Friday the 13th.

KevinJarvis · Post by **KevinJarvis** » 13 Mar 2009, 20:58

It's usually been a good day for me. I mean, after all, it is Friday.

But due to the poor economy I lost my job today. So, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be online as now I'll have to cut my budget even more.

I won't bore you with all the things that I must now due but suffice to say this is more than a major roadblock.

I hope to stick around as long as possible and if not I hope to be back online soon. But things don't look good at the moment.

I just want to thank everyone here at MAIW for everything.

KJ

Paul · Post by **Paul** » 13 Mar 2009, 21:45

I'm really sorry to here that Kevin. Hopefully you'll be able to find a job quickly. Times are tough all over. The local news said, here, in Washington State, over 93,000 people have filed for unemployment last month alone. The Unemployment Office actually hire more people to take calls and process the paper work. Hopefully you'll be able to stay online, but you got to do what you got to do to stay in means of your budget. Please keep us informed.

Best wishes

Paul

Jumpshot724 · Post by **Jumpshot724** » 13 Mar 2009, 22:08

I hear ya brother. I lost my job about 2 months ago. Good luck in your search, it'll all work out in the end

drydocker · Post by **drydocker** » 13 Mar 2009, 23:02

Sorry to that Kevin. Hope everything works out for you.

Post by **BadPvtDan** » 13 Mar 2009, 23:23

Keep your head up and think positive. Never let this kind of thing defeat your spirit.

MIKE JG · Post by **MIKE JG** » 13 Mar 2009, 23:41

8 months and counting for me sans employment, so I feel your pain. I enjoy having the weekends off but it's having Monday-Friday off as well that's killing me.

Kevin it may not be too late to pick up some temporary work with the US Census Bureau. I just got the official "your hired" call yesterday. They hire for 8 week stints at a time and will be doing so through May of 2010 as they gear up to take this next census. The pay ranges from about $12-$18/hour depending on where you will be working (they try to keep you in your home area) plus mileage for any driving you do. It's not much, but it's at least money coming in and the hours are very flexible which allows you to job search during your time off.

All I had to do was take a simple test which I did back in January and essentially not be a convicted felon. They give preferential treatment for veterans as well.

Here's the link if you or anyone else reading this is interested:

http://www.census.gov/hrd/www/

mr.bean · Post by **mr.bean** » 14 Mar 2009, 00:29

I'm sorry KJ.

Post by **Firebird** » 14 Mar 2009, 07:05

Commiserations, Kev.

Its understandable that you have to do what you have to do. I hope that you are able to stay attached, if not I hope that things improve soon and are able to get reattached.

ronniegj · Post by **ronniegj** » 15 Mar 2009, 14:52

The best of luck to you Kevin.

You might want to think a little more about going off-line. Dump cable and expensive high-speed connections first. Use cheap dial-up. The internet can be a hugh job hunting tool, as well as cheap entertainment. Just don't spend too much of you time on line when you should be going out for interviews, etc. BTW, my 'adventure' began about 5 years ago. I found out that I didn't really need TV period, but eventually went retro and got a set of rabbit ears, and finally, using the government supplied red card, got a converter for $9 at Wally World. Beware of depression, it can creep in. Remember that you are no less a person than you were before. You may have to be prepared to accept a change in direction. You may have to accept that you will be restarting at a lower level than you had achieved, but you will make it if you stick with it.

Mikes' suggestion about the census is a damned good one - get started on it quick, it will take a little time to navigate through the gov't hiring process. In the mean time, don't think twice about low pay part time (ie Mickey D's, Walmart or whatever) as having a little come in is better than nothing coming in, and if you go for PM work, you can devote the normal workday hours to running down a 'real' job. Most important is to never give up.

Lots of love to you man. We are all pulling for you!

Ron

KevinJarvis · Post by **KevinJarvis** » 15 Mar 2009, 15:07

I'm prolly going to have to dump cable next. Problem is, dial up is around here is almost just as expensive. I don't have a land line anymore and that will cost me almost $35/month, then add on the service at at cheap rate, $10/month and I'm right at the price I'm paying for cable.

