Good riddance, 2008

I welcome 2009 with open arms. 2008 was not a banner year for me. Granted there were two major ups: landing my dream job and my wedding. Fast forward to December 31 -- I've lost my dream job and, at times, my young sprout of a marriage has been weathered by more than one storm.

2008 also saw the death of a family member, and the relocation of another. Not the best of times.

All I want is a job and an apartment in Chicago. Those are my resolutions -- find employment and a roof. And for fuck's sake, 2009, spare me the surprises. 2008 had more than enough for a lifetime.

UPDATE -- 2/18/2009

Well it didn't take long to break these resolutions. I'm no longer moving to Chicago. And 2009 has already punched me in the gut twice and it's only February. I fear what's to come in the next 10 months.

Philly Top Phive

Back to life as I know it in KC. But my trip to Philadelphia was a nice break from the usual routine of job searches, Wii, blog reading and fights with the cat over who gets to lay in the sun.

Without further ado I present the Philly Top Phive (see what I did there?) list of highlights:

1. Downtown -- Huge, congested, loud and crowded. Just like I like it. Philly is old, which makes it funny to see a Chinatown emerge from 170-year old buildings.

2. The Market -- Also huge, and unlike KC's City Market it's all indoors. It's also older than most states in the union and, fun fact, allows no chain restaurants/vendors to set up shop. So the entire space is filled with unique merchants pedaling everything from fish to cheese steaks to the nation's oldest brand of ice cream. While touring the market I discovered that nearly every popular movie candy, Whitman's chocolates, pretzels (sort of) and of course cheese steak were all invented in Philly. Not surprisingly, Philly was named the nation's fattest city for many years. Another fun fact -- Philadelphia cream cheese is from New York.

3. Driving sucks, but you're an hour from anywhere -- The highways usually max out at a speed of 35mph on a good day. But living a short drive from Manhattan, Atlantic City, Deleware and other beach locations has it's perks if you like day trips.

4. Soaked in history -- Philly, being one of the oldest cities in the US, drips with history. For a history buff like myself that's a plus. And Constitution Hall, the Liberty Bell and Revolutionary and Civil War battle fields all mean one thing: actors dressed in remarkably uncomfortable clothing.

5. Cheese Steak -- It's just so, so, so good.

Every day's the same when you're unemployed

Still unemployed. It's been a full month since being "let go". I prefer the term fired. It makes my family uncomfortable. I think their definition of fired hinges on not meeting expectations or by being late for work, missing meetings or deadlines, etc. But to me fired means someone in power over me made the decision that I no longer fit in, whether on a financial level or otherwise.

I feel the whole process is cold. Sure, it's the nature of the industry, but it doesn't make it any easier. For now unemployment will have to float me, though I haven't received a dime yet. There have been no responses to my 20-odd job applications. Here's hoping things change in January...