Surfacing

[Eledhwen]

Sorry lads and lasses, I've been rather preoccupied. My lass lost her job a couple of weeks ago and I too am unemployed. The challenges this presents are many and complex and so my attention is perforce focused on those.

I'll be peeking in, trying to keep up with what's going on.

Siani/Eledhwen

[kaelln]

Hi Siani! It's good to hear from you. I'm sorry to hear about the employment situation. I've spent time unemployed in the past, and as little fun as some jobs are, unemployment is worse. I hope things turn around for you soon!

[Dinendir.]

I too am unemployed. It's good to see you back here and I hope your issue gets resolved rather quickly.

[Peter Remling]

I too have been there, hopefully it won't be too long.

[Mirimaran]

Hail Eledhwen,

I was wondering about you the other day. I am sure something good is just around the corner for you and your lass, so just keep the positive thoughts going. I have been there as well, and it always works out. Your Ranger friends are always here for you!

[Eledhwen]

Thanks for the encouragement guys. I've been here before myself...worse actually; I went homeless for a time twenty some years ago...lived on the side of a local mountain here for a bit.

Harder for a family. We are both over 50. I have been unemployed since '04, unable to get any kind of job or even interview.

Worrisome; the habit of companies today not to hire anyone not currently employed. They are overwhelmed with applicants so they tend not to consider anyone not already employed..unemployed are considered to have 'performance problems'.

Complication: companies refuse to give references but still demand them.

Actions: swamping everyplace with applications. I've been doing that for years but she is too now. Considering offering stuff on Etsy...possibles pouches, hunting bags, haversacks etc. Probably won't amount to much but there it is. Will be selling off a lot of our stuff, giving some away. Not my Ranger gear; might need it.

All of my family are dead, the few who are not are in far worse condition than I am. Most of hers are too...the few who are not are in Hawaii. So we haven't any family to turn to. My son is kind of stressed naturally.

Have a few friends...though with a couple of exceptions none who can or will assist in any way if things get really bad. We're good through August I think, maybe September.

There is time. There is determination. There is will.

The rest of it we'll see.

Thanks again guys.

Siani/Eledhwen

[Dinendir.]

I hope I speak for more than just me, but you do have us to turn to if things get particularly bad.
We'll help in any way we can, just keep us posted.

[Eric C]

I was wondering where you got off to. Terrible news. You are in my prayers. I utterly hate my job and am trying to find another one. But the current job certainly beats the unemployment line. Last year's week-on-week-off schedule taught me that.

[Willrett]

I hope everything works out for you guys soon.

[kaelln]

Eleldhwen, I just wanted to mention, if you have access to a car, pizza delivery can net you from $200 to $500 dollars a week, depending on how close you can get to full-time. The actual pay is low, and management will treat you like the dirt beneath their feet, and it can be dangerous, but you'll leave with money in your pocket every day. Turnover is very high, because they treat you so crappy, which means they always need new people. The best shift is open through rush, that is from around 10 or 11 through 7 or 8, next best would be closing, from 5 through 11 or 12, third would be rush only, from 5 through 9 or 10. Day shift only would be the worst shift. You need that rush business to make day shift worthwhile. If this is an option for you, look for a store that is in an upscale neighborhood. It's safer and more profitable. The more middle class and up the neighborhoods you deliver to, the better for both your pocketbook and your safety.

Pizza places also always need inside help. It's a minimum wage job, unless you get in management, but there is always a need there. The job gets difficult and stressful, especially during rushes, and management tempers can fray quite easily, especially since none of them have any sort of training in dealing with human beings (or anything else, for that matter), so turnover is quite high.

I would have to say that currently, Domino's will treat you better than Papa John's, although I never thought I would say that! Pizza Hut is totally incompetent at delivery. Sometimes small local companies are better than the big chains.

I hope this helps! If there is anything else we can help with, please let us know!

[Eledhwen]

I've tried those types many times over. Still do now and again. But I also live within easy distance of five colleges. Guess who gets those jobs? Certainly not people over 50.

Still, I'm putting in everywhere and anywhere and since I don't have any pride to worry over, that doesn't stop me either. But I do have a child and I have set amounts I must pay to keep a roof over the head...not that it looks like that will happen at this particular moment. If we have to leave here we're still responsible for the rent until the apartment is leased again...lease agreements here have massive exist clauses.. and you guessed it, that's slowing dramatically with the economy dying around us.

Improvise, adapt, overcome. I'm a Marine after all, and I have a LOT of skills....primitive though ost of them are. I can hunt, trap, snare, tan, carve, sew, farm, smith, tinker, and a huge host of other mostly died out (up here) skills. Many of those are, btw, illegal or require licensing...which requires classes...in this state. Funny ain't it?

Somehow we'll get by. Might not be pretty, but we'll find a way.

I don't like to lose. And I am not at all pleased to lie down and play dead. I'm not terribly pleased with this...'system'...either, if you want to call it that. Consumer stuff I mean. Never have been. Not much I can do but get myself and mine out of this for a figurative spit in the eye move.

Semper Fi

Siani/Eledhwen

[Mirimaran]

Keep that fighting spirit up, Eledhwen, and it will see you through. Let us know how the etsy idea works out, I'd love to see what you make and have for sale!

[kaelln]

Sounds like age discrimination. Our store has three drivers over fifty, two of whom are women. College students order lots of pizza, but in my experience, don't tip very well. You're better off with residential neighborhoods, and lots of offices if you're working day shift.

I hate our current employment system too. Our country was better off with the majority of people farming their own land, IMO. Having most people beholden to the "mercy" of corporate employers and the economy has reduced us to indentured servitude, not to mention the effect industrialized agriculture has had on our food supply, farmland and health. The urban farming movement is a heartening step.