What is a "phone"?

Phones used to be phones. We still call them phones but could there be a bigger understatement than that? PDA is the distant relative acronym of SUV that is used. I think its time to think a bit more globally.

I'm drawing inspiration from the very young in my life as well as elder statesman. Let's start with Sasha and Kira. Our girls routinely play with fake plastic phones in the back of my car. I listen passively to their creative play. In any given trip in the car they may text with Mommy, watch some videos, look at the weather, find some cool information, and occasionally they talk to somebody. To them, in their creative world their phone is a fix all solution. I think what we carry in our pockets every day is more of a fix all solution than it is a phone.

To the elder-statesman, Dad. He typically refers us to "that pad thing that has all the answers". While typically I snatch up on Ipad we have in our house when he has a burning question that needs answered, it is just as easy to grab my phone from my pocket and instantly have access to that same information. Hey do you know (what/when/where/why/how) (who/what) did (when)? No I don't, but I can find out really quickly. A phone is a solution provider.

I think we take for granted the power and flexibility of the tool we carry in our pockets. Now the challenge becomes using that sizable power for productive endeavors instead of reading Twitter and Facebook feeds all day.

Brad on March Madness

Well, I didn't complete a bracket this year for the first time in at least a decade. Probably good since if I would have the winner would have been Villanova who is already out. Ed, with Duke the only winner in your family remaining it looks like you have the inside track. Bragging rights cometh.

March Madness as a proxy for sports, I probably consume as much sports as I have historically but do so very differently. I am very much a passive fan. I rarely consume sports (mostly watch on TV) without doing something else too, and that something else typically takes precedence. Working on my computer, cooking dinner, other chores around the house. Even when Iowa plays I rarely sit and watch it.

Why? I think a couple things. I'm getting old, and am prioritizing things in a way that diminishes my interest in sports. Also, being a Hawk fan when there are personal and professional implications of a win or loss for our family makes the lens of a fan very different. I don't expect anyone to agree with me or to understand, but passive interest is a protection from the downside implications of a rough football or basketball season.

Brad on LEARNING from Unemployment

There isn't much to add here other than thanks and appreciation for the raw and honest opinion on the topic and lessons. The uninvestigated details of the original post were nicely expanded upon by Marc. Which leaves me with little content other than the title: Learning.

Learning these life lessons forged in the heat of unemployment is definitely the intense version of learning options. But similar to many things, as adults we often lose the ability (or interest) to learn unless a situation "forces" that upon us.

I watch my children learn and it is so beautiful. They do it with light speed, it is seemingly effortless, the volume of learning is staggering, and most importantly they experience pure joy when learning. By comparison, teaching adults even small changes or skills can be met with substantial resistance and monumental struggle.

Which brings me to the punch line: how do we as adults shed the burdens of our daily life that afford us the ability to continue to learn at the same pace and with as much ease as children? That to me may be the keys that unlocks the lessons articulated by Ed but also the joy that comes along with the perspective.

And I'm trying to figure out how entitlement plays into our lack of ability to learn as adults. Anyone got that figured out?

Your Job is not your Identity: the Email chain

Below is our discussion concerning an article that was in Relevant Magazine.  The article is located here if you'd like to read it so that I don't have to repost the entire thing.  Below is the email discussion in the order that it was sent out.

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I thought this was good. I've known a lot of people who's entire identity was wrapped up in being in the Navy, and they hated life when they retired because of it. 

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/your-job-not-your-identity

Marc

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Thanks for sharing Marc.  I was reading this from the lens of a recent conversation I’ve been having with Sheila.  I’ve been very involved in Junior Achievement, currently acting as the exec board chair.  It is a big role and one I enjoy.  However based on what is needed, it feels like my job.  I’m using crisis management, mentoring skills, community advocacy, etc.  Skills I use in my job and generally enjoy, but it doesn’t give me the altruistic feeling that I get from volunteering in a classroom.  So I’m balancing using my skills and having a big impact with the altruism of community service.

Make sense?  Fun conversation over a glass of wine with Sheila.

Brad

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Interesting article, for sure.  

