Today was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! My bank account was given a jolt, I spoke with someone who (I hope) will be a great resource in my journey and enjoyed some amazing company for lunch, dinner and drinks.

But first, I need to give a shout out to Brett Holland, one of the best sales coordinators on the face of the earth. He’s good at what he does and even better at making people feel good about themselves. Brett, this post is for you.

Yesterday afternoon, a public relations colleague of mine put me in touch with a small business owner who 1) may be in need of my services or 2) may be a great resource as I continue my free agency. He and I spoke for a good amount of time over the phone this morning, discussed my work history, talked about his company and, of course, had a brief conversation about the Chicago Cubs. I think I may start using the Cubs as an ice breaker in the future. Everyone has some sort of connection to the team.

In addition to my conversation with this gentleman, I caught up with Charis Wilson, a colleague from PRSA Charlotte. She and I are meeting up tomorrow for coffee at Caribou. As you may know, I love Caribou coffee. Feel free to send me gift cards. ;) I’m excited to see Charis. It’s been awhile.

I penned a few cover letters today and plan to let them sit overnight. I’ll revisit and revise them in the morning before I send ‘em out. I don’t know where they time goes, but I feel like I’m not getting as much done as I should … and I haven’t even turned the TV on once today…

My body woke on its own this morning at 7:15 a.m. I decided to head out to Caribou Coffee to get a large dark roast. Kathy Onisick, who sent separate “Thinking of You” cards with lottery tickets, Ben & Jerry’s gift card and a movie gift card, also sent me a Caribou gift card. Caribou is my favorite coffee. Even better? I received half off my coffee. Don’t know why, but I’ll take it! Kathy rocks!

I spent most of the morning thinking about 3 p.m., the time I set out to return to my former employer to drop off some paperwork. I don’t think I was nervous to go back. Maybe “apprehensive” is the right word. But I spent the morning shooting off e-mails, replying to others, writing cover letters, sending off résumés, etc. The morning really flew by.

I arrived at my former employer just after 3 p.m. and bumped into a few former coworkers in the parking lot, then a few more as I waited in the lobby. It was a little awkward, but I made it through. I think the former coworkers were just as “apprehensive” to see me as I was to see them. But it went well. I handed over my paperwork and some personal notes to some members of management and my former team, then headed off to the post office, then back home.

Received a message from my friend Jeff Green while I was in the post office. He just moved to San Francisco with his girlfriend after he was let go from his job. I’ve come to realize I have very good company in this unemployment “boat.”

One of my long-time PRSA colleagues passed along a potential employment lead late this afternoon. I shot the lead a note with my résumé and he replied with a “call me in the morning” e-mail! I’m excited and maybe a bit “apprehensive,” as that, apparently, is the word of the day.

To-Do List for Tuesday:
Get my hands of some samples from my former employer
Send off some samples, cover letter and résumé to a potential employer
Search for more jobs
Clean up my kitchen
Clean up my room
Ponder how my kitchen and room got so messy

I don’t know if I should count Saturdays and Sundays in my unemployment day count. But I used to do work on those days, so I’ll include them, just for kicks.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were good days. I picked up my business cards from AlphaGraphics on Tyvola Road and was given them for free. Thanks to Clem Huffman and the team at AlphaGraphics for always doing great work, coming through on tough deadlines and, of course, the unofficial “sponsorship” of my job search. I really appreciate it!

Friends Steph and Zach Pavol came into town on Friday night en route to Hilton Head. It was great to see and have them here for a day or so. I’m looking forward to this weekend when they return on their way back to Ohio.

Saturday was the first time I was actually “bored.” After the Pavols left, I sat down on the couch and just had nothing to do. I completed all my weekend tasks during the week, like cleaning, laundry, etc., and was left bored. Luckily, Colleen Brannan came through with tickets to see The Fray on Saturday night and it was tons of fun.

Sunday was productive. Went to Target and the grocery to get food, then heard about free haircuts for the unemployed at a salon in Myers Park / Eastover. I went, waited and got a haircut! Thanks to the team at Secrets Salon for giving the time and enthusiasm to hundreds of unemployed workers.

Monday’s To-Do List
Update ChadKnaus.com
Apply for jobs
Drop by my former employer for a brief handoff
Head to the Post Office for postage
Search for new job opportunities
Create a mix CD

As I’ve said numerous times this week, my situation is not ideal. But, I’m very excited for the next challenges in my life. I decided to get “serious” today and began making strides toward securing a new opportunity.

I opened up my résumé for the first time in ages. What a daunting task. Summarize three year’s worth of responsibilities in bullet points. I decided to work off book for a bit. I sat outside with a pad of paper and recorded everything I could remember doing in my previous position. The list was long and detailed. I then sat down at my computer, typed in all the tasks as bullet points and began consolidating and purging. I think my résumé is strong, though I need to sleep on it and revisit the document in the morning.

I ate lunch with one of my favorite people today: Mallory Benz. We had scheduled this lunch weeks ago and it was great to catch up with her at Wolfman Pizza.

I returned from lunch, watered my garden, worked on my résumé a bit more and designed a temporary business card to use in this interim period. I’m excited to pick up the actual cards tomorrow and begin handing them out!

Friday’s To-Do List:
Pick up my business cards
Finalize my résumé
Post my résumé to this site (I know, I know. I said I would do this today…)
Return my Blackberry to my former employer
Water my garden
Clean my house (I have guests coming tomorrow night!!!)
Send out some e-mails
(Maybe) Search for some employment opportunities
Make this “real” by posting the news on Facebook and Twitter

I slept decently well last night. Woke up and made coffee for the second day in a row (new record!) sent out some e-mails and spoke with my parents and grandmother (Blossom, a.k.a. Namie).

I also went Uptown and had lunch with Peter Gilchrist at my favorite Uptown lunch destination: Fujiyama.

After lunch I attended a PRSA Charlotte-sponsored teleconference. It was my first time around other public relations practitioners since becoming a free agent and I think I did pretty well, though I need to break a habit. When talking about my former employer, I used “we” and “us” way too much. I tried to correct myself when I could, but guess it will correct itself in time.

The teleconference was good. I later met a friend for drinks, which was great. Perhaps the highlight of my day was a card I received from my friend Kathy Onisick. The card was very kind on its own, but Kathy, being the amazing person she is, included a few lottery tickets. I haven’t done any of the scratch offs yet, but am looking forward to seeing if I win!

To-do list for tomorrow:

• Get some temporary business cards made
• Update my resume
• Post my updated resume to this site
• Have lunch with Mallory Benz at Wolfman Pizza
• Send out some more “I lost my job” e-mails to family, friends and peers
• Water my garden (pictures will come soon)