview, he calls the E Street Band "a band built for hard times."As I, a longtime fan who would be the first to tell you that they have just started a new

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-37522631387046873112009-04-03T09:01:00.003-04:002009-04-03T09:16:16.341-04:00

Today at WSFAU, we're introducing a new feature: the Friday Quote of the Day.Our first quote is attributed to President Calvin Coolidge:"When a great many people are unable to find work, unemployment results."(To be fair to "Silent Cal," however, Yahoo Education does say this widely-quoted quote is possibly spurious.)

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-19894945730816147022009-04-02T17:30:00.004-04:002009-04-02T18:12:33.067-04:00

The one thing every unemployed person has to do is the one thing every unemployed person hates doing: Calling their state unemployment department every week or two for their unemployment insurance benefits.As Suze Ormond said on Oprah today, if you're unemployed, you're entitled to unemployment. You paid into the system (and so did your former employer) while you were working. But, as she warned,

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-59910139677251734842009-04-01T18:25:00.006-04:002009-04-01T18:56:28.814-04:00

Employers across the country are again hiring the jobless in a sudden reversal of hiring freezes, signaling an end to the recession."We decided it was about time to hire someone to do the unfinished work around here," said P. R. Person, spokesperson for Megacorp. The widget producer, which laid off 75 percent of its staff in cost-cutting moves in 2008 and earlier this year, was among the major

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-63134648931184705452009-03-31T14:40:00.004-04:002009-03-31T15:03:11.659-04:00

Today I needed to do a few errands: Banking, bill paying, going to the post office, and grocery shopping.As every unemployed person discovers sooner or later, one nice thing about unemployment is that we unemployed people don't have to do our errands only during weekends anymore. We can go out on weekdays and conduct our personal business when the stores, banks, and post offices are much less

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-30857663704391810362009-03-30T12:24:00.004-04:002009-03-30T12:44:51.531-04:00

Today's big news (well, last night's too) here in Detroit is that the CEO of General Motors has joined the ranks of Michigan's unemployed. He was apparently given his walking papers by the government.Meanwhile, the president spent his morning assuring us all that GM and Chrysler need to be saved (gee, you think?), giving them a month or two to get their act together (yeah, that'll do it) and that

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-1972346071665722732009-03-28T12:03:00.007-04:002009-03-28T12:36:52.208-04:00

During that awkward time when I was first telling people about my job loss, someone misspoke the word "unemployment" as "unenjoyment" to me. I don't remember exactly who it was. I do believe it happened at the bar, so alcohol was no doubt involved.Since then, it's stuck with me: Unemployment, unenjoyment.No, unemployment is not meant to be an enjoyable time in anyone's life. You're broke, and you

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-58969897177587127362009-03-27T11:13:00.005-04:002009-03-27T11:46:18.907-04:00

So I checked my Facebook page this morning to see what my 74 most-wired friends are up to.Two of them -- employed ones -- made obligatory "Thank God It's Friday/I'm ready for the weekend!"-type status updates.Another one of them had made a "Thank God it's Fri-oh, wait, it's only Thursday ..." update yesterday.We here at WSFAU do sympathize with the plight of the employed. Heck, we were employed

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-4968693715174670712009-03-26T16:52:00.008-04:002009-03-27T04:02:46.654-04:00

While I was writing my last post, the U.S. Census Bureau called me.No, they weren't asking how many people live in my apartment. Or in my head. The census itself isn't being taken until 2010.They were calling to offer me a temporary job as a enumerator to help them prepare for the upcoming census.Shortly after I was laid off this winter, I applied for and took a short test for census bureau jobs.

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-64430634606921525852009-03-26T15:32:00.009-04:002009-03-26T16:50:09.351-04:00

I am now resting and blogging (and watching daytime TV judge shows) after attending two job fairs in as many days.The thought came to me: If they're called "job fairs," then where are the rides and games? You know, like at the county fair?On second thought, job fairs are a game. Especially here in Michigan, the Unofficial Unemployment Capital of the Nation.Hundreds, thousands of us, dress up in

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-33086544616863330002009-03-26T06:04:00.001-04:002009-03-28T11:56:31.531-04:00

I'm an unemployed person in southeastern Michigan who stayed up way, way too late the other night reading humorous (and a few serious) blogs about unemployment.After laughing a little too loudly at posts about such things as wearing pajamas during the day, not making it out of your apartment some days, the futility of calling your state unemployment agency's telephone line, how much time we "

joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0