But I have a completely different view than you both.  The article operates on a fundamental premise of choice and privilege, something we as Americans, particularly educated Americans, feel is a God given right.  It's super easy to take the "be fulfilled" route for the top 1% of the population but it doest reflect the majority of the people in the world or their circumstances.  The reality is that the largest percentage of the population (even in America) does what they HAVE to do to support their families and live their lives.  They aren't afforded the opportunity to write or pursue their passions, and take a chance on getting paid for it someday.  Nope, most get up and go to a job they don't particularly enjoy but that pays the bills in the place where they live.

And, many more Americans do what pays the most, to feed the appetite they and there families desire in life.  Look no further than our Father and Mother, did they pursue their passions or did they go out and find the best paying job they could find that supported the life they desired, or the next best alternative.  I know this sounds a little "oh whoa is me" but I just ain't buying the premise of this article except for a sliver of the population in the privileged nation on earth.  I would rather see an article with the premise of quit whining and get your fat lazy ass a job!

Ed  

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Yep we do disagree.  I'm more of a cake and eat it too guy on this topic. Maybe because my interests are congruent with making a living. If canoeing was my passion I'd likely have a different idea about how "the man" (not the Man) has kept me down. 

Happy hump day boys. 

Brad

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Hey guys,

Sorry for the delayed response to your comments on the article.  I could have replied through my phone, but then this 15-minute email on the computer would have taken 45 minutes of pecking on my phone.  I just figured that I would wait.

The reason that this article was good to me was in this summary from the article itself: “If you aren’t going to let your job define you, you have to have a solid identity apart from your job title. You have to be or do something other than your job.”  And I made the comment in reference to Navy friends I’ve had because those were people that had no identity apart from the Navy.  None.  They had “Chief Petty Officer” stickers all over their car, talked of nothing but Navy stuff, introduced themselves to the waitress at Denny’s as “Chief Petty Officer… “, you get the point.  There was no separation of the person and the Navy.  For me personally, I don’t think it’s healthy.  For military people, you HAVE to retire sooner or later.  So when that happens, those people are lost, because they lose their identity.

I don’t necessarily agree that having an identity apart from your work is only for people of privilege.  I think even if you are working 18 hours a day, you can have an identity apart from your work.  I think it’s only natural that your work would be some part of your identity, but not all of it.  You brought up Dad, but I don’t think his identity was wrapped up in his job at all.  He had friends, a wife, kids, lots of family, played softball, went to card club, grew a garden, etc.  I never thought of Dad as having an identity that was “welder at Donaldson’s”.  To me, Dad was so much more than that.  Yes, he was upset when he lost his job, but to the people who knew him, he was still the same Al.  His core identity didn't change. 

Maybe I misread it, but I didn’t get the impression that the writer was saying, “Forgot about a 9 to 5 and just follow your passion.”  Those kinds of articles irritate me too.  I think her whole point was that if your entire identity is wrapped up in your job title, when the job title goes away, well, you’re in for a crisis, and not just because you lost your income.  “Your job should not be your everything. We are all children of God who have a purpose and a meaning on this earth. That is our core identity, and it will never change, no matter our job description.”  

You may disagree, but when I’m no longer in the Navy, most of my core being is going to be the same.  I’m still going to watch birds, listen to old school hip hop, talk shit with my friends, make the case for college athletes to be paid, read books, teach at church, be the only one in the Baldwin clan that doesn’t know the latest Iowa score, take pictures of my cat everyday, and go for walks for the sole purpose of picking up trash.  When I meet new people, I will introduce myself exactly as I do now: “Hi, I’m Marc. Nice to meet you.”  

Lastly, I think the comment is interesting that “They aren't afforded the opportunity to write or pursue their passions.”  It’s interesting to me because Americans LOVE to go to the movies and watch a story about someone who DESPITE THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES pursued their passion.  Cinderella Man, The Greatest Game Ever Played, Rudy, The Pursuit of Happiness, etc.  People that are really passionate about something find a way to do it.  I think we make the mistake as Americans of thinking it has to be grand.  Who doesn’t have time to write?  I’m writing now.  I’m not going to win any Pulitzer Prizes for this email, but I’m writing.  I love to pick up trash.  I don’t have any grand ideas for changing the world by doing it - I just like it.  I don’t care if anyone else cares that I do it or not.  It’s just part of my identity.  And it’s something that won’t be taken away from me if I lose my job.  

