How My Journey Started...

In this blog I will be sharing my personal journey of having, what I thought, was a secure job in municipal government to the long and winding road of unemployment.

OK, let's take a step back in time for a moment. February 2004 to be exact. I accepted a position at a local municipality to work in their finance office. I was hired by an interim manager who would only be in his position for 6 months. After a year of a few ups and downs a permanent manager was finally hired. I could tell from the very beginning that he didn't really care for me and I have to be honest when I say that the feeling was mutual. I knew I was in trouble when we had our first face to face meeting when he said, and I quote, "I took the opportunity to look at your resume, and although it appears that you have excelled in the job positions you held in the past... (long awkward pause...) I am very concerned that you do not have a degree in accounting". (by the way, not a requirement for this position)
When I left that meeting I told a coworker that I had this twisting gut feeling that, at some point, he would be getting rid of me. Three years and many battles later, that's exactly what he did. I suddenly found myself laid off under the guise of position consolidation and budget cuts.
Devastated? Sure. Surprised? Not really.

So, here begins the new phase of my life... Unemployment and all the joys that go with it...