Days 227-241: January 14-28, 2010 (state of the unemployed address)

Position: Unemployed

Days: 15

I have been cast out of the Garden. Thursday, January 14, was supposed to be my first night back at work after my trip to South America, but I received a surprise, late morning call from the owner informing me my services were no longer needed in Rancho Santa Fe. I've appealed the decision, and I await in exile. 

In the meantime, I've begun looking for work elsewhere. I'm applying to long-shot teaching positions for the long-term and restaurants and unskilled labor positions for the short-term. My house painter friend, who is usually a guarantee for some work, doesn't even have a position. As I ask around at restaurants, using all my local connections, I'm hearing the same story: sorry, we're just not hiring. I'm being faced with the reality of this economy; my Rancho Santa Fe bubble has been popped.

I've also begun a third semester Spanish class at the local community college, where I hope to teach English. I ran into a student named Barry (not his real name) who works with his mother's Rancho Santa Fe real estate company. I asked him how things were in the "biz." He said things are bad, but he believes we've seen the bottom. He added, "Foreclosures are unheard of in Rancho Santa Fe, but we currently have sixty-six distressed properties." I asked him if the prices dropped dramatically, like in other parts of the state. "Oh yeah," he said, "I've seen properties that were bought for nine million dollars that are now worth four million." Those numbers astound me. While I've known family and friends whose homes lost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in value, I can't comprehend how it feels to lose five million dollars. The stakes are much higher when your rich. 

If you'll bear with me, I'll continue posting blogs, updating you on my search for work in this economy, and let you know if I'm admitted back into the Garden to feed the rich. Stay tuned . . .