Back in the (Private Jet) Saddle, Again

“Everybody agrees that the recession is over,” said Larry Summers, the President’s top economic adviser, in December. Whew. Glad that’s behind us. Now we can get back to our fifth homes, start trading again on mortgage-backed securities (boy, those days were good!), and stop feigning embarrassment over paying retail. What’s more—it’s okay to fly private-jet again!

According to aviation research firm Argus, private aircraft travel was up 5.3% in January over the same time last year. Woo hoo!

So here are some friendlier skies we’d like to see spring back up soon, so that everything is back to normal…

How to Make Quick Cash (Including Some Ways That Aren’t Embarassing)

So you’ve lost your job — or maybe you’re running out of unemployment. In any case, you need to make some fast cash. The people over at Coupon Sherpa put together a list of resources to do just that–and while some of them we’d do in a second, others would be a real hit to the pride and reputation.

Sure, you’ve got to do what it takes to pay the bills. And yes, there are wonderful people who deliver phone books and clean houses. We know some. But guess what? They’d rather have better jobs, too. Here’s a handy guide to what you can do without feeling embarrassed, and what you’ll want to wear a good disguise for.

Say It Loud and Proud

Monetizing your web site or blog
Selling your unwanted stuff
Flipping web sites

Fine…As Long As Nobody Finds Out

Becoming a human guinea pig
Giving blood…

Love in the Time of Layoff: Recession Helps Relationships Take Root

Timing-wise, it wasn’t the most promising beginning.

He was headed to the opposite coast. But the thousands of miles of separation was the least of our potential problems.

We started dating in the midst of one of the most stressful periods in both of our lives. I had just been laid off from a job I loved, and my industry seemed to be imploding. He would be gone for an unspecified period of time to reorganize his company and — he hoped — keep it from going under.

We were worried about money and questioning our careers. One of us had been stripped of title and paycheck, and was adjusting to a new identity. The other was wondering whether the enterprise he had built from scratch could survive the year…

I’m pretty certain that I would still be carrying on my relationship if I hadn’t lost my job. But it probably would have progressed more slowly. The downturn not only gave us more time and flexibility, it allowed us to see each other clearly and refocus our values.

Love in the Time of Layoff: Desperation Dating

Getting laid off in the throes of a recession is tough, but getting laid in a recession is, well, not.

It’s true: unemployment has done wonders for my dating life. Had I known it ten years ago, I would have surely done everything within my power to get canned. But like most women, I had rent to pay and dead-end jobs to contend with until I got kicked out of both places on the same day.

Now that I have all the time in the world to kill, there’s no end to the possibilities.

I’ve got a laptop and libido, what more do I need? Whether it’s online or on the streets of Boston, I’ve dated more men in the last six months that I have over the course of six years. Maybe it’s the fact that there are lotsa people out there with lotsa time on their hands. And because dating is so similar to the job search process they almost seem to go hand-in-hand (minus the alcohol). I toggle between Monster and Match…

Love in the Time of Layoff: The Appeal of Employment

Raj had me almost at hello, but he didn’t seem to realize it. As so often happens, the same was true in the reverse, as well—but we two somewhat wary people didn’t realize it on our first meeting. We had sat in the park after a friend suggested we meet (we could “be good contacts for one another”) and shared stories from our lives. We parted with no further plans.

As weeks passed, I wondered if there was a way to meet up with Raj again. I planned to invite him to a party I would throw. And then, out of nowhere, an email: “Call me urgently.” Two minutes later, we were on the phone. He was charming and funny—and he had a proposal, a potentially very lucrative project that would come from one of his clients. My thrill at hearing from Raj was a bit deflated by the absence of romance in it, but I was also very happy and relieved to have work fall into my lap, as I needed it very badly.

It’s always tricky to mix up work and romance, but in this downturn, I couldn’t ignore the very real tug of the rent, loans, bills piling up. So if I couldn’t have Raj as my boyfriend, at least there was something else I might get out of this encounter: some much needed peace of mind…

Love in the Time of Layoff: Sugar Mama Days

“Let’s stop and get bakery,” he said. I closed the refrigerator, leaving behind the eggs and fruit we might have eaten. We got in my car and drove to the roadside cafe.

I ordered a blueberry muffin; he ordered a cheese-filled croissant. The total was $6. I paid.

He hadn’t even made a move for his wallet. And it wasn’t the first time.

Six months ago, I was laid off from a job I loved and a salary I really, really loved (you would, too). I left with a nice little pile of severance and had accumulated a substantial 401K. My savings were okay, too. But I was single. It makes a difference, it turns out.

When I met Sugar Boy, he was very clear: He was a dog-walker; he was a painter…

Love in the Time of Layoff: Cheap Date

Twice, my friend Susan (I have changed some names and identifiers) found herself covering for a date who was short on cash. On the first date. At the end of one of them, there was even a humiliating walk to an ATM machine, where he handed her precisely his half and thanked her for a nice evening. Susan was mortified.

I would be too, and obviously so should those guys. Being cheap (or disorganized) is not unusual in the annals of dating, but it seems like some people are using the recession as cover for skimping out…

The Layoff Secret-Keeper

When I got The List, I felt physically ill. I had to force myself to read it, and when I had to refer to it I kept it face down on my desk in case someone walked in. At night I locked it up. No one asked me to, but I did so anyway. Because no one should learn they are going to be fired by happening to glance at a one-page document on my desk.

This summer, the company where I work underwent a restructuring, shutting down the riskiest of our major product lines. As a result, a lot of people lost their jobs. Most of them had been here for years—some since the company’s formation decades ago. Because of my role handling the company’s litigation, I was one of the small circle outside of HR that had The List weeks before the terminations happened: A list with names, departments, severance. They were long weeks…

The Repo Men

President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner are calling on AIG executives – some of them newly minted millionaires – to return their million-dollar bonuses (to be fair, some received a little less than that). We commend their initiative—but wait, what initiative? So far, we’ve seen “calls for” the executives to step up and act like big girls and boys and hand back the money.

And so if they don’t, we’re wondering if Obama and Geithner might take things into their own hands—go after the money themselves. What would that look like?

From Your Wallet to…Where?

Okay, okay, so you already knew that you’re spending less—or trying to. And that half your friends are preaching pocketbook prudence while the other half are pleading poverty.

But the folks at Chase, one of the few banks in the country still making money (just) have kindly cobbled together some stats to show how we’re spending ours—and how we’re not. (Download the document here.)