Lissa Cunneen has now been without full time employment for 21 weeks, and she continues to bump up against two huge problems that are at the top of the Obama administration's fix list: the country's broken healthcare system and its high unemployment rate.

Number of resumes Lissa has sent out in the last seven days: six. Last meal she ate before writing this post: "I was going to say, 'Veal on a bed of foie gras sautéed in the blood of little babies'—but that might have opened a whole can of humorless worms, so I’ll just tell the truth: I skipped the foie gras."

I’m getting too used to being a barista.

I love the customers and the free coffee, and now that I work enough hours to have benefits again some of the pressure I had been feeling has eased a bit, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. I’m making less than half of what I did as an administrative assistant for WaMu, and working less than 30 hours a week, so what I’m doing is eating up my savings.

I am eligible for some unemployment benefits, and they have been a godsend, but they aren’t going to last forever either. But like I said last time, most of what I’m seeing out there is part time and pays about what I’m making now, without benefits—and as my Keep the Cancer from Coming Back Medicine is expensive, that gives me pause.

I’m really lucky to have the job I do, but I need a real job with a real paycheck or by this winter I will lose my home and my credit score. Ugh. It’s scary to see that written down. All I can do is do what I have been doing, but even more so I guess. Keep looking for work, keep networking, keep making greeting cards, and keep writing about it. The support and suggestions I get from complete strangers commenting on this blog is gratifying and often very helpful. It’s always good to get a different perspective, and I hope that I have provided that for you readers as well. It’s easy to lose sight of the things we all have in common, and lash out at labels.

I worry about my friends and how they will weather this economy. Some of them are I’m sure lying awake thinking of their kids and what will happen if they lose jobs. Some of them have health problems that are far more debilitating than what I have to deal with and with meds that cost in the tens of thousands a year. That is the sort of pressure that can force people to make decisions based on being backed into a corner. Preemie babies, degenerative eye diseases, even a bad shoulder or chronic stomach trouble can ruin a person financially if they don’t have insurance. Hell, it can ruin you even if you do.

Bear in mind that these are all real examples and, with one exception, people in their thirties or younger. What will happen as they age and need even more medical attention? I’m sure they worry about that just as I do. Our social safety net in this country has always been a little more on the sheer side, but now it’s got some huge whacking holes in it, and people are falling through it. I have friends who can’t afford new glasses or to get their teeth cleaned and That. Just. Sucks.

Sigh. Sorry. Didn’t mean to turn this into a rant about how we need socialized medical care. I’ll leave that to the Commentariat. There are those among you who will have a great deal of insightful things to say on the topic I am sure. Me, I’m just grateful that I can go pick up my prescriptions in the morning.

Have an unemployment story to share? Write to jobless@thestranger.com.