Sorry, I feel like I’m just going in circles.  I guess to me it just made sense, because I don’t want my whole identity wrapped up in something that can be taken away from me by someone else.

Maybe writing an email at 11pm wasn’t such a great idea!

Have a good weekend guys.  I really do love hearing your thoughts on this stuff.

Marc

Brad's Denver top 10 list

10: Confirmation of how much I love Denver.

9: Confirmation that the talent in the NBA makes even two bad teams very fun to watch.

8: Confirmation that pyrotechnics are cool even at a rodeo.

7: You can find Iowan’s anywhere. Mostly because they are one of the few people that will talk to you and are generally proud of where they are from.

6: Ed’s kids are pretty awesome and he and Holly are pretty darn lucky/successful parents.

5: Entertaining Brothers 3 remains blessidly simple: bounce something, climb something, destroy something, eat something, have some beer.

4: There are almost as many pillow stands as hot dog stands at a rodeo.

3: I know what “barn door” means in rock climbing.

2: I know what 400 pound monkey is.

1: Getting together with and being one of three brothers who are getting old isn’t getting old at all.

In this week’s episode of “First World Problems”…

Finding a home to buy

Often when I write blogs, I have the idea clearly in my head and the basic format all laid out in my mind.  Not this time.  But that’s the great thing about a keyboard, right?  You can get nowhere a lot faster than when you are writing by hand!

We are really frustrated right now.  We’ve been in Maryland for barely a week but it feels like a month.  What I thought would be just looking at a few places and picking the one that we want to buy has turned into wondering whether or not we can actually afford to buy.  The market here is crazy.  It may be as bad as San Diego.  It’s just ridiculous.  By way of example, a townhouse in the neighborhood where we sold for $390K three years ago just came on the market at $420K.  I know that doesn’t mean it will sell for that much, but it’s pretty indicative of the market around here.

Admittedly, we are trying to figure out WHY, exactly, we are so frustrated after only one week.  First, we’re staying in a hotel.  When we’ve moved in the past, we’ve always stayed with someone that we knew.  That was worth more than I think we realized at the time.  First, we were just banking money.  We always offered some money to our hosts for utility bills and food, but they rarely took it.  So we were banking money.  We also were under no real pressure to find a place in a hurry.  The hotel has changed everything.  As long as we’re here (Candlewood Suites) we’re spending about $3000 per month.  So that has added urgency to our search.

The second frustration is with the cost of real estate in this area.  You guys may not have had BRAC (Base Realignment And Closure) on your radars, but Fort Meade is one of the bases that has taken on additional agencies and facilities as OTHER bases have closed.  Add to it that Fort Meade is a national defense hub anyway (NSA, DISA, EPA, DMA, DIS to name a few) and this base is CRAZY compared to what it was when I first came here in 1995.  I know - it’s amazing how things change in 20 years!  There are new buildings going up everywhere on the base.  I know that this will make you guys feel SO sorry for us poor military folks, but they used to have TWO 18-hole golf courses on the base, but they don't exist anymore.  They needed the room to build, so what used to be fairways and greens are now littered with buildings.  Bottom line: demand for housing in this area is on a steep rise, and the market prices reflect that.  There’s just no such thing as a “steal” around here when you are looking to buy real estate.

The real rub is that Jennifer and I know exactly what we want, where we want it, and what we want to pay for it.  It just doesn’t match reality in the areas that we want to be.  So we are coming to the painful realization that we need to give up something, and it’s hard to figure out what that something is.  I would like to be close, because I hate driving.  There are certain areas that are nicer than others.  We’d like walking trails.  We’d like a two-car garage.  The list goes on and on.

