(Ed.Note) Welcome to our journey into the world of recession blogs! The 405 Club wants to get personal via a handful of questions with our favorite fellow bloggers who are documenting the recession and unemployment firsthand.

Today we’ve taken a trip down to

Texas to have the pleasure of sitting with That Unemployed Chick in Austin. Don’t mess with Texas!

Before we chat about the blog, what will you be having for brunch? 

*Burger, Bloody Mary and Coffee

1. When were you laid off and what did you do? Or are you employed/self-employed? If so, what do you do now? 

*Laid off: Jan. 21, 2010 Profession: Public relations Employer: Fortune 500 software company

2. Tell everyone the name of your site, where they can find it, then when and why you started your site. 

*Ah, the name of my site is That Unemployed Chick in Austin. Unemployment isn’t common. It’s everywhere. But it was a shock for me. I’d been working since the age of 15 (I lied to get that grocery store checker position at minimum wage). To hear that I was being laid off - that was a complete jaw-drop moment. What made it worse (or better) was that I pretty much knew my layoff date before it happened. It helped me ramp up the job search pre-layoff, but it didn’t help me land a job before the big, flashing light end date. I started my blog for purely selfish reasons - to vent. But I also did it to share my bumbling and unfamiliar reactions and connect with folks who are much wiser than I am. Much, much wiser.

3. What is your motivation to continue blogging and/or running the site? *

I’ve been unemployed for 101 days and there are still things happening that blow me away. Eight-hour interviews? Check. Dog and pony shows? Check. Unpaid consulting disguised as qualifying an application? Check. Speed interviewing? Check. And on top of that, there’s this social stigma that unemployment equals some sort of new, uber-aggressive strain of H1N1. “Back off - you might catch it!” “Ack - you sneezed on me. I’m gonna lose my job now!” This is a complicated process - very complicated - and writing about it, well, it helps me celebrate the humor and irony of it all. Again, completely selfish. I know you can’t wait to read my totally self-absorbed diary.

4. Do you think blogging or running your site will help you find a job? (if you have a job, did it help you find your job/keep your job?) *

I’m running completely against the norm now, for my profession. In marketing/PR, everyone has a bullhorn and everyone is shouting for attention - online, offline and face-to-face. I’ve been immersed in this environment my whole professional life so to write something truly personal that didn’t talk about my industry or profession - well, I might as well have run to the woods and shacked up with Big Foot (who is actually single, last I heard.) To really mark a change in my life, I wanted to blog in my own tone - sans the faux-professional face mask and middle-of-the-road tones. So to stay this blog would help me get a job in PR or marketing? Nope, it’d probably make employers blanch. But I can say that if I crack into freelance writing, well, maybe this blog will oil the door hinges for me.

5. What do you want to do next professionally?

*Although it’s wonderful that people care about me, I always cringe a little when the first question they pop out when they see me is: How’s the job search going? Although I’ve been a certified workaholic for so long, now I feel that it takes away from me as a person - like that’s all I have to offer to the world is a brain and two typing hands. My next step professionally: Work contract or freelance for marketing/PR services, enjoy the experience and find a way to make money doing what really makes me happy. Oh, note to self: Find out what really makes me happy. I guess what I’m blathering about is that I know what I’ve done and what I’ve been through. Now I want to discover what I want to do and to avoid making those same mistakes.

6. How will your blog change when you rejoin the workforce?

*Good question. And I say that because it truly is a good question that I don’t have a perfectly packaged answer for. The blog will continue. It’ll just find new issues to explore and make fun of.

7. What’s new at your site and where does it go from here? 

*I’m working on gathering stories from friends and colleagues about their unemployment experiences. In Austin alone, there are enough people who are or have recently been unemployed that I could sit on my haunches and just fill a blog with that material for 20+ years. One perspective is good, but to bring in more is even better.

Bonus Questions: Any final thoughts or words of wisdom for members of The 405 Club? 

*Unemployment has forced me to reevaluate how I look at life and what my priorities are. Think about it: Have you ever gotten off the bus at the completely wrong stop? In a neighborhood you don’t recognize? Do you stay to explore or do you wait impatiently at the bus stop for the next ride in 20 minutes? I didn’t chose unemployment. And I am trying hard to find another job. But I’m still going to appreciate what I’m going through and use this time to improve one or two things in my life.

Last but certainly not least, what is your favorite series/feature on The 405 Club? 

*Love Jottings from the Job Enthusiast and Frugal Fridays. If I can spend half a penny instead of a full one, by golly, sign me up.

…………

Find out more about bloggers documenting the recession via our Sunday Blog Brunch series here.