Underemployment at its finest.

An update on my job situation for those of you who are concerned...

I got to work Friday morning and got some bad news: my boss came and told me that they couldn't put me on their plan without me being full-time, and no one was authorizing the team to take anyone on full-time, and that they didn't know about an extension after March 1. I thought I could handle it, and I sent my boss an email saying that I understood their predicament - the client really just can't afford to do anything else right now - but that I was activating my resume at my temp agency because I had no other option. My boss then came over and said that the COO had authorized my staying for another 3 months - til June 1. At that point, I realized that I just couldn't afford to stay at it anyway at my current pay - it's just too low. And I cried. This time, she saw me. I felt bad, but really, it's like getting dumped. You didn't do anything wrong, and while you shouldn't take it personally, it's worrisome to say the least. She IM'ed me and asked me if I was okay, and I said yes, I just was worried as the job market is pretty bleak, especially for people like me. She came back and said that she might be able to negotiate me a raise for that time, and I had to give her a figure by the end of the day as to what would make me happy for now to stay. I had to think about it, and came back with a figure that she said might be do-able, but didn't know. And I haven't heard anything about it since. AHHHH!!!!!

OK seriously, I asked for a raise that isn't even all that much. Without getting too graphic, here's my situation. At the end of the month, after paying rent, bills, gasoline, parking and groceries, I have $120 a month for "other stuff". That's without ONE beer out with friends. Without ANY dry-cleaning. Without any savings. And most importantly, without health insurance. As of March, I have none, which is the entire reason we had the conversation in the first place. To me, asking for a bit more to cover the costs of my insurance shouldn't be all that unreasonable, but I guess it is in this economy. It just sucks - I went from having a job in the morning to not having a job in a week mid-morning, to having a job for three more months with a possible but iffy raise in the afternoon. It feels like I'm in some breakup/make-up relationship that's just out of control.

So I'm job-searching, because I really have no other option. And man, does it look bleaker than I thought. I'd love to stay in supply chain management (it's better than what I've done thus far), and since the art world is basically at a literal standstill (I don't think Monet could sell a painting right now - seriously, I can't even afford supplies, so I'm at a loss right now as to what to do in that department. I've just stopped), I've got to find some sort of corporate work. So I sent out about 20 resumes. So far? One out-of-office response. Let's hope the rest of the week turns around.

Seriously, I