Spam & Stress

I have so enjoyed being out of work. I get up at a reasonable hour and plan my entire day out. I blog when I have something to say, I job hunt, I clean house, work on special projects, etc.

Even though they wouldn't tell us, I knew my job was going away several weeks before it did. I put a lot of thought into what I was going to do once I became unemployed. One big project that I am working on was going to require a fairly large cash investment so I knew I would have to tap my 401(k) to get the money. Then I analyzed all our debt and monthly payments and realized that I would have to hit the 401(k) again to pay off my car. I owe less than 2 years on it, love the car and have no intention of getting rid of it; but the unemployment check is not enough to cover the mortgage and everything else we owe. So I needed to eliminate this payment.

Friday was the day to complete the paperwork for these distributions. I completed one and mailed it to the plan administrator handling the distributions for Petty Racing. Then I went to Richard Childress Racing to complete the forms there with their HR Manager. Before I signed this form, the panic set in. I got so nervous and so upset! It finally hit that I have no real income! Bill was with me because he had to sign these forms as well to get this distribution. He wasn't upset. He dropped me back off at the house and he left to go to school.

I started pacing the floor, really fast pacing. My chest hurt. I got physically sick and thought I was going to throw up. I was totally unproductive all day, I just couldn't get past the panic that had completely taken over my entire body. I didn't calm down until Bill got home Friday afternoon around 4:00. It was a miserable day!

To add to the stress of being unemployed, I have discovered that spammers search the job boards for unsuspecting targets. I have received a couple of emails that indicate "we found your resume posted on (name of job board)." Thinking that this could potentially be a real opportunity, I opened the email. Once I actually read the body of the email, though, I had more sense than to click on anything or to apply for the position that was being offered. One of these emails was the Nigerian Scam where they want to send you money so that you can deposit it into your personal bank account and then pay bills or obligations that already exist; you get to keep anything left over after you have paid all of these obligations. But of course, the check they send you to begin with is worthless so once you pay all the obligations, you are overdrawn at the bank and the spammer has your money.

Just another reason to be leery of job boards and putting yourself out in cyber-space for the world to see. And all the more reason to use your personal network!