Rant #2,482: The Same Old Song

Routine.

We all have it, and a lot of our routine is governed by our work situation.

For years, I got up from sleep at about 4 a.m., shower, got dressed, ate breakfast, sat down here to type out my entry to the Ranting and Raving Blog, and often I looked for whatever jobs were being offered after doing so.

Then, I picked up the newspaper from the driveway, read it from cover to cover, and by about 6 a.m. or so, I was on my way to work, a trek which took about 15 tyo 20 minutes to navigate.

Once I got there, waiting for the door to open (for many years I actually had the key and could come and go as I pleased), I would finish up whatever I hadn't read in the newspaper, look at my phone, read a book or a magazine, and then the door would open, I would enter, and my workday began.

At the end of the workday, I would leave around 5:30 p.m., drive home, which took at least a half hour or so, eat dinner, and prepare for the evening, watch some TV, and by between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., I was done, only to rev it all up again for the next workday.

Now, for the past more then two months since being out of work, I have changed the routine quite a bit, because quite frankly, I don't have anywhere that I must go to on most days.

I wake up at about 6 a.m., shower, get dressed, get the newspaper from the driveway, eat breakfast, and then I sit down to write out the daily blog entry. I barely have gone through the paper, and hold that off until lunch,

Then I sift through the job notices--both in my field of expertise and way out of it--which can take anywhere from about 45 minutes to more than an hour--or even two or three or more--depending on what's being offered and what jobs I am applying for.

By this time, near or past 8 a.m. or so, I have to wake up my son so he can go to work, and then I am back on the computer, often sifting through more job notices, sometimes taking a break and going on Facebook. From here on in, I monitor the job notices the entire day, whether I am on my desktop computer, on my phone, or on my tablet, and I have become very adept at answering job notices while I am not even in the house.

My father, at 88 years of age, still can drive my son to work, and after a rough patch where he wasn't able to do this, he has picked up on it again, taking his grandson to work just about every workday. It is something he enjoys, keeps him in focus, gives him something to do, and if he can do it, why not?

During the bulk of the day, I might be transporting my parents to their numerous doctors' appointments, I might be food shopping, I might be doing some personal writing, I might be designing a new resume for myself (which I did yesterday). By 11 a.m., or thereabouts, I begin to prepare for lunch, and I finish reading the newspaper.

Depending on how long this takes--and when I generally start lunch, which,is based on what I have to do, can be quite a bit later based on the day, I go right back on the computer again, see what new jobs have been posted, and sift through those for a while. Sometimes, this is when I do the laundry, so it really has to do with what is in front of me--lunchtime and its aftermath are entirely dependent on what I have already done during the day, what what lays ahead of me, so from this period on to about 1_30 p.m., things can be different each and every day.

And sometimes, when there really isn't anything more to do, I might digitize some records, filling in the time before I have to pick up my son from work, which I do every day, leaving home about 1:30 p.m. or so, sometimes earlier, to make the nearly 20 minute trip.

While I wait for him to come out of work, I do take a good peak at any new job listings that come in, and yes, I have applied for numerous jobs while waiting for him to come out of work. Picking him up and getting him home at about 2:30 p.m., I used to go back on the big computer to look for any new notices, but now I simply use my phone and tablet to do so while I watch a little TV, a reward for my due diligence during the day.

Again, based on the day, I might prepare dinner, or I might wait until my wife gets home from work to do that. We do have things doing later in the day--I transport my son to various activities--so by the end of the day, I am pooped, and if I make it to 10 p.m., it is often a miracle.

And now, with physical therapy staring me in the face and beginning next week, I will have one more thing that I have to do to fill up my day--and yes, I still hurting from the sciatica, but I am determined to kick it sooner or later.

Notice I did not say that my day is filled with job interviews--whether on the phone or in person--because that just isn't happening. The omen of the previous five years--when I was looking while gainfully employed--has continued, and in two months I have exactly one phone interview and one courtesy interview to show for my toil and trouble.

Last Friday, I has an interview with my local job office--a place I have been using since the early days of my unemployment--and now, since I am finally getting unemployment--that took about two months to get settled--I am on the clock, so to speak. I have to apply for at least three jobs a week--funny, sometimes I apply for three jobs a minute--and I will have further meetings with this office to make sure I have been a good boy and have fulfilled my duties to find a job, even though nobody is hiring people of my age group.

I even had to sign what I call a "contract" to demonstrate that I understand exactly what I am supposed to be doing, and that if I do not fulfill my obligation, I will lose my unemployment. All of this was done right before New York State put in force a law giving all those here illegally the right to get driver's licenses with barely a tinge of proof about anything, so you have to wonder why citizens are under such scrutiny while people who are here illegally are not.

But I digress. Yes, all of this, is a game, but you have to be in it to win it, so I play the game, and play it dutifully. But I am also realistic. The current routine that I described to you is going to be pretty much my routine for the rest of my life, because quite frankly, I am not getting anywhere in my job hunt, so I have to assume that my last full time job was just that, and that maybe a part time job or two will fall my way, but other than that, I am done.

Read it again, in caps: I AM DONE.

And it isn't just me; when I go to the courses I have taken through the local job office, I see who is attending, and there isn't anyone there under the age of 55 or so. We are being told that we possess great skills, that our many years of work will open many doors to new employment, and that the working world wants us.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Read it again: NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.

In a culture which is trying to change the perception of "older" people and their worth to society, when it gets down to brass tacks, even those of 55 years of age are considered to be old in the work force, and no matter how you slice it, old simply cannot compete against new. New will always win out, for a variety of reasons.

And even though I do not consider myself old in any way, shape or form, the work world does, and I simply cannot compete against those who are 25, 30 or 40 years younger than I am.

So I will continue to play the game, but this is a game that I know, for sure, what the outcome will be.

There is nothing more to say.