One Year
One year. It has been one full year since I have had a job. I am still on “the public teet” as Uncle Mike would say, but I know that will eventually end. I never imagined that I would be unemployed a year later ~ I have “always” had a job.
I got my first job at the age of 9 working for a family business ~ my Grandparent’s Bar/Bowling Alley/Restaurant, and continued to work there until I was around 19. I also worked at my Dad’s retail business from around age 12 until I was 18, then I started getting “real” jobs. I have never gone more than a few months without employment, so this is really strange for me.
I have done the usual job searching, including extensive “cold calling” to get my resume in front of HR executives, CEOs & Presidents, and department heads ~ nothing. I have had interviews, and have been very close on a couple of occasions to getting offers, only to hear “nothing but crickets”. I had one opportunity fall through in March that I STILL cannot believe I didn’t get !
Throughout this past year I have prayed, searched & meditated extensively to try and “figure this all out”. The only conclusion I’ve really come to is that He knows where I’ll be, what I will be doing, and when I start ~ and that sometimes there isn’t always something for ME to figure out…
And Then There Was (Almost) One
As is family tradition on Slim’s side, we ventured to the Baltimore area the Friday after Thanksgiving for another Thanksgiving with the kin in Maryland. I love that part of the country, and Uncle Mike, Aunt Mary and Anastasia have a beautiful home and property. It’s always great to see everyone, and as usual, there was an abundance of food – including a bushel of Chesapeake Bay Oysters, thanks to Karl & Barb. There is nothing like fresh shucked Oysters !
Mike & Mary have a nicely landscaped back yard that sits on a hillside, and includes a couple of ponds. The yard is mostly fenced in, so we thought we’d leave Roxie & Terra off of their leashes to explore the vast yard. Every now and again I would get a “visual” to make sure that Rox didn’t run off, and that Terra didn’t get abducted by a chupacabra or something. Also, many of us were outside enjoying the sun and some fresh pirozhki – footballs as we call them.
All was going smoothly until I heard a large splash ! Since I knew that Terra – aka Fatty – would be where the food was I yelled for Roxie. “Roxie COME ! ROXIE COME !” – nothing. I ran down the hill to find that she had fallen through the ice on the larger pond ! She was about in the middle, with her top half exposed, nails digging into the ice. I called her but she wouldn’t even look in my direction – she was paralyzed with fear, wimpering lightly. I pulled off my socks and shoes and went in and got her, delivering 45 pounds of wet, shivering canine safely back to shore.
Roxie HATES water, so this was a nightmare scenario for her ! Even bathing her is very traumatic, and she shakes the whole time – tries to escape the tub also. I can only think that because the pond was algae covered and frozen that she thought it was just more of the yard. I am obviously very thankful that we were outside and that I heard what happened, or we might be one dog short today ! I can’t wait to visit again to see if Roxie has a flashback when I take her back to that spot. She may not be smartest dog in the yard, but she’s got the memory of an elephant…
Signs of the Times
While driving along the North Coast last Sunday, Slim and I both observed something : almost every political sign in front of the multi-million dollar homes of the “old money” and “nouveau riche” were in support of the McCain/Palin ticket. Today, as I was driving through one of Cleveland’s “Trendy & Cool” neighborhoods, chock full of hipsters, gays & young apartment dwellers – the opposite. The only signs to be found were Obama/Biden, and I thought about the interesting contrast, especially since the two areas are only separated by a short distance.
Speaking of, LeBron James and Jay-Z are throwing a free concert at Quicken Loans Arena in support of Obama/Biden. As I passed through downtown, I noticed a line of about 75 people outside of Consumer Credit Counseling – how sad I thought. Driving through Lakewood past the O/B Headquarters I noticed several hundred people in line for the free tickets. Upon further review, the people downtown were doing the same, so I guess it wasn’t as sad as I originally surmised.
O/B’s campaign team has been out in force, trying to register voters and rally support – something I have not seen much evidence of from Mc/P. I have even been visited at home multiple times. I am not personally voting for either candidate for my own reasons, but I think it’s fairly clear that Obama will be our next President…
And Then There Were Two
Annabelle the cat, aka “Belle”, “Stewmeat”, “Keeper of The Underworld”, “Fat B*stard” and “R. Kelly” has passed; in Lakewood, age 15. She stopped eating this week, and was diagnosed with late-stage kidney failure with basically zero chance for recovery – she went down hill extremely fast.
Lisa could not bear to see it, so I went back to the vet’s to “be there” at about 3:20pm today. I told her she had a “good run”, especially being a rescue cat. As I scratched her head she just purred away, eyes closed, then she quickly drifted off. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to put a pet down, and I felt bad – really bad, since she was still very alert albeit very sick.
Besides Slim and I, she leaves behind her partners in crime our two dogs, Roxie and Terra…
Censorship
Update : No report on China’s official website about murdered American Tourist ( 9 Aug 08 )
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Update : Article on International Herald Tribune ( 2 May 08 ) http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/01/asia/letter.php
Originally posted in March 2008 : I tried to find a Chinese word for censorship, but it doesn’t appear to exist. Censorship exists – but there just isn’t a word for it other than “government”. This should surprise no one since the “People’s Republic”, at the end of the day, is a Communist state. And what do Communists do best ? Control virtually EVERY aspect of of their citzenry’s life. What they read, what they listen to, internet access – even the number of children you can have.
I think we all know what goes on in China – it’s only been happening since the “Republic’s” inception in 1949 (and before). Without going into every violation of human rights that the government is guilty of, I just want to bring up something I noticed on the internet. It should surprise, again, no one.
