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Just Rambling on
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Thought of the day:
*What you see depends on what you're looking for*
Sunday Brunch
***Sunday Brunch has a new web site***
Do It Yourself
Would you be able to do these things yourself or have someone do it for you?
1. 1. Fix a flat tire.
Have someone else do it for me.
2. Fix a tear or make alterations to clothing.
Do it myself, as long as I didn't require a sewing machine. (I know how to use a sewing maching, I just don't have one.)
3. Unclog a severely plugged up sink or toilet.
Have someone else do it for me. (Unless it's something that I can take care of with a plunger.)
4. Change the oil in your car.
Have someone else do it for me.
5. Put together an unassembled toy or piece of furniture out of the box.
Do it myself, as long as I had the directions and the necessary tools.
Please forgive my mood and my ranting today. It's about 40 degrees outdoors, so it feels more like winter. We're broker than broke, and it's just going to get worse unless John finds a job. We used to be broke, but we're way beyond that. I've been trying to sleep without taking sleeping pills to save money, so I have had many restless nights. My frustration level is at an all time high today. So, thanks for letting me vent, and I'm sure I'll feel better. I may even end on a positive note!
Feedback Needed:
Is the blue font difficult to read? Was the pale green better? Would you suggest a different color? I'd appreciate your feedback. :)
Update on the Week:
Thursday was the local NAPM meeting, and I saw Terry for the first time since January, in addition to the new friends I met at last month's meeting. Part of the meeting was about the state of the economy. Yes, it's improving, but job growth is not recovering at the same pace as the rest of the economy, and consumer debt is increasing at an alarming rate. I could have told you that without having to analyze data!
The week went by very quickly. I think that it's partly because Spring is finally here, and there's more stuff to do that I enjoy doing. The weather still changes quickly, and, actually, last night it went down into the 30's, but the sun is shining nd the temperatures are warmer during the day (except for today). Kimberly gave me her wicker couch, and I have that on the front porch now. The grass is green and the buds on the trees are turning into leaves. My daffodils are getting a little past prime, but other signs of life are showing in the flower beds. Other bulbs, perennials, vines, and rose bushes are getting taller and greener.
I raked all the leftover fall leaves out of the flower beds, and trimmed back the vinca vine. I found some dandelion flowers for the rabbit, which are one of her favorite treats. I replanted some houseplants, and planted others that had been in water re-rooting.
I have marigold, nasturtium, gourd, and morning glory seeds to plant, but it's still a little early. I have the worst luck starting seeds indoors and transplanting the seedlings, so I'll just wait until the weather gets to be a more consistant. Actually, we're playing with the idea of moving somewhere else this summer to get away from noisy neighbors, but that isn't going to be a possibility until John finds a full time job.
The new job has been going better. I'm learning new things, and the boss hasn't been as grouchy, at least toward me. Part of my job is obtaining return merchandise authorizations. While some companies are easy to deal with, others (no names mentioned), are a major pain. Being on hold forever, having to repeat information, and getting disconnected has been frustrating.
Since my car accident, I can not comfortably cradle the phone between my head and shoulder, so I can't multi-task well while I'm talking to someone. If I know I'm going to be on hold for a while, I do have the option of speaker phone, however. My boss is looking into getting me a headseat for the phone, and one of the techs and I were talking about the benefits of having wireless headsets. Maybe someday in the future...
In the past week, I've heard from 3 people that I had lost contact with. All of these people are presently unemployed. 2 are former co-workers from WNYCS, and the other one is from South Carolina. I've heard people from NY say they are thinking about moving to the Carolina's because there are more jobs there. But, the unemployment problem is everwhere!
Job Search Update:
Nothing new here. I still know way too many people that are job searching, so please continue sending me job leads. John got the typical, "although we are impressed with your qualifications..." rejection letters from his interviews a couple of weeks ago, but has one interview scheduled for next week. Kevin still hasn't found any work to help him out while he waits to go back to his contract job.
