Killing time while being unemployed

At some point in time, being unemployed means running out of things to do. If you're a handyman, you've probably got an endless list of projects you can work on. But if you're not (and I fall in to that category), then you have to look for things to do to avoid becoming a couch potato. Sure, you can stumble on the internet, but it becomes as mindless as watching TV. And you really don't want to be "that guy" who constantly sends links to people you know to the point that when your name is mentioned in conversation, it's in the realm of "did he send you that web site link that had a picture of a chimpanzee dancing to 'Moon River'? That was atrocious."

Anyway, last week I began volunteering at my daughter's school. The week before I ate lunch with her and noticed that some of the teachers had "lunchroom duty". Which consists of, among other things, listening to complaints, opening ketchup packs, and wiping down the tables. I don't even know when they get to eat. Never the less, I figured I can wipe tables and open ketchup packets.

Now, I know a lot of these kids since I've coached some of them in softball and soccer. I can handle those kids. But if they don't know me as 'Coach' or 'Olivia's dad', then there's going to be a period of feeling me out. I must admit, they look at me like I'm a new guard in maximum security prison. They're curious to know if I'm going to rat them out for shanking another 2nd grader. Luckily, the other teachers know which ones REALLY have to go to the bathroom and which ones are just wanting to get out into the hallway so they can slip into the laundry room and carve up a soap bar into a zip gun.

I always thought I respected teachers for their dedication and passion. My wife is a 1st grade teacher so I KNOW. Working for an hour and a half in there each day, my admiration has grown even more. Teachers are paid so low because their salaries come from public funds. I will never, EVER complain about taxes anymore - knowing that teachers must truly believe in what they're doing but we're just low-balling them.