Hitting Rock Bottom

Is the glass half empty or is the glass half full?

Well, from where I am standing, at the very rock bottom, you can only go up from here!

Now I call Florida home. the Forgotten Wasteland that they call Ohio has taken enough of my life and given me nothing but hardship.

So, once more, I am starting over. At least I am with my family now. THAT is a big plus.
Anyway, I've lost everything else...

The job scene still looks pretty grim. I guess it's that way all over (unless you're a politician.)

Still keeping my chin up though, at least as much as I can.

:^ )

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

Well, I have had it with the state of the State of Ohio. Whoever says the economy is booming is a Damned Bloody LIAR. With over twenty years of experience in the IT industry, you'd think it would be a no-brainer to get a job.

NOT!

Even the so-called employment agencies are only out to pad their head counts, they don't have their prospects best interests in mind, only their own pockets. And the advertised jobs don't even pay a sustainable wage. There are an incredible number of people working more than one job just to make ends meet. So much for the United States of America that our forefathers created and fought so hard for...

So I am leaving this lousy State and heading out to better prospects. I am also videotaping this life-changing journey for prosperity. Perhaps I will post a clip or two...
Stay tuned!

Falling Down

My, oh my, how things can change in a big way in a short amount of time.

It seems that, after two months, the owner of the machine shop I was working at decided for me that it wasn't the right job for me to be in.

How considerate of him.

So now here I am, one week away from my 48th birthday, unemployed with no more unemployment benefits and having all of my savings used up covering what financial responsibilities my unemployment benefits wouldn't.

I am really at the end of my rope. I am trying to fight off depression, feeling sorry for myself won't help me out. There just don't seem to be any jobs in this area that will provide me with enough income to stay alive and cover my financial responsibilities.

I am sure my soon-to-be ex-wife is gloating.

Reminds me of a Michael Douglas movie...

Pumped

Hey there, me again!

I am getting excited about my life, now. Things are going rather well for me. My job is going great, I am making small amounts of progress in my business, and my personal credit rating keeps on getting better and better!

I am looking forward to the day when my business is able to sustain my modest lifestyle and I can start saving for retirement, which isn't all that far away really.

So anyway, I am making forward progress and keeping my chin up here.

Cheers!

Things Are Starting To Look Up!

After 3-1/2 months of being unemployed and using up the last remaining amount of my unemployment benefits, I have secured employment.

I am now going to be running CNC machinery - something I have never done before and completely unrelated to my career path to this point, but hey, it'll pay the bills (almost).

Anyway, after being screwed by previous employment in the IT industry, I guess a change of tracks might be just the ticket to keeping employed for more than 4 months.

Stay tuned!

What are YOU looking at?

Well, punk?

(okay, I got nuthin')

Just thought I'd shake up the tree a bit and see what falls out.

Is there anybody out there???

What Happened to the United States of America?

I am becoming more and more scared of what is happening to the good ol' US of A. Our elected officials, who WE THE PEOPLE put into office, who are supposed to SERVE THE PEOPLE, who are supposed to have OUR BEST INTERESTS in mind, are completely, and utterly running amok. And not only at the local level, not only at the state level, but all the way to Washington D.C. - right up to, and especially, the President of the United States of America and his cabinet.

People, this isn't Nazi Germany from the 1940's. The government is taking away our civil liberties, one at a time, piece by piece. Our freedoms, the very concepts with which the founding fathers of this country established and fought for, are being consistently eroded to the point of irrelevant uselessness.

Case in point, this poor schmuck was only doing his job. What happens? The political highbrow doesn't like the question and has the reporter arrested. In comes the Gestapo and off goes the reporter. And don't even THINK about taking a picture of the police doing their job. You WILL be arrested. What are they trying to hide?

Now the President screws with our freedom and makes it possible to have any UNITED STATES CITIZEN arrested for ANY reason OR NO REASON AT ALL. A woman in New Hampshire was arrested for MAKING FACES AT A POLICE DOG.

Soon we will all be in state of lockdown IN OUR OWN HOMES. Big Brother isn't coming, ladies and gentlemen, BIG BROTHER IS ALREADY HERE! Try driving through an intersection, passing through a toll booth, or shopping in your favorite store WITHOUT HAVING YOUR PICTURE TAKEN. Soon, the government will know not only what you buy, when, and where you bought it, but the route you took to get there, where you go afterward, who you talked to, what you ate, how much you spent, and what you do online.

Is the United States of America becoming a police state? Will we all be prisoners in our own homes? How far are we away from becoming the communist country that we, not too long ago, defended ourselves from? I am ashamed at what this country is becoming. The government was originally setup to protect and defend its citizens. Now, it seems as if the government is protecting itself FROM its citizens and serving its own out of control needs.

I was once proud to be an American. I still am. But the way this government is treating its citizens just makes me want to puke! I am sure the founders of our country are spinning in their graves. I hope things get better real soon - as in the upcoming election year...

The Amazing Colossal Skyrocketing Price of Gas

It is amazing how much Americans will just go along with anything…
Raise the price of gas to record highs and dumb Americans say:

“Duhhh, okay…”

The sad thing about this is that the rest of American business is keeping a close watch on reactions of Americans to the outrageous, nonchalant screwing raping of the American consumer by the oil overlords because they are ready to jump on the bandwagon in the blink of an eye to cash in on Americans apparent willingness to be docile, drone-like sheep to be so easily lead around by the nose.

