Coming to a Convention Center Near You – Laid Off Camp

The latest installment of social gatherings based around being unemployed is called Laid Off Camp, and it’s picking up quite a bit of popularity. Founded in January by newly laid off Chris Hutchins, it’s a chance for those who are sans job to get together and pow wow about anything and everything. It’s basically a free-for-all, in that anyone who wants to get up and present/talk/bitch to the crowd can do so, simply by writing their topic on a giant whiteboard and waiting their turn. Sounds like a room full of insanity to me, but it’s sweeping the nation so who knows?

And according to the website, you don’t have to be unemployed to attend, though I’m not really sure what the appeal of a room full of down on their luck jobless people is to those who are lucky enough to still be drawing a paycheck, but again, who knows?

There are currently about 25 future “camps” set up, though most have a date of “TBD”. There’s even one scheduled to be held in the UK. For those interested, there’s a New York gathering set for late April/early May. Or, you could organize your own if you are so inclined.

I personally prefer the recent “pink slip parties” that have been cropping up around Wall Street, but that’s mainly because there’s booze involved. Either way, if you recently found yourself on the wrong end of a pink slip, you might want to mark this on your calendar. It can’t hurt and what the hell else do you have to do with your time?