The Hudson River, looking south toward the George Washington Bridge, and beyond, ManhattanUp til this point, I thought the 'economic downturn' (as the optimists put it, and let's face it - at heart, I'm an optimist) would have little to no effect on me. I knew that ye ol' day job, which works in support of the automotive, aerospace, and petroleum exploration sectors, was definitely having some troubles this past year and that 2008 was a banner year as being the worst on record for us. But I was still a bit surprised when they announced that our hours were being scaled back til our sales start moving in the proper direction.
So, now I'm working 4 days a week at ye ol' day job, haven't had a sale out of my Etsy shop since December 30, and am faced with the distinct possibility that I may not be able to sell my best-selling wooden toy swords after February 10. Put that all together, and it pretty well stinks.
Well, this isn't meant to be a pity party. Even if it was, I'm too cheap to send out invitations anyway. However, there's a few things about this that are prodding me in a good direction:
1) I'm sending out job applications. It's the first time in a long time I've done this with any actual intent.
2) I plan to bulk up my Etsy shop on the days I've got off. That was one of the goals I'd set for myself for 2009 a month ago on this blog.
To be fair, we've been told that the hours scale-back is subject to review should we start seeing some sales come in the door, so I may be back to a full paycheck again before too long. Even still, it's high time I started looking at what's out there for alternative employment. I know I'm not the only one in this sinking boat, and I know there're a lot more folks than me in much worse shape (and I've had to collect unemployment benefits before, too), but I'm the only me I've got, so I've got to help myself by doing what I can!
No comments:
Post a Comment