Craft Fair!

OK, my lovelies, it's in Park Slope, but let's not hold that against it.
On Saturday and Sunday there will be a $30 and under craft fair at the Lyceum on Fourth Ave in Park Slope.

As you all know, I have been pushing the crafting in these dark days - idle hands and all that. And while yours truly did not have her shit together to make things for any upcoming craft fairs, I definitely want to promote them. Especially one like this. Shop local. Craft local. Keep the little bit of cash you have in the neighborhood! They are keeping all the handmade goodies at under $30, with your laid-off ass in mind!

I hope to make it there on Sunday (as I already have plans for Saturday - It's the run for the roses, after all, and there are mint juleps to be drunk) to check out what the crafty peeps of Brooklyn have been up to. Fingers crossed that there are only one or two booths of screen-printed totes and tees, because we all know there will be a dirth of them if the Renegade Craft Fair comes back to McCarren! Hopefully, gentle readers, you will all be able to make it as well.

Walkabout

Loads of water, in what used to be a parking lot
Bedford Avenue, between North 11 and 12 Street

It's a Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

It's been a beautiful few days here in Brooklyn, dear readers. And I have taken full advantage of the sunshine. And plan to do so again today.

But, in my morning job hunt, while drinking iced coffee under the skylight, I came across this article via a networking group called Job Angels. The gist of the article is that, while unemployed, one should be neighborly - not just to help others, but to help themselves.

A close girlfriend of mine has been telling me something similar for the past few weeks - every time I get sad or depressed or incredibly lonely in these dark days of unemployment, L tells me to get out and volunteer. And while I have looked into a couple of things here and there, I haven't landed on anything yet. What do I want to do? Even a couple of hours a week? With summer approaching, perhaps I will look for a youth camp or outreach program in my neighborhood to volunteer for. I like the idea of giving back in my immediate community, where I've lived for 5 years now. And where people are not well off (the median income for a family of four is $35,000).

Will I meet people who will give me a job that way? Would I be better off finding something in Manhattan where there are top executives "giving" their time? I don't know. But I have always thought the point of volunteering was to give back in your own community. To be a neighbor.

Will it help to lift me out of those dark days? Those days when I feel like no one would notice if I didn't even get out of bed in the morning? Maybe. Dear friend L knows me very well and is usually right about these kinds of things. Even if it takes me a little while to figure it out myself.

More Good Stuff on The Cheap

Thanks to one of my favorite neighborhood blogs, Greenpointers, for the shout out on my own On the Cheap blog of a couple weeks back.

And check out Greenpointers on a regular basis - they post loads of good info on the neighborhood.

Shout Out

Dear readers, the weather here in Brooklyn is still dark and grey. After an amazingly gorgeous weekend, it's been raining since Monday, maybe late Sunday night and, for the most part, my mood has matched the weather - as apparent by my post of Monday afternoon.

But I was reminded by a gentle reader, Star Mama, that even on the dark days one needs to remember that these days do not last forever. And neither do the good ones. In these stark, unemployed days, when MatchGirl often feels like the Little Match Girl, always looking in the window at how the better half live, it's important to take a step back and think about the positive things.

I have been throwing myself quite a pity party of late - I'm sure friends are all sick of it, though, thankfully they are all too kind to tell me so. I feel like nothing is going right. I can't find a job - nor interesting ones to apply for. I can't find a (good) man, though I met one I thought was perfect a couple of months ago (he has pulled that Williamsburg-guy thing and simply fallen off the face of the planet without a word, a warning, a returned text/phone call or an e-mail), and while I am generally an independent girl, OK with being on my own, my friends are all paired up and I am flying solo to yet another wedding ... which makes #4 in the past few years and is reason for a pity party all on it's own!

But Star Mama's comment has lifted my spirits a bit (Thanks!!).
Because she is right - when I am wasting these days on a "Woe is pitiful MatchGirl", I could be doing so many other things! And, those faithful followers who are regular readers and/or friends, know that some of those days I am quite productive - sewing jackets and baby toys and handbags and baking cookies and brownies and all sorts of things - but I could be doing more. Or, more importantly, I could be looking at things differently. With a different attitude.

So, while I can't promise that the pity party is gone for good, I can say that I will be trying very hard to keep it at bay. To find the positive in the long days. To have less sleepless nights. to enjoy what I have, and who I have, in my life, because, I do know that things could always be worse.

Dark Days

Oh my oh my, dear readers. Isn't unemployment such a gas? Sleeping late, getting dressed at noon, having no schedule to speak of, going days without a meaningful conversation ("Credit or debit?" just doesn't count!) ... what a wonderful way to live.

Now, gentle ones, I know that Friday I was very happy to go and spend the day in the park in the sunshine and I know many of you weren't even able to leave the office all day and you are not pitying my afternoon of leisure, sitting in the park and hanging out with my good friend G, who I ran into on the way to the park and convinced to play hooky from his post-work obligations. That just didn't make anyone feel bad for me.

Today is another day and it is grey and raining and wet and cold and windy and disgusting and, OK OK, I don't have to go out in it. And, to be honest, I probably won't. But on a grey day like today, the unemployed girl can go to a dark place. It's so easy to let your mind wander to those "feel bad" places. You know the places - the place where you wonder if the job isn't coming because it's something about you, the place where you think that you will never find a job again, the place where you have way too much time on your hands and your mind is whirling a mile a minute, going over every text you sent or word you said in the past week or so and trying to figure out what it was that you did wrong. You know that place. It's a dark place. a black place. A place that makes you want to pull the covers up over your head and just wait for it all to go away.

Of course, you can't do that. If you pull the covers up and hide, you are not going to find a job (you at least have to open your laptop for that). If you stay curled up, waiting for the wind to change, how are you ever going to meet anyone? These are the things that one needs to keeps asking one's self, gentle readers. And these, perhaps, are the things that one knows in one's head. But on a dark day like today, no matter what one knows in one's head, it doesn't mean that one knows how to make these things happen. And sitting and wondering what went wrong or what you did ... It's just not productive. But ... how to stop? How to push away the mood that matches the weather today?

More Fun With Craigslist

Ok, dear ones, looking through Craiglist.com this afternoon I came across this gem. I just couldn't resist sharing it with you:

We are a very busy Real Estate Company In Chelsea Area in Manhattan.
Looking to hire some smart, happy and fast learner people with great voices who know how to talk to our loyal customers on the phone in a daily basis.
Daily work includes; calling Landlords as well as prospect Tenants with Information about the services we provide.
Please DO NOT SEND US YOUR RESUME IN ANY FORM. We do not need your resume!!!
In a few short lines tell us about yourself including your past type of employment, Hobbies and what makes you a good candidate for this job. If we feel you are fit for this job, we will call you to schedule an interview.
We pay no benefit, vocation, 401K, travel expenses or Healthcare insurance but we pay Minimum wage. Isn't this great? :-)
After you proved yourself to us and became an asset to our company, then we will pay you a little bit more.
Now if you think this is a right job for you, Please reply to dunkiyan@gmail.com and let us know that you are interested. Looking forward to seeing you with a big smile on your face. :-)
Thanks Kevin
dunkiyan@gmail.com

So, apparently, you are supposed to show up, work your ass off and make no money for it ... in the hopes of one day you might have "proven" yourself to this douche. Nice.