Having recently returned from the UK, I have spent the last couple of weeks starting the job hunt in New Zealand – which makes me unemployed. Now if anyone is considering this lifestyle choice – I would definitely recommend January as the month to first try it out. The sun is shining, lots of cricket to watch and BBQ’s are the flavor of the month.

Over the last few days my mornings have been spent job hunting, while in the afternoons I reward myself with a walk to the beach. Now this is where things get interesting. You would expect the beach to be relatively quiet on a Monday and Tuesday afternoon – but it is packed! And not with people who look like they are on holiday. I can only assume they are unemployed like me, which means either the unemployment rate of 6.5% is grossly understated, or the majority of those 6.5% were on the same beach as me. Or perhaps these people just had the best job in the world – and I was very tempted to do a little survey to find out.

Sitting on the beach in the middle of a work day has proven to be quite a comical experience. In the last couple of days I have seen a geriatric man who doesn’t seem to have a problem with his togs ending up on his ankles every time a wave comes in, a teenager trying to drown his dog (it took him quite a while to realize it couldn’t swim), a ‘body surfer’ who liked catching the worst waves at the worst time and ending up with the worst earache (surprise surprise).

It reminds me of a castle we were visiting when in Czech a couple of months ago. The price list when through the various groups of people entitled to discounted entry – senior citizens, students and then lastly ‘unemployed’. An interesting concept but only useful if you can say ‘I am unemployed’ in Czech – we opted for the easy option and paid full price!

And now – after an interview this morning it is time for my afternoon swim and to see what my fellow unemployed citizens are doing.