File under "Nerds Not Taking Themselves Seriously Enough. Again."

I recently received an important zeitgeisty tip from my neurosurgeon friend/ex-boyfriend (that's right, I used to date smart people, and don't think I don't mention my multiple neurosurgeon friends at every possible opportunity), alerting me that his wife's brother is not taking These Tough Economic Times as seriously as he should. In a classic "ha ha this is a funny joke oh wait it's becoming real hold on what are all these reporters doing here?" moment, laid-off computer programmer Nick Goddard inadvertently invented the Unemployment Olympics . After some hasty assembly of impressive cardboard box structures and the execution of this completely satisfying piece of art, a group of certified unemployed roustabouts competed in various office-themed events and otherwise poked fun and sported silly grins. At least one guy wore a suit and carried a briefcase, and I dub him King of Awesometown.

Don't these people realize the gravity of These Tough Economic Times? Look at them, using jocularity, looking on the bright side, not feeling sorry for themselves. Ridiculous. When will they realize their time would be better spent testifying to rapt journalists about how they used to have jobs and now they have not? Even better: standing all frowny on a corner with a sandwich board and a cup of pencils (not for sale, just for effect).

Readers, I am at a loss. If a 26-year-old code jockey from the East Village can't accept the mind-blowingly hopelessly irrevocably doomed nature of his situation, who can? Oh, everyone else the New York Times writes about? Oh, okay.