So after the last few columns and a few changes in my life (like becoming gainfully unemployed again), I was moved off the Dating & Nightlife post and into a role more suitable for me at the moment.

To be quite honest, I have no idea what Richmond.com is going to call this…Maybe “Unemployment & Daylife” or “A Guide of What Not To Do for Young Men Aged 18 – 23” but, either way, it’s something different that won’t require me to really exert too much effort as I’ll be writing about something more natural.

Not to say dating is unnatural for me but writing about it like I had credibility was a bit suspect…

However, being unemployed is something I’ve grown very comfortable with thanks to having a Comm degree during a recession so I imagine I’ll have all sorts of things to say…

The last time I was unemployed I somehow ended up a nanny for three kids under the age of five. Being that I had no experience that would have suggested I could keep those kids alive, I was grateful towards the family. In order to properly show my gratitude, I wrote a blog about their kids…

See, I have a degree in Journalism and yet – oddly enough – I had yet to actually use my degree. So my most previous effort provided me the opportunity to start writing again which was huge in a way I didn’t realize. They say life works in mysterious ways and all that jazz and they (whoever “they” are) would be right because now I realize I’d like to write for a living.

As a result, I’m bracing myself for poverty since writers don’t make much of anything unless I write a book and there is no part of my life that would be considered book worthy. Nor am I even all that creative. I’m more observational than anything so unless millions of people want to read a book about everything my roommates do then I’m out of luck.

That all being said, before I completely leave the “Dating & Nightlife” genre I’d like to drop one little suggestion. I’ve noticed recently that there seems to be an upswing in the amount of guys who ask girls out via Facebook messages.

I’m not going to make a big song & dance out of this so let’s just keep it simple: Guys, Do Not Do That. There are just some things that don’t change when technology does…

Now, without further ado, I’m going to hand you my top 3 incredibly obvious things NOT to do when you’re unemployed.

1)    Smoking Dope: Why shouldn’t you smoke weed? Because people drug test…and it makes you lazy and content…and it costs money…and it makes you eat junk food and gain weight so your suits won’t fit…and I hear it’s a gateway drug so it’s only a matter of time before you’ll be hopped up on meth. And everyone knows employers like their employees to have teeth.

2)    Rugged Warehouse: Because even if you can buy t-shirts for $2.99 if you’re anything like me you’ll inevitably buy two different pairs of neon Reebok’s for $80 and then justify it by getting drunk and spending more money.

3)    Criminal Behavior: I’ve never broken a crime where I was subsequently caught but if I were caught I would hate to have to fill out the “Have you ever been arrested?” part of my job application. Call me crazy but I like being able to say I don’t have a green card and have never had a police officer’s knee in my back.

Anyway, enough of that nonsense, keep an eye out for the new “My Parents Say They Aren’t Ashamed but I Can See It in Their Eyes” blog from me here on Richmond.com…Things will get better. I promise