Froggy, I feel for you. I really do.
I was in your shoes a year ago. November 1, last year, I was "let go" by my previous employer (another landscaping company). I was salaried, had insurance, was eligible for retirement benefits, and was in a "middle" management position. Big kick in the a$$ for me that day. At the time, I was 23, my wife was 3 months pregnant, we had only been making mortgage payments for 3-4 months, and had just put down a down payment on my wife's new truck the weekend before.
The way it was done to me was similiar, I had no idea it was coming. It was a Friday, that morning I was told to be back at the office for a meeting at 2:30. Knowing how the company worked, I couldn't figure out what the meeting was about, all I could figure out was that I was either going to get praised for something (I hadn't done anything exceptional in the recent past), get chewed out for something (couldn't figure that out either) or was getting laid off. Worried about it all day too.
Fortunately, after the meeting, I had to clean out my desk (I had brought all of my books and stuff in to my "office" area when we moved earlier in the summer) and while I was doing that I was able to contact some other companies I was familiar with. To make a long story short, I found a new job (literally on the way home), and have been working there ever since.
This time you are in now can and will be stressfull. Not knowing what you will do can be depressing, trust me. If you have to make calls, make calls. If you can show up at someone's office in the morning, do that. If it looks like you will be out of work more than a week, get the paperwork started for the UI. I was fortunate, I knew enough people that I knew before I left the office for the last time that I would have a job if I wanted one. If I hadn't been in that boat, I would have started the UI. It doesn't show up on your credit report (or so I've been told), and it will help until you find a new job. You (or your previous employers) have already paid for the UI, USE IT!!
Another suggestion, check with your local landscape companies and see if they need winter help. A lot of landscape companies rely on Hispanics, and many of them head home this time of year, leaving the landscape companies in a pinch for labor.
It all worked out for me, actually for the better. I've got the same pay, more time off, will have a better position than I had, and my wife has insurance. And, I'm 35 minutes closer to home too. I was lucky, I'll admit it. It seemed like everyone I talked to at the time had been laid off at some point in their life too.
It WILL all work out for you in the end. Keep your head up, keep looking, and DON'T give up. Branch out (no pun intended) into other fields if need be, even if it is temporarily.
What a friggin arsehole!