Some interesting things:

When I look online, the places that jump out as being perfect - not too big, two-car garage, nice community facilities, priced right - they turn out to be 55+ communities!  I’m thinking about getting a fake ID card that says I’m 55 just so we can live in one of them.  They are perfect for us!  Builders, especially of townhouses and condos, only think to maximize living space, so they generally don’t build two-car garages, and sometimes they don’t even build a one-car garage.  But for 55+ communities here in Maryland, they assume that since you’re older you want to park in the garage (and not dig your car out of the snow) and that you don’t need 3000 square feet of living space.  But for everyone else, the assumption is that you’d rather have an extra bedroom than a garage.  Why is that?  If you want something smallish (say, 1500 square feet) then you might as well forget a garage.  They don’t exist.  Even small single family homes of the same size will not have a garage.  Do you have to have a family of six to want to park in a garage??

Association fees don’t make any sense to me.  We looked in a new townhouse/condo community yesterday.  If you get a full townhouse (four floors, 2800 square feet) your association fee is $107 per month.  If you get a condo (two floors, 1800 square feet) the association fee is $270 per month.  Huh?  So you get two paying members of the same association fee in the same space, but you charge each one more than double??  That makes no sense to me.  The seller tried to explain that since it’s a condo it includes renters insurance, but if you’re in the townhouse, you have to get your own insurance.  I’m no expert on renter’s insurance, but is that really worth $160 per month?  

An 1800 square foot townhouse with no garage in a so-so area will cost $380K.  A 2600 square foot  townhouse with a garage in a nice area starts around $460K.  I’m not trying to trivialize $80K, I’m really not.  But when you look at lending, that’s about an additional $350 a month at the current rates.  There is a LOT of the low stuff available.  However, if you go to that price point you hope you find a parking spot in the lot and then walk 200-feet to the house that you own.  When you get into it, there is NO STORAGE.  The assumption is that if you’re buying at that price point, you don’t have a work bench, bicycles, boxes of Christmas decorations, or sporting equipment.  There is no storage.  None.  The kitchen is usually the size of a galley kitchen on an 18-foot yacht, and rather than two decent sized bedrooms, for example, there are three or even four tiny bedrooms that are barely large enough for a twin bed and a dresser.  

But there is not much in between.  There is nothing at $400K.  Not much at $420K.  You have to go up to $450 and more like $460 if you want storage, a garage, a master bedroom suite with his and hers sinks, etc.  And that’s a townhouse.  If you want a house at that price point it’s going to be small.  Maybe a one-car garage, maybe just a car port.  It’s old, with small bedrooms, and probably needs the 1970’s pink tile in the bathroom replaced, along with the prototype whirlpool dishwasher and the wood paneling on the walls.    So then you think, “I got a house for $450K” and then spend another $60K to update it.  So you might as well look at a half million. 

So frustrating!

So what would you give up?  In real estate they say location is everything right?  Because you can’t ever change that.  How about a garage?  If we give that up then we definitely need to use a whole room just for storage.  Maybe we should live in Pennsylvania like a lot of people do these days and just drive an hour each way to work.  Then we can have everything that we want.  Do we buy a dump and spend our waking moments working on the place to update it?  

I’m just trying to figure out what I need to let go.  I think Jen filters everything through the “Marc hates driving” lens.  It’s true, I do hate it.  But I feel like it’s restricting things too much.  I loved our old neighborhood because it was a good starting point for bike riding, both mountain and road.  But I probably need to give that up.  I can load my bike for a car ride to the start point like most of the rest of the world.  I have a garage full of tools that I use RARELY.  Maybe it’s time to get rid of that stuff so that storage space isn’t as much of an issue.  I don’t know.  

In the end, it’s just really frustrating.  We keep telling ourselves it’s only been a week, but in reality we’ve been living out of suitcases since the end of January.  I never thought I would get tired of figuring out where to go out to eat, but I am.  Whatever we find, it will probably be at least a 45-day escrow.  I hope that soon we’ll be in a house and look back and laugh about how stressed we were, but it’s a bit consuming at the moment.  We've considered renting for awhile just to take the pressure off, but in reality, with all that is going on at Fort Meade, the market isn't going to get any better anytime soon.  Something’s gotta give.