Then, I do all my banking online, which I can change I guess.

The worst part is I do all my job hunting online too. Employers around here don't do cold calls or even take applications. It's all done online. I'll have to use the library or the unemployment office for that.

Worst thing is, I have a sick wife at home that requires constant medical treatment. Without insurance this is going to be a huge setback for her.

Add to that the fact that we've been trying to get her on disability for the last 4 years. We called out lawyer on Friday and told them that without insurance we couldn't be taking her to all 6 of her doctors for very long. They said if we don't, the chance of getting the disability will be very poor. Hows that for yet another kick in the groin..??

Sometimes I wonder if getting out of bed is even worth the effort anymore.

Thanks for all the well wishes guys.

Post by **f47420** » 15 Mar 2009, 15:37

Kevin hope thing work out soon .It a bad time for a lot of poeple at the moment. Just have to stay with it and hope it is all over soon.

Mark..

ronniegj · Post by **ronniegj** » 15 Mar 2009, 16:24

For a while I got internet for $9 a month from my phone company, but had to maintain minimum phone service (another $40) to have it, so eventually converted to Clearwire at $34 per month. Not as fast as ADSL or cable, but in off hours am able to stream video quite well. Instead of regular land line phone, converted to Virgin Mobile pay as you go at $20 once each 90 days. Of course had to learn to not used the phone unnecessarily and be very careful to whom you give the number, as salesmen will call to make a pitch, using up your minutes. I now have over $100 of minutes in the bank, and can have all the phone use I desire. Had to learn the art of short conversations, use e-mail for all that newsie chit chat shit - also skype works great, and is free!

I too use the net for all my banking, bill paying and most of my shopping. At worst, I have to pay the same sales tax, but on a better base price, and don't spend on gas to visit the stores etc. No envelopes and postage, and heavy stuff gets delivered to my door! Can't do without the net in my life.

Dump cable fast, as it is the highest outgo for the least incoming. If you must watch movies then Netflix, not local rental, and screw the movie channel.

The faster you convert to minimums the better. You gotta save every penny you can. SAMS/Costco can be your friend, but spend wisely.

The insurance issue is the worst nightmare. I really feel for you, and don't have any advice to pass on. I'm so gratefully that I paid in by serving 20+ years, earning lifetime care at some level. Without it, I'd be in a real pickle. Hope you can find something very soon.

Ron

MIKE JG · Post by **MIKE JG** » 15 Mar 2009, 16:32

Kevin, hang in there buddy, it's been tough at times for me as well but I can't imagine what you are going through. Wasn't there a law passed just in the past few weeks that said if you lost your job, your employer still has to offer you insurance, albeit at a higher cost, for a set period of time?? I know I heard about that somewhere.

I know what you mean about needing the internet. All of my job hunting has been done via the net. Although networking has been just as important. But like you said, pretty much every place has an online application now with the "don't call us, we'll call you request". It makes it very difficult to follow up on any applications. Things have certainly changed in how you go about applying for a job these days.

As I've found, there are jobs out there, but for the most part, they're not in the area that I live. If you can afford to move, that might be your best bet, at least that's the conclusion that I've come to after 8 months of not even getting an interview.

Check out the site http://www.indeed.com There you can set up automatic job searches that will email you a list of openings on a daily basis if you want. That and sites like http://www.Monster.com and http://www.CareerBuilder.com are also good places to search. If you have to give up your home internet connection, don't forget most libraries have free internet access these days. That's always a place to go for a free internet connection. Many of them even have free wireless inside the premises.

Also don't forget about social networking sites like http://www.facebook.com You just may be able to make contact with an old friend who can help, you just never know these days.

Hang in there but don't be afraid to do what you have to do. I personally don't think things will get better until sometime in 2010. That's a long ways off still so this is gonna be painful for everyone.

MIKE JG · Post by **MIKE JG** » 15 Mar 2009, 16:43

I forgot to mention that http://www.usajobs.com is also a good site to search for government jobs. Pretty much every Federal job posting is on this site and I think you have to apply through this site from now on.