Food prices will be next followed closely by utilities and every other profit leech in the country.
Perhaps women won’t notice until the price of shoes doubles or triples. And all of these drones with cell phones permanently attached to the side of their faces won’t notice until the price of service plans doubles.

Hey, since plastics are petroleum-based, do ya think anyone will notice when the price of anything made with plastic (about 95% of EVERYTHING in this country) jumps exceedingly high as with the price of gas?

The excuse that are currently being spoon-fed to the unaware masses in this country will not prevail too much longer; then what will be the excuse for gas price-raping America? The refinery broke and they are waiting on parts? Locusts ate the refinery? In-laws are visiting the
refinery and won’t leave?

Puh-leeze!

SSDD

My, my, my... Here we are at yet another month and nothing has changed.

Am I suprised?

Apparently, it is amusingly obvious that I would have to reply that interrogative in the negative.

Any way, I continue to stomp out little fire that keep popping up here and there, waiting for a speck of good news. I am almost completely moved out of the house now and anticipating the next move in my impending divorce situation. What joy, what bliss...

I keep battling with the school about paperwork, payments, and processing. Even when I faxed them all of the documentation they requested and, amazingly, they cannot locate them! So I repeated the process for them and we shall see if they actually can handle it.

So, for the time being, intrepid readers, that is all I have to say.

Be good or be good at it!

Later!

OMG

Listen, the first thing that I want to make absolutely clear is that I am NOT whining, just stating what is (quite obviously) the facts of the situation here.

Okay, here we go:

I am 47 years old - not an old fart, not a spring chicken either.

I am trying to grow my own company since I cannot seem to hold a job for more than four years. I have been laid off from the past 5 jobs I have had. Who says the economy is good? Assholes!

I am taking online courses in an attempt to earn my Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology. And the financial aid office disables my account because I can no longer afford to pay them what they are demanding.

I am on my 3rd divorce. That's it, I'm done, women are crazy! Period.

I just can't seem to catch a break in all this. I am living one catastrophe after another.
No freakin' stress here... .

My blood pressure is off the scale; you can hear the blood rampaging through my arteries from across the room.

I quit smoking.
I quit drinking.
And God knows I have enough reasons to do both!

My friends don't talk to me anymore.
It seems that even my own family will only talk to me on the Holidays.
I am alone on an uncharted, sinking island and no one can hear me scream.

Okay, I AM whining. So sue me.

WTF

I just don't understand life, I suppose.

The harder you try to get ahead, the more effort you put into tyring to make something of yourself, the more life just seems to flip you off while taking a rather large crap on your head!

It seems to me that today's business environment is reverting back to the days of the industrial revolution where only the rich could afford to advance in society. All us "blue collar" type were relegated to following orders for minimum pay, just enough to survive and serve the company.

If you didn't perform as the company's goon robot managers specified, whether it is due to overload, lack of competent direction, or extreme ass-kissing by co-workers with an peculiarly discolored nose, you are released from employment. They call it a lay off now. Call it what it is - age discrimination.

There is no longer any dedication to the most important aspect of a business - the employee. We have become, once again, a commodity item; a disposable tool; a consumable supply of inexhaustible quantity. We suffer the indignities of insufficient paychecks, we endure the caterwauling of insolent owners and the browbeating of incompetent managers, we bear the consequences of the foul ups and blunders caused by nonchalant mismanagement, we allow ourselves to be raped and gouged by the oil barons running this country, and we carry the burden of corrupt and illegal taxation inflicted upon us by our very own government.

And no one says a damn thing.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone. I certainly hope that this will be both a safe and prosperous year for you all.

One thing that left me in quite a stirred state was a video I saw at http://www.freedomtofascism.com/ produced by Aaron Russo ("The Rose", "Trading Places") and, quite frankly, it left me scared and pissed-off. Some of the reviews went something like this:

"This is a movie you MUST see. This is a movie the government MUST keep you from seeing." ~ By Mike Rivero, WhatReallyHappened.com

" A thought-provoking clarion call for the masses to wake up before it's too late."
~ Kam Williams, The Black Star News

"See this cinematic call to arms..."
~ Jeff Craig, Sixty Second Review

"The scariest film you'll see this year. Makes Fahrenheit 9/11 look like Bambi."
~ Todd David Schwartz

From the website:

Determined to find the law that requires American citizens to pay income tax, producer Aaron Russo ("The Rose," "Trading Places") set out on a journey to find the evidence. This film which is neither left, nor right-wing is a startling examination of government. It exposes the systematic erosion of civil liberties in America since 1913 when the Federal Reserve system was fraudulently created. Through interviews with U.S. Congressmen, a former IRS Commissioner, former IRS and FBI agents and tax attorneys and authors, Russo connects the dots between money creation, federal income tax, and the national identity card which becomes law in May 2008. This ID card will use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips which are essentially homing devices used to track people. This film shows in great detail and undeniable facts that America is moving headlong into a fascist police state. Wake up

Chilling. Absolutely frightening to the extreme.

Please, take a bit of time to check this out.

This is the United States of America we are talking about.

Some individual are taking this once-great nation and turning it into a stinking sewage pit.

It's about time this country, "of the people, by the people" stands up and returns it to the great glory and shining symbol of freedom and democracy for which it once stood.