Wow, things are tough out there.

Unemployment benefits are set to expire for millions of Americans in the coming weeks and the debate about tax cuts, extending unemployment benefits beyond the 99 weeks currently covered and the job market rages on.

I'm not here to express my opinion about any of that, I do not consider myself informed or educated enough to offer an opinion or solution to our national economic situation.

I recently signed up for home delivery of the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sundays, hoping I'd clip some coupons and save some money at the grocery store. (I'm having a hard time finding the time to cut said coupons, but I'm not giving up yet.) Even though I'm not looking for a new job, I thought I'd take a look at the classifieds to see what the job market was really like...I mean, the paper was already in my house and everything, why not?

And I have to say, I'm glad I'm not looking. The last time I looked for a job, I was living in Bethlehem and it was 2005. My boyfriend (currently known as One Philly Daddy) and I had decided that the Lehigh Valley - Philadelphia suburb commute to see each other was no longer working. We wanted more time together, and suspected that this was "it", so I planned to relocate.

I remember sorting through pages of classifieds, to find 5 - 10 jobs that were an OK fit and 1 - 3 that felt like a really good fit. There were probably an additional 10 - 20 that I could apply for and have a chance at getting. Back then, it was OK to be picky about the kind of job, hours, pay, industry I wanted to work in. I only applied to jobs I really wanted, and it took 6 months for the process to play itself out, from deciding to look to starting a new job. And it was still stressful and felt like a long time.

These past few weeks of glancing at the classifieds (I don't have the stomach for much more than a glance.) I've found very few jobs that I am qualified for. Maybe one or two that I might be considered for, and more times than not, zero that were a good, or even OK fit that I could be excited about.

Yikes.

No wonder people are stressed and worried and scared. It seems being picky about the kind of job, hours, pay, and industry is a thing of the past (and hopefully future).

I don't know if we should extend unemployment or not. I don't know if we should extend the tax cuts for the rich, everyone or no one. I don't know what we should do.

I do know the sense of hopelessness is hard to fight and can be pervasive, from friends who've looked for jobs for a long time, to the news, to politicians. I am not in a hopeless situation by any means, and feel the effects of the hopelessness that seems to soak our world right now.

All I can offer in the way of encouragement is the fact that I have had personal experience in some really, really crappy situations. My mother offered these words of advice, which turned out to be true. "This too shall pass."

Hopefully, sooner rather than later.