10 things from the Brothers weekend in Denver

1.  Hot dogs at sporting events are the best hot dogs in the world

2.  Broncos just want to get you off their backs; Bulls want to kill you

3.  There is no ice cream that is worth waiting for 45 minutes

4.  Irregardless of where you are on the gun control spectrum, you can show a driver’s license and be given a handgun with as much ammo as you want to buy

5.  Rock climbing, although fun, is a hell of a lot of work

6.  I miss having a dog

7.  Whether it’s dancing, cheer leading, or mutton-busting, watching little kids do it is fun

8.  I didn’t know they made 5-foot trophies

9.  I suck at racquetball

10.  Rodeos have DJs

Re: Learning from unemployment

I appreciate you sharing the blog about what you’ve learned from unemployment.  You are correct in that I’ve never been unemployed.  I started at Super Valu at the start of my junior year and worked until I left for the Navy.  The two years that I was out of the Navy I wasn’t really looking to work (thanks to having a wife that was willing to work) but a couple of jobs “fell into my lap” thanks to recommendations from friends.  I rejoined the Navy in 1995, and almost 20 years later, here I am, still “working for Uncle Sam” as Mom likes to say.

I think that you said at the beginning of the blog is true - all of those lessons can be learned apart from unemployment, but when you don’t have a job it’s kind of like doing the one-week intensive class instead of the semester course. 

As I read through your blog, in my minds eye, they all seemed to be linked together.  Humility, relationships, envy, appreciation, finances… it all tends to run together.  Humility is invaluable in relationships, envy can have a huge impact on how we spend, which is in turn affected by how much we appreciate things, and the things can affect our humility if we’re not careful.  

You mentioned one thing that struck a chord with me because it is something that I’ve noticed more in more in not only advertising, but in all facets of life: entitlement (or “deserving”).  Advertisers learned a long time ago that reasonable people may REASON that they don’t need something.  So they went to the tact of convincing people that they deserve it.  Who is going to pass up on something that they deserve??  Everybody wants what they deserve, right?  And as I said, it’s not just advertising.  You can pick any part of life in America: the job market, school, real estate, government…  everyone “deserves” something.  I’m not immune to it.  I’m a victim of that American mentality more often than I want to admit it.  Just recently I pretty much convinced myself that I deserve a new road bike because I’ve been riding the same one for 10+ years.  I might WANT a new one, but I need one (the one I’m riding still rides great) and I most certainly don’t DESERVE one.  It’s just so easy to take the entitlement super highway.  There are a whole lot of people in the United States living beyond their means because they’ve convinced themselves that they deserve a certain lifestyle.  

As far as relationships go, I’m sure that in unemployment you very quickly find out who your real friends are, or in other words, the relationships that are worth maintaining.  When you mentioned it, I couldn’t help but think that it’s important to nurture those relationships in the good times (like employment) so that they are willing to support during the tough times.  Relationships are investments, and you can’t expect a return on something you haven’t invested in.

Thank you for the reminder on appreciation.  I’ve been pretty discouraged due to our home search since arriving in Maryland (blog to follow later).  And when I think about all that you said, I have to evaluate and appreciate all that I DO have.  I’m not living on the streets, and our frustration with finding something is only because of our own demands based on our tastes.  It’s not like we can’t afford to live ANYWHERE and are living on the streets.  

Being thankful, envy, money, relationships, humility… these are the daily battles of mankind.  Sometimes I wonder whether I’m winning the battle most days or losing them.

March Madness

Well the mania has begun.  I love this time of year.  All the passive fans throughout the year come out and cheer for their respective favorites as 68 teams make a run for being NCAA tournament champion.

There have already been big upsets, among them Iowa State.  And there are sure to be cinderella's emerge as a result of these upsets.  But the giants are still lurking (Kentucky, Villanova, Duke, Wisconsin).

