October 20, 2010

Celebrating (or not) Halloween

Halloween is ten days away, but it will go relatively unnoticed just like Valentine's Day or Easter.  There won't be orange candy at the store, or lit-up pumpkins by windows, or kids knocking on doors wearing scary outfits and screaming "trick or treat" threats.  And I will miss all of it.

I like the changing of seasons and those little celebrations are a fun reminder that time comes and goes, and that we should cherish those passing moments.  So I still have time to come up with my own plan for this Halloween and maybe I will go to an amusement park, or carve a pumpkin, or watch one of those scary movies that I always avoid.

October 7, 2010

More on the crisis

So, new economic figures came out yesterday and, as no surprise, they continued a devastating trend.  In summary, those without a job currently top 4 million and the unemployment rate is above 20% again.

Despite too many months of  too many negative news, I have not become inmune to the severity of these numbers and the real drama they hide behind.  I used to read about the precariousness of the Spanish labor market and browsed through numerous stories of people unable to find jobs, forced to migrate or work in barely-legal conditions.  They all felt distant, until now that I am one in those 4 million.

I am frustrated, very frustrated.  I don´t feel better than anyone else, but my resume is not ordinary either.  I am bilingual, have several degrees, have lived abroad, worked over 10 years; I have done all I was supposed to do to have a job that would be fulfilling to me and meaningful to society.  But instead, I am out of work and with pretty slim perspectives of finding one anytime soon.

The price tag is a hefty one and I am fighting, everyday, to remind myself that it is not my fault, that I am a good candidate, that I am employable.  However, at this point, one of my main goals is to leave this phase with my self-esteem untouched.