layoff

Getting laid off – a lesson in acceptance and self-discovery

So yeah. Finding out you’ve been laid off isn’t really the best feeling. Especially at first, you ask yourself the inevitable questions. What did I do wrong? Am I going to burst into tears? (No, I was freakishly calm.) How can I do better? Does this change how I think about myself?

It comes with a mixture of positive and negative emotions, because when I am not bogged down the the anxiety of how long it will take to find something new, I am filled with appreciation for the new luxury of time that I have been blessed with. I loved my job and my coworkers, but I can spend more time with my family. I can spend more time in my garden, making meals for my family, and eventually… cleaning. It certainly helps that the past few weeks have ushered in the Spring sunshine.

As a discoverer, some of my favorite things to do besides tending to the garden are to take little mini road trips to new places I have been meaning to check out. Unfortunately for my waistline these places seems to all involve baked goods or sweets. I want to share these with you!

  1. H Mart was a super-fun discovery deep in Cary, filled with fresh produce, live fishes, a sit-down cafe, a bakery, and bubble tea. So far our favorite items have been the bubble tea, baked goods, mochi ice cream, tofu, and fish. But we haven’t gotten to try the cafe yet or any of the meats.
  2. Milk Bar, also in Cary, is another destination for Taiwanese rolled ice cream and bubble teas, include milk cap tea, which has a frothed salted milk cap on top of your tea. Interesting flavors, a bit pricey but fun. It’s not too terribly far from Swift Creek Bluffs, so take a nice hike to the top of the “Stairway to Heaven” and then reward yourself with a fancy tea or ice cream afterwards.
  3. Anisette is still my favorite bakery to tuck in and pick up a coffee soda, homemade slushie, or of course lovely selection of baked goods.
  4. I rediscovered the Oakwood neighborhood in Raleigh, during the annual garden tour this year. You can certainly wander around here without a tour guide and check out Oakwood Cemetery and some of the cute coffee shops, dining opportunities and historic homes.

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I’ll be checking back in as I progress through the stages of unemployment. I have completed Phase I, known as doing-way-too-much-and-tiring-yourself-out. Now I am in Phase II, slacking off with my hobbies and starting to get way too interested in couponing. Stay tuned to find out what Phase III holds!