Imminently Unemployed

Well, two new firsts. Number 1, it's getting dark by 3pm now. I've taken to walking at lunchtime for a kind of osmosis but it feels like a bit of a losing battle. But that's not the worst thing, the worst is the darkness at the bottom of the abyss I'm staring at. Okay that's slightly dramatic, but never before in my life have I faced unemployment that may actually affect my ability to eat.

There were of course those times when I might as well have been unemployed - when for several months after university I slaved away selling cosmetics at a department store under the cruel dictatorship of an icy lead saleswoman. (Conveniently I developed severe tonsilitis and had to quit). But since then I've been blessed with skipping lightly from one job to the next (albeit also one paycut to the next...I'm sure it's not supposed to work like that).

Now, with my contract ending but my heart still set on staying in Sweden (in a Simpsonesque way, my head is staying quiet on the matter) I am desperately trying to work out what to do next without bursting into tears. I spent every cent I had (and didn't have) on moving around the world in the last few years, and the irony would be funny if it wasn't so cruel -- now I've finally found a place I want to stay in and I may not be able to.

Hmmm... I could work in a bar? Not if I can't speak Swedish (and not if it won't pay the rent). So today I ventured onto the modern interweb in an attempt to secure a bright and rosy future. There is definitely an art in stretching one's degree to be relevant to every possible job. So far I've applied for an IT Project Management role (not too far a stretch), a Solutions Manager (whatever that is), a Junior Project Manager (boring) and an Environmental Journalist (I think my outspokenness may hinder that one. Oh yes, and the fact I dropped out of my Masters in Journalism). My kind colleagues in Oslo have offered me safe haven, food and even pocket money if I move into their office, but, bless them, I suspect they have a kind of "live-in flirty cleaning lady" in mind.

Solutions so far are slim. Stockholm winter is not a pleasant prospect if you may be starving to death. (Even whisky's so expensive I couldn't numb my hunger with that!)

So perhaps it's curtains for this little Swedish adventure, but I'm sure going to give it a try. God forbid, maybe smoky old London is my destiny after all ...