I would like to see my beloved Hawkeyes win a game ... or two!  Yes, I'm greedy.  But then again it's been a long time since the Hawkeyes have won more than one game in the NCAA tournament.  So maybe they are due.  And not many have faith in this team.  I want them to win and am hopeful they do so, but I'm not expecting them to win.  That's a big difference.

And how about Northern Iowa?  I'm happy and hope they do well also.  Would be great to see them take out a few giants along the way.

So because the Cyclones have already lost (frankly I have a tough time cheering for them) I will cheer for the rest of the Iowa teams.  First and foremost my beloved Hawkeyes ... GO HAWKS!  But also for UNI, go Panthers!

May the best team on that night win!

Brackets?  My family competes against each other every year by filling in a bracket.  Haley is on Spring Break so she's out this year.  Holly picked Iowa State as her national champion, Alex and Luke picked Villanova, and I picked Duke.  I told Holly it served her right considering she picked Iowa's rival to go all the way.  Gotta say I'm not sad about that.

Should be a fun set of games over the next week or so.

Who do you think wins it all?

FitBit, Do you have one?

Yeah, so when I began my new job one of the perks that they offered in benefits was a discount on the purchase of any version of the 'fitbit'.  I've seen lots on really unhealthy looking people wearing these things and so I was pretty pessimistic about the impact they might have on my health.  But since I could purchase the flex for only $29 (I've spent that on a bad gamble at an unknown restaurant) I went ahead an splurged for one.  It arrived quickly and I plugged it in and started using it.

Now, I must say that I literally plugged it in and started using it.  The only thing I did was set up my profile.  I didn't learn about all the bells and whistles, and didn't invest any time ready the manual.  After all, I'm of the male species.  But I will say it's relatively intuitive because most of the features I'm using - at least the ones I want to at this point.

So the thing recommended that my goal should be 10k steps per day.  Ok, whatever.  For those of you non-fitbit-users, that's about 5 miles of walking a day.  It didn't take me long to realize that my steps if I do nothing special on a work day ended up somewhere between 4k and 6k steps.

If I played racquetball in the evening (I try to do this three days per week) then that would provide an additional 5k - 7k steps.  But if I didn't I needed another way of collecting steps.

And yes, I have a dog, and yes that dog needs walking, so I started supplementing my steps for a day by walking Rocky in the evening.  Sometimes as much as an hour and a half!  But whatever it took to get to 10k that's what I did.

Good right?  I felt good about myself.

I also am tracking how much sleep I'm getting, and how "restful" that sleep is.  When I sleep I sleep hard, so that wasn't an issue.  But seeing how much sleep I get was a different story.  I'm averaging about 6 hours and 40 minutes of sleep a night.  Closer to 6 during the week, and between 7 and 8 on the weekends.  I feel pretty good about that also.

Now to the food and water plan.  I may decide to start tracking the amount of water I drink a day.  I think that would be a good reminder.  I'm confident I could drink the required amount each day.  The food plan, that would be different.  I'm worried that the alarms will be going off with the amount of calories I put into my pie hole each day.  But I'm going to take this step, just not sure when.

Any chance I can get my two brothers to get a Fitbit flex and join in on the fun?

Top Ten List from Brothers3areWe Get Together in February

Number 10: Our lives are growing apart, but we remain close.
Number 9:  Mutton busting is the best part of a rodeo
Number 8:  A 45 caliber pistol is a 'hand cannon'.
Number 7:  Even pro basketball players miss shots and lose games, the difference is they sulk while driving home in their pre-started Ferrari and not the back of their parent's car.
Number 6:  We are all getting old. We were in bed by 11:00pm every evening.
Number 5:  Rock climbing and shooting hand guns are both physically taxing, in ways I never imagined.
Number 4:  Auto belays are expensive.
Number 3:  Racquetball can be a great round-robin activity.
Number 2:  Iowans are everywhere, and no matter where you find them they are always really nice people.
Number 1:  I hope we all continue to commit to these get togethers, because I love both my brothers very much.

I would encourage Marc and Brad to come up with their Top Ten as well.

Don't Let Your Job Define You

I would like to re-create and continue this discussion on the blog, prompted by Marc sending along an article that was thought provoking to say the least.

