Quelle bummaire!

PollyJimma here had a better one (does that mean there's hope?): The battery charger that I thought died from a lightning strike last night only really blew a fuse; while I haven't experienced full extension yet, thanks to UPS, I now have a really big pole; a sponsor may have signed on to our Alcan car; my American Flyer engine sold on eBay for $277;.....and I start work in the morning on an 8-week temporary job that has some prospect of going permanent (and looks like it could be fun).

I have tried to use my 4-month period of unemployment as a time to think about "what next?" I hope that it is really over. I hope Massachusetts treats you reasonably vis-a-vis the whole eligibility thing and that you get a chance to regroup and figure out a good next move.

I haven't worked in the food biz since 1971, but my brother-in-law did for years and years and I have to say that the job of restaurant manager seemed like the biggest grind I could ever imagine. Not a minute of rest for him. He had to be able to do anyone else's job and was always filling in to cover for missing staff. It was endless and he got nothing in the way of thanks for a job masterfully done.

So I hope that maybe this isn't the worst thing and that some other possibilities appear on the horizon.