Tips

Don't be cheap. I'm going to break down a pizza man's wages for you:
In the store, a pizza man makes $7.25 per hour.
When he makes a delivery, he checks out on a computer and while he's out driving, he makes $4.25 per hour. Every delivery order includes a delivery fee of $1.99. The pizza man keeps $1.50 of that. So, if he spends half an hour making a delivery, and he doesn't get any extra tip, he'll continue to make $7.25 per hour, or minimum wage.
So tip your pizza man. If you don't feel like tipping, get in your car and go pick up your pizza from the store, or move your fat butt into the kitchen and make your own damn pizza.
And never say any of these things to your pizza man:
"Could you count that to make sure I'm not overpaying you?"
"Don't you wish you were doing somthing else?"
And after a 25 cent tip: "Happy Birthday."

You won't get any pizza delivered to your mansion in heaven.

Relief

I got a job. I'll be a nurse case manager at Crossroads Hospice starting July 12. I'll keep delivering pizzas until then. Being desperate for work really sucks. I only experienced that stress for about a month. I can only begin to imagine what it must be like to be unemployed for months and months and even years.
Anyway. I'm tired of ants.

A Statistic

It's surprising to learn how much of your ego is tied up into your employment.

I remember having a hard time finding a job during one of the summers between years at college. It's worse when you have a wife and 3 kids depending on you.

Every day, there's this gnawing. It's this slow, rumbling panic that bubbles and festers behind every thought and conversation. Every expenditure that's made is accompanied by the realization that there isn't any money coming in to replace it. Every interaction with your kids comes with the thought, "I wouldn't be here if I had a job." Suddenly you find yourself envious of every other person in the world who has a workplace. You even find yourself wondering if your family would be better off with a husband/father who wan't unemployed.

There was definitely an arrogant part of me that thought before, "I'm a nurse. I can get a job anywhere, anytime I want." Turns out, that isn't really the case. I've sent out about 60 applications.

This blog is read by about 2 people, so I'll say that neither of you need to worry. I have a sure-fire interview tomorrow. After that, I'll be a pizza delivery driver, the same job I had 9 years ago during the summer between semesters.