I am still enjoying the high life in San Francisco. Last night, I headed to a speak easy with a friend of mine to chat and visit. Funny things these trendy speak easies. Along with a password to get in, this place had strict reservation rules and they promptly asked us to leave after an hour and a couple of $12 cocktails.
Obviously, people are really trying hard to make drinking seem like something that is again illicit. Or, it's very retro and stylish, kind of like when the swing thing came back in the 90s. Or, maybe people are feeling guilty about having too much fun in the down economy.
Well, that last postulation seems implausible if one is to look at the trend of "Funemployment." According to the Urban Dictionary, funemployment is:
- A happy time in one's life when one is not employed and is not wanting to be employed
- The condition of a person who takes advantage of being out of a job to have the time of their life.
- To be unemployed and collecting unemployment, welfare, SSI or other means of income from government. This is especially true if you are on unemployment, and obtaining benefits with no desire to try and find a new job. Instead, the time is used to do other things, like travel, chill, etc.
Man, GenXers really ARE slackers (Am I part of that problem?). I got flashbacks of "Reality Bites" as I read these definitions (My Sharona, anyone?). But it's nice to see that young people putting a positive spin on a not so advantageous situation. And laidback Californians are becoming experts in this arena.
The LA Times was the first to report on the trend. There is a blog devoted to worthwhile, cheap and creative activities for the ambitious jobless. And this past week, SF Weekly had a great article on how the funemployed are spending their time--including heading to free cultural events, doing oddjobs and taking on volunteering projects (not everyone is just burning through the trust fund).
Who said youth is wasted on the young?
"Reality Bites:"
Sammy: You got fired? I mean, that just screws up my whole idea of good and evil and God.
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