Unless someone is job searching themselves, they have a hard time comprehending how bad the job market and the unemployment situation is. First off, most major companies have the bulk of their employees in other countries besides the United States. A major company that starts with "DE", for example, only has 20% of its workforce in the United States. More and more companies are either outsourcing or setting up operations in other countries.
The March unemployment rate was 5.7% according to the US Dept. of Labor, but it's was 6.7% for NY State, and 7.0% for Ontario County, according to the NY State Dept of Labor. These rates are based on people who are collecting unemployment benefits, and do not include those that have exhausted their benefits, were not entitled to unemployment benefits, or chose not to apply for whatever reason. This does not even include job seekers that are new to the job force, such as recent high school or college graduates, people that are self-employed, but not finding enough work to be able to survive, or people that have just moved here, or displaced homemakers re-entering the job force. As you can see, there are a lot of job seekers looking for employment in an economy where there are too few opportunities available.
But wait, there are even more job seekers adding to the competition in finding a new job. There are people that are currently employed, but are unhappy and looking for a new opportunity or a second job. Either they are concerned that their company will do more layoffs, or they're working a job below their skill level, or a job that doesn't pay enough. Also, there are family members that didn't need to work before, but are finding they need to bring in additional income in order to maintain the standard of living that they are accustomed to.
There are millions of people looking for jobs, and not enough jobs being created for all of them!
I've also found that some people have the wrong impression of unemployment benefits. There is nothing glamorous about being on umemployment. You get less than half of what you used to make, and there are no benefits. If you go through COBRA to keep health insurance benefits, you could have to pay almost your entire unemployment benefit to maintain it. If you opt to go without health insurance, you could find yourself in an emergency situation where you would owe more to a hospital than you could make in a lifetime. Or, if you have a lapse in coverage, you could find out that your new health insurance will not pay for certain things, simply because you had a lapse in coverage. (You have to love insurance companies for throwing that stipulation in there!)
If you, or someone you know, is unemployed and not finding employment, please visit this online petition to extend unemployment benefits. However, I really feel that the answer to this problem is to create more jobs so there is enough for everyone. I do not understand why the government isn't doing more to encourage job growth. After all, the more people that are working, the more money they can collect in the form of income tax.
Until I was laid off last year, I didn't comprehend the joblessness situation correctly either. In my viewpoint, I was pissed off that my husband could only find off and on contract jobs or odd jobs while I worked full time. The husband is supposed to be the breadwinner, and someone you can rely on to provide for you, right? I knew that he was trying, but I felt he had to try harder. The few months that he was working helped stretch out his unemployment benefits, yet, I was pissed off about being so broke all the time.
Then .... WHAM!!! Shortly after he started another contract job, I was unexpectedly laid off myself. I figured I'd find something by the end of his contract job, but, of course life doesn't always work that way. Then, we were both job searching together, and running into dead ends. His unemplyment benefits ended in February. Life was miserable, and there didn't seem to be any hope.
March was a more promising month, with more interviews, and 2 job offers for me. I chose the permanent position over the temporary position even though it paid less. I continued to help John and others look for new opportunities, and started seeing more opportunities for me, but not so many for everyone else. Ethical dilema: do I honor my commitment to grouchy boss in the lower paying job, or start applying elsewhere? I'm a loyal person, but where did my loyalty to WNYCS get me? (Aside: my loyalty did get me a nice severance package and off of a sinking ship, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.) So, I'm honoring my commitment. But if my loyalty gets me kicked in the head again, I forsee myself becoming a very bitter, bitchy person.
MacKenzie Update:
MacKenzie has another tooth! She was over yesterday, and I took a lot of pictures. However, the batteries on the camera were dying, and I didn't have replacement batteries, so most of the pictures didn't turn out. :`(
On a positive note, I'll leave you with some recent pictures of Kevin and Kenzie:
Thanks for reading!
©-ann marie-
What was happening...
ONE YEAR AGO?
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