Tibet has been protesting against Chinese control for quite some time. Recently the Tibetan people, and especially monks in particular, have held large-scale protests that have often led to violence. This week is no different – two people were killed, cars overturned, fires set and people arrested. What was most surprising to me was that ALL the major international news agencies reported on the situation, and it was normally the lead story. After checking 3 or 4 CHINESE news agencies, I could not find a single story on anything related to the Tibetan conflict. Watch your back, Taiwan…
Customer Service – Alive and Well !
I journeyed to The Home Depot today in Rocky River, a CLE suburb that borders Lakewood on the West End. I was just running in for a minute, but I had to use the little boy’s room first – when ya gotta go, ya gotta go. What I witnessed was a classic moment in Big Box Store Customer Service. It kind of helps one to understand why it takes so long to get phone help.
As I wandered back to the restrooms, I heard a guy on his cordless phone tell a customer “It was in this week’s ad ? I’ll have to go look at it – please hold.” He then preceeded to the restroom ahead of me (at least he washed his hands after), moseyed through the store with no sense of urgency whatsoever, and located the “ad rack” by the entrance. He then – with the same lack of enthusiasm – meandering back to the Kitchen Department. When he went to retrieve his phone from his pocket to address the customer’s question he dropped the phone, with the battery ejecting across the floor – dropped call !
Obviously I was shadowing him (from a distance – he didn’t know) to see how this played out, and it basically went exactly as I thought it would, except for the “dropped call” part. Now I can better understand why it takes FOREVER to get telephone questions answered at these places – I really don’t think most employees care. As stated, when ya gotta go, ya gotta go, but maybe they shouldn’t take the customer with them when they do…
“I’ve Got Those Unemployment Blues…”
OK – not really. Oh, I’m unemployed right now, I just don’t have the blues about it. I was actually going to start looking for another position in September, but once again “fate” played it’s hand. My position was “eliminated by upper management” on Friday, June 6th.
I was employed by this company since April 2005 in Supply Chain Management and did not really enjoy my position, so I quit in July of 2007 – if you look in my archives I posted about it. To make a long story short, they “hired” me back the next morning for a position in Facilities Management. I actually gave them 6 weeks notice when I resigned, so I really never left the company. I thought it was going to be a great situation but as stated earlier – I would be looking in the Fall.
This kind of thing has happened to me twice before, so it was old hat. I was part of a large down-sizing in 1996 and again in 2004. Ironically, if I would have still been employed by the company that let me go in 2004, I would have lost my job at the end of May as that company has closed. Maybe I need to attract stronger companies !
My situation this time is a bit different than the previous ones too. First off, the weather - then it was Winter, now it is Summer (almost) – YES ! I am also in a much better place financially as I had many more financial obligations and expenses than I do now. As I have stated before in this forum, Slim and I try to live simple lives. Society and marketing tries to tell people that they deserve the best, and of COURSE you can afford it. Not falling “victim” to that logic helps a lot.
I’m not about to say that we’re on Easy Street, but we’re OK. I will continue to cut coupons, shop for food bargains, hit the ethnic markets, and buy inexpensive cuts of meat that I can prepare using methods that make them fabulous ! We will curtail some spending, but for the most part we will not really have to change our lifestyle since we practiced these habits already. I also have close to a month of my normal salary & benefits, and there is always unemployment benefits.
As for my job search – I’m not, really. At this point in my life, I want to do something I will enjoy, not just collect a paycheck. I am working around the house and yard, completing projects and keeping up The Estate. I’m riding my bike more, working on my jump-shot & walking about town. I am not planning to put the financial burden on Slim, just taking some time off to figure this all out. God knows what He’s doing, and also what I’ll be doing – I just have to find what it is…
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Time…to plant !
As many of you know, I LOVE to be in the kitchen. And you may also remember my love of gardening – this year is no exception, with almost everything in the ground already. We even had some plants survive the Winter, which for NE Ohio, was very mild. Now, on with the show !
Surviving for a first time were two of the three Rosemary plantings. They normally perish under cover of snow, but these hearty fellows made it through ! So did some Parsley, Oregano, Lemon Thyme and Sage. I’m not saying they grew back this Spring – I was able to use them all Winter ! Not bad when you can cut fresh herbs in the middle of “The Off Season” as I call it.
Returning for yet another year also are Chives, Leeks, Green Onions, Mint, Strawberries and others. We were also pleasantly surprised to see that our Mesclun Mix (salad greens) came back – right now we could probably make side salads for ten, and we’re just getting started ! Slim planted a “Butterfly Garden” last year, and the Lavender is doing well, along with Chamomile and other fragrants.
Along with the typical crops : Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Squash, Zucchini, Peppers, Eggplant & Basil, we have added Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts – yep, Brussels Sprouts. I put my own twist on Sprouts, so don’t cringe just yet. I don’t boil them or steam them like our ancestors – mine are excellent ! I cut them in half, saute them in Peanut Oil with Salt & Pepper until the outside begins to carmelize, then finish them with Butter – Yummo !
We are also adding Grapes this year. Eventually I’d like to make wine, but for now they’re just for eating. I plan on trying my hand at cheese making, sausage making and Charcuterie (dry curing meats – think Salami and Sopressata) at some point. It would be amazing to serve our friends & family a complete non-vegetarian meal “made” entirely on site, but currently Lakewood does not allow livestock within the city limits. Hmmm…maybe I should run for Mayor…
