Name that Job!

Oh, beloved readers. 

I need a job!

Just over a year ago I was laid off from my job. I was very fortunate to be able to collect unemployment compensation since then. It has paid our mortgage. 

However, the money train is going to run out in a couple of weeks and my prospects are still bleak. Now, my aim is not for you to feel sorry for me. My life is fantastic, except for the "no money" part. Lots of people have it way worse than me. But I do want to be honest about what's going on in my life.

Finding a job in any part of our country right now is difficult, I would imagine. But finding a job in Michigan is near impossible. Especially if you are me, and your skills are extremely common. I can write, proofread, take photographs, and be an administrative assistant, to name a few. None of these skills are very lucrative, and the workforce is flooded with people with the same qualifications. Right now being a hiring manager is like a being fisherman looking into the ocean and trying to pick out the best tuna fish, when they all look THE SAME on the outside. 

My job situation is also complicated, as I need to either work from home, or work 2nd shift, when JB is home and can care for Olivia. I am not against daycare. But I am against paying at least $800 a month for it. (I priced it before I lost my job. This amount is not an exaggeration--in fact, it's on the low end.)  

I have learned that networking is what gets people most of their jobs. It's what got me my last two jobs, and what landed JB his. Networking makes me uncomfortable, but I have been doing it. Dead ends so far. But it feels good to practice it, anyway. However, I have not tried my blog friends. Perhaps YOU know of something that I can do! 

Here are my dream scenarios:

• I can become a full-time blogger. Lots of people do this. It does take some initial investment though (like buying blog editing software), and I am not one to take risks and spend $$ on something that isn't a guarantee. I have started a quilting blog, though, and it would be awesome if that takes off. It usually takes about 2 years to start making $$ on a blog, though, and I have a long way to go to have a site even remotely as cool as my these two fabulous and useful quilting sites: Red Pepper Quilts, and Oh Frannson! 

• I can work from home as a freelance proofreader. I have been exploring this option, though, and there are more proofreaders than there is work, it seems. 

• A wealthy person paying me to raise the most beautiful, special little girl in the entire world. The one person to do that would be JB. Oh, JB, why can't you be a Sugar Daddy???

Here are my realistic options:

• Working retail after hours and weekends. 
• Working at Meijer 2nd shift. 

Here is what I will NOT do:

• Sales.
• Work in a nursing home.

Finding a job right now is very stressful for me. I know that God will provide, so that's good. But I have lots of questions: 

• Why should I be subject to jobs that don't utilize all my skills? Why did God give me these skills if I am to be relegated to scanning someone's baked beans at the register at 1 a.m. every weeknight? 
• Why did I bother to pay thousands of dollars for a f&^%ing degree that isn't paying me back??? 
• What is my CALLING???

So, if you have a great idea for a job, let me know. Or, you can just pray for me. And while you're at it, please pray for the thousands of other men and women in my great state who have even bleaker prospects than I. Some families even have BOTH parents out of work. 

Oh Lord, save Michigan!