So I've been restructured ... shit...

So, as some of you know, a few months ago I moved away from Alaska and came back to Ohio to take a new job.
Well, I was informed yesterday that they were "restructuring" the sports department, which was a really euphemistic way of saying I was getting laid off.
So, yeah...
It's weird how quickly things can change. I mean, 24 hours before I was gone, I had no clue the axe was coming. Hell, even 12 hours before I was covering a h.s. football game and blissfully ignorant.
They told me like a million times it had nothing to do with my performance, but, while it's damn nice to know, it doesn't really mean much in the real world.
And I mean, the SE actually cried at the meeting, which was damn touching and means a hell of a lot, more than I can put into words right now -- but it doesn't change the reality on the ground.
Now, I really have no clue what to do.
I applied online for unemployment (that was my big accomplishment yesterday) and I guess I have to start looking for jobs. And for the first time in my pretty short career, I'm not sure what I want to do.
I mean, I loved covering sports. It's a great way to make a buck. It beats honest labor. And I'm damn good at it. That's the part that would make it so hard to leave.
But there's definitely a part of me going: Fool me once....
I mean, what's to say I the same damn thing won't happen to me again -- move to a job then a few month later find myself holding the short stick. I mean, I'll always be the short man on the totem poll.
And damn, this is a hard economy to be searching for a job in, but such is life.
I'm not one for feeling sorry for myself, and I don't now. Mamma always told me not to cry over spilled milk (or to look into the eyes of the setting sun, but that's neither here nor there right now) and I don't plan on it.
It's just weird. I don't know what to do. Obviously I start job hunting. I start sending out resumes far and wide. I guess the biggest thing is... I don't know how to fill the time.
So I figured I'd post this not because I want pity -- I really don't -- but I figured others might have suggestions, or others who are in my shoes just might want to share their stories, too. (PS, if you're in my shoes, I'd really like them back. I kinda plan on going out later). (I thought of posting yesterday but it just seemed too surreal at the time.)
Oh, and does anyone know how much $$$ you can make before you screw up your unemployment? I mean, the obvious thing to do is freelance while I look for a new job, but I'd hate to inadvertently take myself off the public dole, seeing as I don't think I can make more in freelance work than I can in unemployment, although they haven't told me how much I can expect from unemployment yet...
Anyway, I guess that's all there is to say. Life goes on, yadda, yadda, yadda.

 

Sorry, man. I know how you feel. I was lucky and landed on my feet when it (sort-of) happened to me.

If you're young and don't have a graduate degree, I'd shoot for that, somehow. If you can get a job with the school, that'd be the ticket.

 

Sorry to hear this, man.

Been lucky that it hasn't happened to me or any of the guys I work with. Don't know what I'd do if I woke up one day and wasn't a writer anymore.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. KY check ur PMs. I'm thinking of going back to school, just don't know for what. Grad degree in journalism only makes sense if I want to become a prof. And actually, that does seem kind fun...

 

Now time for some Quaker Steak and Lube wings and the Buckeyes game. Salve for all wounds

 

If you've got your Bachelors in journalism, you can try and latch on at a community college. Once I finish my degree, whenever the hell that is, I'll try and do that.

 

community colleges around where i'm at want master's degree at minimum to teach.

 

My (former) college adviser told me this last year, so it may have changed.

 

Best of luck to you amraeder in finding a job in whatever field ends up working great for you, journalism or not.

 

Best of luck to you, amraeder. It happened to me earlier this year, too.

 

On the unemployment question, I've learned this the hard way: supercede your benefit, and you have to reapply, and they become a pain in the arse. I was freelancing, and they gave me all kinds of shit -- "Well, it looks like pretty regular employment" when I reported a coupla hundred earnings every other week for six weeks. After I reapplied, they didn't start payments again for three weeks. And, of course, they got bitchy when I told them that I was being paid by the "published word," so I didn't know exactly how much I was going to get paid until I got my check. They want you to report the week you work, not the week you get paid. I went 'round with them on this issue for a while.

The system is just set up to easily handle freelancers.

Good luck.

 

Good luck amreader.