So what did I do on my day off? Not as eventful as Ferris Bueller's, unfortunately. I got up at the ungodly hour of 7 (it's ungodly if there's no school. It's sleeping in if I have an 8am class) to meet my group for a project at 9. Apparently, we were supposed to meet at 8.
So at 9:20 am, with nothing to do, I decided to make use of this day after I called around to see if anyone was up for just hangin'. After I couldn't find anyone (okay, I called one person. I was too lazy after), it looked like it was going to be a day of me, all by my lonesome. What, does everyone else have things to do during a strike but me?
My first attempt at making it a productive day was to had to the YMCA. No, not the gym (ha!), the employment centre. I might as well make use of my unemployed ass (as well as having lack of a place to intern this summer) and take advantage of my 10 free photocopying/printing a day to find a job.
Lemme just tell you; the employment centre is not the most uplifting place to be. Especially in the middle of the day. Out-of-school young adults and unemployed middle-aged people aren't the most happy people on earth. Besides the unemployment office and a dentist's waiting room, this place makes being at school seem like a day at Disneyland.
I decided to check out what legal secretary/clerk/assistant jobs were available and source out my resume and cover letter. It's such a tedious task and I hate it; repeating the same thing over and over again to each prospective employer is not cool. What made it more irritating was this old man who sat next to me. I could tell he was really frustrated. Frustrated with life, frustrated with being unemployed, frustrated with his computer, frustrated with the people in the room. He was one disgruntled goat.
Every little thing seemed to bug him. He's one of those people who, about to sit down to a computer, takes his time before sitting down at a computer and makes sure everything is just right. Jacket meticulously hung over the chair, briefcase settled just by his feet, the monitor just at the right height. I swear, he took 10 minutes to settle down. And even once he was settled, he wasn't settle. Any noise anyone made, a man on his cellphone or a crying baby, he'd turn towards the source of the disruptance, mutter something to himself in Tamil and turn his attention back to the monitor.
So after about an hour and a half (I can tolerate alot, eh?) I left. I just don't think one can stay in a place like that for so long before the bitterness and frustration rubs off on you. It's depressing listening to a guy on a phone talk to like, 50 employers, begging for a job. For some reason, it's especially depressing to see old people looking for a job (I dunno why).
I really really really hope I don't ever get to a place like that, or for anyone else I know for that matter. It's so sad. Of course you can't help but wonder how they got into that position in the first place, but for some people, shit happens. It's a wonder why my parents plan for everything and I'm grateful for that because I'd hate not having the stuff I have now (wow, did I just sound totally spoiled?). Just another reason to be grateful for everything I have. *tear*flick*
I spent the rest of the day just walking around City Hall and Square One all by myself, with my thoughts. It's funny how in a world where we all have a fear of being alone, when you take time to be by yourself with your thoughts, you are reacquainted with someone who's often been ignored: you. Not to sound like an afterschool special, but you're a lot less lonely when you like yourself more. Instead of being around influences that make you hate yourself more (friends, music, and yes, even school), more people should think about what they like about themselves. We've become so dependant on other people to provide us with happiness and entertainment, we don't know what to do with ourselves when everyone's gone.
Perhaps that's why the types of people at the employment centre are "the types of people at the employment centre". They've been entirely dependant on a job, and when they suddenly didn't have one, they became lonely. Kinda like when people lose everything; the world seems a lot lonelier when there's nothing else to dependant on.
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