The last six months....

[ewoss3]

Terry, glad to see your starting to get some results in ther job search area. I had been wondering how you where doing but have not been on-line in several months. They have been working me like a dog trying to get me back in the optical mode and brainwashing the data junk out of my head. It has been a very long six month for several of my friends and co-workers. Of the 6 laid off in my center, only one is still in the telecom field, most have had to take jobs in sales or the food industry. But it also seems that the five in other fields are happier and have a whole lot less stress on them.

Glad the holidays went well and hopefully we will all have a great New Year. Keep in touch

 

[TerryinMD]

To all, thank you for the words of encouragement.

Got a coup de grace yesterday... What else could one expect!! /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif The VEC finally sent a form letter (personal touch mind you!!!) informing me that the unemployment benefits have run out. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif Now, where is that Plan B documentation.... ack... have to write it!!! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

I was hoping to be employed by now, but it looks like this may carry on for a little longer. I might have a job soon, but then again.... I'm not really all that gloomy or depressed about the current turn of events. There is always some light at the end of the tunnel. There are always ways of earning a living. Just some adjustments and everything will work out for the best.

In a similar vein, other family friends in the trades are beginning to feel the economic downturn. Up until the past month, construction was still going on. However, the jobs are finishing up and the building industry in our area is feeling the crunch. It looks like the trickle down effect has finally hit the other industries. /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif

I'm not trying to paint an ugly picture, but just telling it as it is. I find it interesting that the media has not picked up on the other economic fallouts. Especially here in the DC Metro area. Time will tell. Let us all hope that we don't see an economic downturn like the one in the early 80's. That was not a pleasant time.

Terry

 

[Gfranklin]

The Dr. said to "lose weight and exercise". You have lost 20#, the growing garden means more exercise AND seat time plus there are indicators that, financially the gunnels are staying above the wave troughs. I think you actually bought some lifetime, seriously. Maybe you could be a writer in your next job!

Thanks for sharing
Greg

 

[Jeff396]

Sorry to hear about your situation but I enjoyed reading the account. We are just coming out of the same thing.....sort of. My wife got layed off on September 4th, 2002. We are a one income family where I stay home and take care of the kids. She did end up finding something which she started last week but the base pay cut was substantial. With the incentives we would be in the pink but I have doubts about reaching the company goals in this economy. At least it slowed down the bleeding bank accounts. Fortunately we had bank accounts that could bleed I guess./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Now I'm looking for something that I can do out of the house. After this summer I will have both kids in school and some spare time on my hands. Anyways, good luck with your search.

Jeff

 

[TerryinMD]

Very good picture of your boys...... that is what life is all about!! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

It is interesting to hear that you want to find something to do work out of your home. I am hearing a lot more people saying the same thing. Corporate life has been very good (relative term here) for the past few years and we have been riding the waves of financial happiness (well, at least we thought we were in some cases!!). When the economy is good, corporate life is good. When the economy is bad, you find out the realities of corporate life and the people you work for. Corporate life is "it's all about me!!!"

People are finding out that it pays to strike it out on your own and have some control of your life. There are many opportunities in this country and all one has to do is to find the one that suits you the best. Go to your local book store and grab some of the Home Business opportunity magazines. You will be amazed at the number of home based businesses available.

We are trying one ourselves. I will not get into details here since I do not wish to use this forum as a form of free advertising. Not fair to all the TBN members. Nevertheless, I have decided that I will try to get back to work to use it as a funding mechanism for our future ventures. Plus having the medical benefits. Since we have figured out how to live on less, we should be able to save money and prepare to do it on our own. As a matter of fact, my wife was invited to join another Farmers market that is just forming in our area. That is great news... the next step in our grand plan. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Terry

 

[Cacinok]

Terry,

Sorry to hear about the job loss. Glad to see your positive attitude.

I had a thought about increasing the size of your garden. Before we bought our property, my wife convinced the owner of our rental home to allow us to tear up her grass and plant a garden (not sure how my wife did it). The part that applies to your situation is this a friend of my wife who also lived in a rental home traded my wife labor in the garden for a small portion of the produce. You may want to look at your neighbors property and see if you could find one willing to swap letting you lease their property for a portion of the produce or in exchange for bush hogging their fields etc.

My grandparents raised eight kids and never made more than $30,000 in a year, but they did barter a lot. They were always trading for what they needed. It's definitely more work than simply walking into the store and buying something, but its much cheaper in the long run. My grandparents also kept about a sixth month food supply for just such situations. My wife and I have only achieved a 3 month supply, but we're hoping to get more into gardening and increase this a lot.

In my opinion, I think many people have forgotten how to be self sufficient. I applaud you and your family for finding ways to survive.

Clint

 

[TerryinMD]

My, my, my... time sure does fly /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

The last couple of months have been a roller coaster. And the ride is over!!! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I have finally landed a position. My forced vacation is over and I'm going back to work. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Off the dole... Alarm clocks... traffic... hey, wait... /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

So, thanks for all the kind words my friends and I'll be checking the board as often as I can.

Terry

 

[Bird]

Congratulations, Terry. That really is good news! Glad to hear it.

 

[Egon]

Good show Terry.

Egon

 

[RoyJackson]

Hey Terry!! Really happy for ya (if you're happy, that is!!)

So, what kind of work are you doing? Same field?