It was all an Unemployed Dream.: Broken Glass Everywhere

My brother and I drove to Ben and Jerry's in Vernon Hills tonight. While there (I had a new flavor, Chocolate Macadamia, which was anywhere between awesome and super hot), we discussed how we need to get back to Hot Doug's and Kuma's, some of Chicago's elite purveyors of over the top gourmet hot dogs and hamburgers. Aside from being promised a great bite, they also provide excellent locales for people watching.

Now what I thought about while this conversation was going on was how freely both my brother and I will go out of our ways to seek out food we like. This particular Ben and Jerry's was about 20 minutes away, on a random Wednesday night at 9 PM (though I'm fully aware there is a Ben and Jerry's in Highland Park, neither my brother or myself like going into Highland Park if we don't have to). Kuma's and Hot Doug's are both 30 minutes away without traffic, and with the added wait times for food, you end up with at minimum, a three hour excursion for a hot dog or burger. While they were crowded before, receiving the blessings of Anthony Bourdain and Guy Fieri certainly didn't help these wait times.

As a result of all of this, my visits to both restaurants are infrequent because honestly, I don't always feel like giving up three hours to wait for a hot dog (thank goodness Superdawg's service is excellent), even if it does have fois gras on it.

Now predictably, my recent unemployment has made my desire to eat at both of these restaurants go through the roof again. Without a job, the thought of spending 3 hours outside of the house, whether it's waiting in line outside of Doug's, or spent inside the crammed metal blasting walls of Kuma's, actually sounds pretty desirable.

While it's not particularly profound to suggest that not leaving your house for 9 hour periods is a bit dreadful, I think what I've found out, in just 3 short weeks, is that my progression from lazy college graduate to functional (almost) member of society has pretty much happened over the past year.

If you had told me two years ago that after school I could sit around, get mailed a check, and basically have no responsibility, I would have asked you where to sign up (and keep in mind, two years ago was before I had an XBOX so it's safe to say that would have only provided more incentive). In fact, my last two years of college, and to a certain extent most of living in the fraternity house as a sophomore, would be best be characterized as "non-taxing" years of my life (While my freshmen year wasn't exactly taxing either, there was a period during my second semester where I used the expression "buckling down" a lot, which is why I won't lump that year in there).

These past few weeks have been challenging, and that doesn't even really include looking for work. When you wake up without a job, all you can really think about is "Okay, it's 9, I've already eaten breakfast, now what?"

I've found keeping a normal schedule is definitely part of the solution. I'm up at 8. I'm pretty much at the gym everyday. I'm eating out less (marginally, but I still like meeting with a friend to break up my day). In general, trying to keep a working lifestyle, even if I don't have to.

All this aside, it's pretty easy to still get caught up in the fact that outside of looking for a job, there's not a lot going on during work hours. Thank goodness it's still the summer and I can go outside and play basketball or frisbee to clear my mind. I'm convinced if I was laid off in winter time I'd be knee deep in like season three of "Lost" by now. And no, that's not a good thing.

I think getting a taste of working in an office environment I enjoyed has taught me it's possible to find a job you like, and that makes everything in life all that much better (assuming there isn't a 2 hour wait at Kuma's). Sure, there were days where I woke up thinking about my friends on spring break, or my friends not going to Friday classes. But eventually I realized that's all just a pipe dream. College is only four years (for most people at least) for a reason. And that's because after a certain point, every one is hit with a need to feel like they're contributing to society and find their role in life. This just happens earlier for some people than others apparently.

I used to always thinking that winning the lottery and doing nothing the rest of my life would be an ideal living situation. And it probably would be, just maybe 40 years from now.

Besides, I'm pretty sure I'm not cool enough to be going to Kuma's that often.