So as I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am unemployed. Up until now, that wasn’t such a bad thing because I was able to keep busy with the multitudes of charities I support and modeling for car shows, but now, it seems those wells have run a bit dry.
What to do with all this free time that I’m not spending working? Well, yesterday, I filed for unemployment. Yep, unemployment. There’s no shame in it; I paid a portion of my paychecks every week into this crappy fund and now I’m unemployed, so you can be damn sure I’m getting that money back. I don’t think I’ll ever be too proud to accept free money, especially when it’s my money that I gave to the government in the first place.
I did find it somewhat ironic that it was so easy to file for it though, and the entire thing could be done online. I would’ve thought that people who are unemployed don’t have the computer or internets, but it turns out, they’re just like me!
Obviously since the economy took a nose-dive into Limp Bizkit-like crappiness, there are a lot more non-poor, “don’t-really-NEED-the-money,” computer-literate-types dipping into old Uncle Sam’s change purse these days. Which is good news, since now there is no need to waste your day by standing in some kind of MVA-like building for hours on end to claim your lead-tainted government cheese. Oh, how things have changed. I’m sure by the time I actually receive any money, I’ll probably have another job, but hey, here’s to hoping.
Even if I am able to receive a little help from Daddy Warbucks, that still doesn’t solve my predicament of being excruciatingly bored. I already volunteer at an animal shelter, but God knows, even those sad, homeless animals will probably get sick of my smiling mug sooner or later.
My natural thought was to spend hours upon hours of my workless days at the gym, and get all fit like the Old Britney, which would solve two of my problems: boredom and my increasing doughiness. It occurred to me this morning, however, that I haven’t been to Crunch since sometime in November, and it’s possible that my membership is no longer valid as they may have assumed that I’ve regressed into a shapeless lump on a couch somewhere that is no longer capable of cleaning myself, let alone exercising. I don’t even want to check my bank account to see if they’re still robbing me of $50 every month to find out.
But alas, this is just another in my long list of excuses to avoid the gym. It falls somewhere between, “It’s too far away,” “I’ll go tomorrow,” “I can’t exercise, I have an ingrown hair!” and “Well frankly I’d rather sit here, watch Seinfeld, and eat snickerdoodles,” or “I think I feel my period coming on…” You can see my problem. Plus, working out is tiring. It’s a vicious cycle (ugh, no pun intended).
I made the decision last night that I would go to the gym today, and since 1:00pm is already looming, it’s coming down to the wire to see if I’ll actually go. Once 4:00pm rolls around, it’s already too late. I can’t possibly work out in the midst of the after-work rush. Right?
February 10th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
It’s surprisingly hard to get motivated when you are unemployed. One one hand, you know you really should go to the gym because you have nothing else to do, but making the effort to go and then actually do work when you are there is daunting. I do the gym on the weekend b/c it’s hard for me to get motivated to go after work, except on Tuesday’s, which is ab class day. Maybe if you find a class you really like it will help motivate you to go too
February 10th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Classes scare the crap out of me. One time I went to do a class called “Chisel” at Crunch… I had to leave after 15 minutes because I thought I was going to die, and then spent the following week laid up in bed, unable to move. I never want to do another squat again.
February 10th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
those classes do kick your ass…ahhh unemployment sucks right now..if i hear of any good jobs i will let you know asap..
February 11th, 2009 at 12:10 am
DID YOU GO? I didn’t. I often go late at night, at like 9:30, after rush hour so fewer people are able to observe that I haven’t shaved my legs in a while. After all, it’s wintertime. I do what I can to stay warm.
By the way, Limp Bizkit-like crappiness is definitely the BEST description of the recession I’ve heard thus far.
February 11th, 2009 at 12:11 am
I did end up going to the gym, and found that my new hangup about working out is that it makes me reallllyyyy hungry. I exercised for like an hour, and left mostly because if I didn’t eat something, anything, I was going to start throwing treadmills at people.
February 11th, 2009 at 8:20 am
I find it hard to get movtivated to work out ever. And there’s no doubt that my stomach is getting out of control and I should get back on the treadmill, asap. So kudos to you for going through with it!
February 24th, 2009 at 6:00 am
Oh, I wish we could still be gym buddies! It’s so much more tolerable when someone else is going with you.
In lieu of that, I can only just recommend something good for pre/post workouts: juice mixed with hemp protein powder. The stuff is great (you just need a scoop in your juice then mix it) because you get an almost instant energy boost. Though that’s probably the sugar in the fruit juice and not the hemp powder but whatever. It works to tide you over. You can probably get some in GNC or Whole Foods or t’internet. And it’s the only protein powder I’ve ever had that doesn’t taste absolutely foul! Result.
February 24th, 2009 at 6:01 am
Ps. If you were wondering how it tastes, it’s kind of… nutty. But not in a bad way.