Important first steps. (Who moved my fucking cheese!)

Welcome to being unemployed. Yeah, I am sure that thought took more than a moment to comprehend, like a slap in the face or a punch in the gut.

One of the last days I was officially employed as a public school teacher the union representative came up to me and handed me some forms. I still have it somewhere in one of the bins I keep papers. It reads like chapter from a Dale Carnegie book.

"Just make sure you apply for unemployment insurance as soon as you can," he told me.

His perfunctory union duties satisfied I met one more time with some other faceless school representative, a secretary for the assistant to the superintendent for instruction or human resources. It funny how your physical presence can be a minor obstacle to their office chatter. With a signature I relinquished the title of teacher I once held for the school district I used to work for. Now what?

If you live in New York State click on this link:

https://ui.labor.state.ny.us/UBC/home.do


It will direct your web browser to the New York State Department of Labor Unemployment Benefits online application. Fill it out. The reason why my union rep told me to fill it out as soon as I can is that there is a waiting period of one week from the time you claim benefits to the time you get your benefits (money).

If you live in any other state I am sure if you perform a google search you can find your State's DOL Unemployment benefit application page.

At most you'll receive $405 a week. This may not seem like much, but it helps. Right now I am not getting the full amount but its a life raft. Take it.