I feel like I’ve been pretty productive for the last couple of days. I’ve applied to multiple technical writer jobs, sent story pitches to a freelance writing opportunity, and for the first time in a long time I’ve been making art.
Me and my boyfriend have fallen into a pretty good routine which I think is helping us a lot right now. Our routine for quarantine doesn’t really differ from our usual routine that much.
My Quarantine Routine:
Wake-up around 9 a.m. Turn the electric kettle on and take our Boston Terrier out for a morning walk. When we get back I make my breakfast (french press coffee and oatmeal), check the news on my phone for a few minutes then either read or write.
After I’m done with breakfast I get dressed and start working. Right now that means checking my unemployment, searching for online jobs, and then applying to ones I find that I qualify for. After this, I log on to my online Poetry Workshop and get started on any reading/writing homework I have.
(I’m pretty bummed right now because I registered for Salt Lake Community College starting this Summer with the hopes of pursuing an Associate’s in Music Recording Technology. But now that I’m unemployed, I’ll have to drop the classes I already picked.)
Around noon I’ll take a break for about fifteen minutes, have a quick snack, and then get back at it. I search for more jobs on the DWS (unemployment site) then try to take a break at about five for dinner, make some food and relax for an hour.
After that, I try to do some art or read poetry but what I need to be doing is writing.
Today, it is chilly outside, and I took our dog for about an hour-long walk, keeping my distance from everyone and just trying to enjoy being outside our apartment for as long as possible. Our walk probably would’ve been longer but it was so cold we ended up heading home early. I took some great reference photos of trees on our walk that I hope I’ll be able to use for drawings this week.
For the rest of the day, I plan on writing some poetry, working on homework, and researching for about another hour or two for online jobs.
Last Monday, I applied online to a tutoring website, the next step I have to complete and finish is passing a mandatory test for English specific topics. These tests are so hard. The first two I took, one for College Essay Writing and the next for English Literature, I only got a 64%, when I need an 84% or higher to pass. Today, for the first time in days, I took another one of their tests, this time it was English Reading. I got a 74% on this test! The highest so far. I can retake the test two more times, each time with a 24 hour waiting period in between. If I don’t pass the next two tests for the English Reading section I cannot try again.
Until I find a job, I am offering POETRY FOR $. I write/create personalized handwritten poems for supporters. I send scanned pdfs of the poems via email to supporters and when this COVID-19 thing settles down a bit and people are comfortable, I will be mailing the originals to my supporters. So far I have completed 6 poem orders to date and cannot express my gratitude to these people for helping me out right now.
Also, I posted “LAID OFF: SUPPORT MY RESTAURANT FAMILY” a couple days ago, it is a featured page on my blog. This post has Venmo links for some of my co-workers that desperately need funds right now. This post also has key information about resources for other service industry employees that have been laid off or can’t go to work in Salt Lake City, and the rest of the U.S. Please check it out.
Thank you for reading!
Follow me on Instagram! (I am posting regularly to my story feed)
Liked this blog post? Check out these:
Become a Subscriber! Get notified when new posts are published plus once a week I will send content just for you: poem, personal update, reading list, writing tips and more!