Unemployment cheques don't sound like they supply much income, until you have to do without them. I haven't gotten a single payment since registering in mid-April. That's nearly six weeks without income. My wife's calculations of how long we could sustain ourselves stretched out to September, and was based on getting paid weekly, in U.S. dollars. Now, I will be paid (probably a smaller basic amount) in Canadian dollars, assuming the paperwork gets processed before we have to sell the house. In the meantime, at the current burn rate, we will be unable to keep up payments past the end of July.

When I spoke to the potential employer on Wednesday, he asked me whether I had other irons in the fire. I knew he was asking this to get an idea of what he would be forced to offer, and how quickly he would have to act. I also knew that no matter what I wanted to tell him, ultimately, my answer would have to be truthful. So I told the truth, letting him know that our conversation was the furthest along that I have gone with any company since becoming unemployed. The unemployment office requires that you document all your job-search activities (in case of an audit, I assume). Thankfully, I am a man who follows rules. That record reminded me that I had already been in contact with two other companies that had at least a passing interest in my talents. Today, I placed a call to one of them... trying to find out how things were progressing without sounding desperate. I'm glad I called. I had forgotten just how happy they had been to talk with me in the first place, and they assured me that they were moving forward with plans to offer me a position.