things I've learned from funemployment...week one

1. I crave pancakes. Perhaps because everyday feels like Saturday, and I would love making pancakes Saturday mornings as a kid...so much that I had the recipe memorized to a tee. Perhaps I'll be able to memorize it again.

2. The grocery store is fully stocked at 8 am. Now that I'll be relying heavily on sale items, I come before the shelves have been raided.

3. I'm still not ready to own a dog. I thought I was...I really did. Maybe it's like a kid...you don't really think you're ready until you just have your own...or like kissing boys, when dirty slobber miraculously became ok, to a point. I dog-sat this week for a beautiful, well-behaved Doberman. It didn't attack me or chew up my furniture, but having a little one count on me to be let out and walked a few times a day was enough responsibility for my jobless self. No wonder people post so much dog and baby stuff on facebook all the time...it's a full time job that becomes your life! which leads me to my next point...

4.  My days have actually been pretty productive, therefore I find less and less need to be on facebook. Or maybe I was just sick of only reading about the election this week. And I had my own dog to look after.

5. I'm going to use public restrooms a lot more from now on. If I'm home all the time, that means I won't be saving money on toilet paper.

6. Libraries are awesome. Not only for public restrooms (per above), but also for the FREE movies (take that redbox!) and hello...FREE knowledge. I think I have about 10 books checked out right now. Note to self: when I'm down to my last few hundred dollars, fly to a warm tropical island with a library. I feel like I can learn anything in there.

7. All my farm ideas are terrible. Hence why I will be going to the library more (per above). I have a range of directions in mind for where I can go with farming. My teacher talked me through them and at the end of our conversation I asked...

'so it sounds like just a regular small farm starting on an acre is the best idea?' 

'Well, they're all terrible ideas, Shannon, but none of us are in this for the money, are we?' 

True, true. At this point, any profit looks good to me. And per my friend Patrick...technically I'll be growing money, so it's like something from nothing!



8. Chicago is my number one dealbreaker. I am open-minded to lots of things, like nose picking or dirty lingering laundry or Packer fans, but I have a zero tolerance policy for dating men who want to live in Chicago. Unless you're Oprah...there's 0% chance in anything that I will follow you. I wonder if I can convince anyone else that the concrete jungle is greener there, not here with the endless sunshine and mountains and outdoor activities and freedom of feeling like a kid...

9. I'm learning to do things that I hate because it's good for me. Like making my bed and flossing around my permanent retainer.

10. I'm learning to be productive with my time. Which means I should stop here and get to some homework.