Motivation. Is This Video True?

Still Hanging In

Finally put info on the "net" services - messed up and allowed email address to be seen on one of them - getting a lot of spam messages. Be sure to put privacy on on your posts if you decide to do it.
I'm not much into coupons - but I have been monitoring them on the internet. There is a coupon for everything. I'll be adding coupon blogs to the site in the near future.

I started another blog - Tales From The Pulp Side.  It is supposed to be a little humorous - send me your stories if you have any.

Looks like there will be a lot of activity in the tri-county area in the next 9 to 12 months - so - keep your hopes up.

Hitting The Wall

I finally did it - hit the wall that is. I thought I was doing fine. No emotional breakdowns. This loosing your job thing was just another problem to tackle. Well, I was at a board meeting, discussion budget cuts and layoffs, and was overcome with emotion. Don't know why, but I had about a 15 minute time period where it was difficult to speak. It passed, and I was fine again, but it goes to show you just never know how things will affect your deep down emotional state.

On a plus side, my forced vacation has given me an opportunity to do things that have not been possible before - such as serving as a "Model UN" judge. I've known a little about the program, because two of my sons participated, but this was an interesting experience - watching high school students act out on the "world stage".  It made for a very long, but rewarding day. I was able to see the future, and it looked pretty bright.

Keeping in Contact

I have really enjoyed the visits when folks have reached out to make contact so I started to make contacts with some of the folks in my situation. Hopefully, we can stay in touch for the long haul.

Visiting the Employment Security Commission was a little awkward, but the  folks were really nice and held a group meeting for some of those displaced with me. It was like "old home" week. I was glad to see everyone was in good spirits and the Security Commission folks did an excellent job explaining things.

Next up was a visit with the consultant the company hired to help with outplacement services. These folks are on task to push everyone to get active in finding other employment. They've given everyone "homework" to complete before their next visit. Time to get to work.

Staying Busy Helps

As luck would have it, the first week was really busy with two fund raising events and a third that came from a fund raiser. Elaine's Cooking School was particularly good since the "guys" got to help and the food was delicious.

One recipe from the event was Almond 'Sweet' Tea - a nice treat for the distinguished Southerner who cherishes sweet tea. The formula:
4 c. strong tea
3 1/4 c. water
1 six-ounce frozen lemonade
1 c. sugar
1/2 to 1 t. almond extract
Serve over crushed ice - but double the recipe, because most frozen lemonade comes in 12 oz. cans and - you just can't have too much sweet tea.

There is another version you may want to try. Something to compete with Charleston's Firefly. Substitue Amaretto for almond extract and call it, "Momma's recipe".

Boy, Do I Feel Better!

Day two was similar to day one - but there was one distinct difference. Boy, did I feel better. I guess I didn't realize how depressing it was to work where you couldn't spend money because of financial troubles.

And my work group was the best in the company!

With the burden of making equipment work without using good maintenance gone,  a huge weight had been lifted. I didn't know how bad it was. I do worry about those who are left.

I know folks think that I'm not answering the phone, but this has been a really busy week. I just haven't been home all that much. I've also given myself the luxury of waiting a week before doing any serious work on leaving the "unemployed".

Paranoia

I decided to make my first day of unemployment a busy one. Rising at the usual time of 5 am, I read the papers, checked email, and then went to the Y to work out. Stopped by the church to volunteer, home for a brief lunch, back to town for a meeting, and home late in the afternoon.

Checking voice messages, there were a lot from friends I used to work with. I never gave much thought to making phone calls when I was the one with the job, but I really did enjoy the conversation. I do believe it was much harder on those left than on me. I've made a mental note to do a better job making contacts in the future.

An interesting side note, no one called me from a "company" phone and no one used "company" email to contact me. I asked a few and they just didn't want to take any chances.

Volunteering at church was food for the soul. The ladies sure were a joy to work with. Oh, I also got news for a couple of job opportunities. All-in-all, a good day.