It has now officially been a year since I've been laid off. What a year it's been. When I started, I was a fresh-faced, naïve 33 year old excited by all the possibilities that were in front of me- the time off, the opportunity to work on my writing, a burning desire to get in shape and to try things like yoga. Many pounds heavier, a lot more grey in my hair, and hundreds of hours wasted on message boards later, I am now the burned out, bitter, shell of a 34 year old that brings you these wonderful writings day in and day out.

Basically, this past year has sucked-ass.

I want the year back.

But I need to look upon things in a better light. In order to see things with a better perspective, I need to reflect upon what I have learned over these past months. And I have learned quite a lot.

Here are some valuable things that I have learned over the past year:

-Sometimes doing nothing but playing video games can help you get a job.

-Often-times, Recruiters are actually too busy to recruit.

-Yoga is a really good way of learning how to focus, especially when strategically placed between two spandex-clad 24 year old women.

-If you're not able to get any sleep, it is possible to get by fueled only on coffee, beer and pizza.

-You can save a whole lot of money by not actually paying your bills

-Wasting a day online dissecting Buffy is quite easy to do and that people on message boards really do get upset about some throw away line and use it as proof that all the actors, writers, directors, gaffers, and caterers suck.

-Elka was actually married to Walter when she was on the RW/RR:Battle of Seasons but got divorced soon afterwards, that Cara got a hand-job from Todd of Big Head Todd of the Monsters , and that Sorority Life is entirely fake.

-Just because the Recruiter says you have the job and HR says you have a job, it doesn't necessarily mean you have it because it's quite possible the Manager of the Department you interviewed for could have hired somebody and just forgotten to tell anyone.

-Staying up late and watch Skinemax porn night after night does actually get boring after awhile.

And finally…..

-Do not make nasty remarks about the lameness of HR people when dating a VP of HR. In fact, under no circumstances, DO NOTSHOW YOUR BLOG PAGE TO SOMEONE YOU JUST START DATING.

See, I have learned a lot. It's all in how you look at it....