Marc, would you please repost here, along with your comments (and Brad's and mine, or we can just recreate) because I think it is a valuable debate.

I wasn't personally offended by the differences we had, just intrigued and pretty extreme in my views on the subject.  Rather than try to recreate it without the benefit of the article, I'll wait for Marc to repost.

Ed

What I Learned from Being Unemployed

Brad prompted Marc and I about the blog (or lack thereof) so I've got a couple of topics at least that I would like to post.  So here goes ...

I've been meaning to share what I believe are the BENEFITS of being unemployed.  I've found myself unemployed way more than either of  my brothers combined (have either of you ever been unemployed?), and trust me, that's not bragging.  But it has taught me some valuable lessons, lessons that would be nice to be learned while employed but that 'come home to roost' more prolifically when unemployed so to speak.

And yes, I'll start by saying you can learn these lessons while employed but if you haven't been unemployed (at least in the semi to long term) then I'm not sure you can speak with much authority on the topic.  Yes, that means I believe my opinion on this subject is more reflective than my brothers or anyone else who hasn't really walked in the shoes of the unemployed.  That would go for Obama too ...

1. Humility - About the time you start to get cocky, egotistical, arrogant or all of the above, being unemployed will change that in a hurry.  It taught me that I'm not better than anyone else.  In fact, while you are unemployed it can create doubts about whether you are as good as others.  Humility is good in small doses and I'm not sure unemployment (at least extended unemployment) qualifies as a small dose.  But unemployment will keep you humble for sure.  The world revolves as it did when you were unemployed, the difference is you don't feel a part of it.  It's moving without you and that's humbling.

2. Perseverance - When you want something, anything badly enough you will persevere to achieve it.  But when you don't have a job and aren't earning money suddenly lots of things become things you want.  Therefore your perseverance to find a job, make the money and get those things (maybe a vacation with family, a new couch for the living room, or that new skateboard your kid wants and earned by achieving great grades) that you "deserve" increase substantially.  This represents the 'high' of being unemployed, when you're bullish and out in the market everyday meeting people, shaking hands and kissing babies.  The opposite 'low' occurs when you wake up late one morning and find that the world is well into it's day, and you have absolutely nothing to do - no one to see, nothing to accomplish, no jobs to interview for, nothing.  That's the low in the process.

3. Relationships are EVERYTHING - When you are deep within your normal life, off to job, home from work, pick up kids, doing family stuff on the weekend, it's easy to overlook the importance of those that are closest to you in your life.  Your spouse, kids, dog, and best friends.  But when you find yourself unemployed then those relationships become crucially important to keeping you on the high side of the highs and lows, and keeping you out of the low side of the highs and lows.  They are the ones that will talk to you and care about you and what you are doing when you don't have a job.  The other relationships you hold are just casual relationships that come and go.

4. Finances - You spend way too much on stupid stuff - When you're unemployed your finances are challenged.  You invest more time in what you spend money on, as a means of trimming back a bit and making what you have go farther.  It suddenly becomes really easy for you to see all the BS, the excess and the crazy shit you spend money on when you are employed.  Unfortunately, it's hard to not let that stuff creep back in when you become re-employed.  But you also realize the stuff that's really important, the best investments you can make regardless of how much you earn.  For me that is my kids.  Period.

5. Envy - You learn how wicked envy can be and how easily it can chew up any good you may see in others.  When I was unemployed I thought to myself "they have this or that, I don't have this or that, they don't deserve it as much as I do".  That's sad to say, but it's true.  It's a corollary to humility but if you don't keep yourself in check the world can get to be a pretty dark place.

6. Appreciation - When become re-employed (which fortunately for me I have been able to) you don't take for granted getting a paycheck every couple of weeks.  You don't take for granted how awesome "the grind" is of going to work, working hard, and earning a paycheck.  It's routine, it's important, and it creates purpose in your daily life.  I've been very lucky to rebound and find better opportunities every time I became unemployed for one reason or another.  And each time I feel more and more blessed in being able to do so.