Well, here I am at the beginning of my fifth week after being laid off and yes, still unemployed. Here are some updates:
- Unemployment seems to be calculated based on the last 18 months of unemployment, and since I worked in Kansas at some point during that period I was able to claim unemployment in Kansas which will pay me about $100 more per week than Missouri - wohoo!
- I still haven’t gotten paid and I had some problems when I went to file for my third week of unemployment, some how my claim became inactive. After days and days of trying to get through to the unemployment office I finally got through and straightened everything out. I also have a tip for anyone else trying to contact the KS unemployment office: There are 4 phone numbers you can call to speak to a claims specialist, if you can’t get through on one try another. I was instructed to call the Topeka number, but on a whim I decided to call the Kansas City area number (after all, I do live in the KC area right?) and was able to get through on my first phone call. I did have to wait on hold for quite awhile, but at least they let me wait on hold instead of disconnecting my call.
- I have had 3 interviews for a position at Principal Financial Group in Overland Park, KS. Since they’re still conducting interviews for the position I’m going to play it safe at leave it at that.
- I had another interview on Monday November 2 for a program assistant with a non-profit in Kansas. Again, for now I’m going to leave it at that.
- I’m getting a little tired of being at home, essentially alone all day every day, and I think it’s starting to take a toll on me emotionally. I don’t like to sit around and do nothing, but while I like to be busy I can only do so much housework. I kind of struggled with this when I was working too because even when Dustin is home he spends most of his time doing homework and I had to find ways to entertain myself alone - not always fun. Now I’ve added 8-9 more hours in my day that I need to fill and that’s quite a bit tougher. Luckily, I’ve been able to fill many of my week nights and week ends with friends and family and I know that’s what is getting me through; I could not be more grateful for this support.
- Despite the above I have been enjoying some of the free time I’ve had. I love being able to sleep in and take naps and I love being able to enjoy our dogs during their calmest time of the day. I’ve also had the time to work on a few crafts as well as some other projects around the house I’ve been meaning to get to. I even got to take a trip with my dad and my nephew Hayden to the the Children’s Museum - we had so much fun playing and now Hayden also wants to take me to Science City. And if it weren’t for unemployment I would not have had the time to make my dog’s awesome Halloween costumes!





















