So, you were laid off. Let Go. Released. Downsized. Cut loose. Anyway you say it, it means the same thing. You are out of a job. And, you join the millions across America who are unemployed as well.

Maybe you were given some notice, a nice farewell party and a generous severance package. Maybe, you were surprised on a Friday with a pink slip and an empty box (or a paper bag) to pack up your things. Or, perhaps you just discovered that your key no longer worked in your office door lock.

Now what??!!

Well, of course, you look for another job. You get your resume together, you dust off your interview suit, you join all the Social Networking sites and you start surfing Monster, Careerbuilder and wheresmynextjob.com with the intention of finding a new job FAST!

But, what happens when you don’t get hired the week after you just got fired???

What do you do with all this new-found time?

Well, while you're searching for your next job, here's some ideas, reminders, random thoughts etc. from someone who's discovering there is life after her layoff.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

All It Takes Is A Dollar and A Dream...

I know the odds of winning are 1 in 18,000,000. That's eighteen million. And, I know that I'm more likely to get struck by lightning (1 in 30,000) than win. And the odds are better if someone gives birth to quadruplets ( 1 in 729,000) than if someone were to win. Oh, and it's probably more likely that a bag of money will drop down from the skies and fall on the ground right in front of me.

Yes, logic tells me that I might as well just throw my money away. And, sometimes, I feel like I do. Yet, I still play the lotto every once in a while. We all do. Why??? Because, you just never know.

There is that possibility (however small it is) that if you play, you can win. It's fun to imagine standing on that podium holding the over sized check that says your name. And, it's fun to think about what your life would be like if you won all those millions, and how you would spend it. What would you do with all that money? I'm sure you've thought about it once or twice...

The Lottery Act was passed here in California to provide extra money to schools without imposing additional taxes. Apparently, the CA State Lottery is mandated to provide at least 34% of its revenues to public education, supplementing and not replacing funds provided by the state. Yet, considering how poor our educational system is, it's hard to believe that our schools are really benefiting from these funds. And, I know I can be a bit skeptical, but I doubt that helping out our school system is the main reason why people buy their lotto tickets here in California.

But, I digress.
This is a picture of my lotto ticket I bought for tonight's Super Lotto. I lost, but that's okay. I'll most likely spend another dollar and buy a ticket again some other time.

Playing the lotto can give us a sense of hope, even if it's followed by disappointment when we check our numbers and see that we didn't win. Is it false hope? Maybe. Please know that I'm not endorsing gambling your life savings away on a set of 6 numbers. But, keeping things in perspective, isn't the dream itself worth a couple of dollars here and there?
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2 comments:

  1. DUTAAugust 27, 2009 at 7:16 AM

    I totally agree with your concluding line . Dreams keep us going, so they are worth a dollar now and then.
    I wish you to win millions of dollars soon! ( me, I used to buy a ticket every week, but I stopped doing so because of null winnings).

    ReplyDelete
  2. thebutterblogAugust 27, 2009 at 4:27 PM

    cute post! I loved it!!!

    ReplyDelete

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