Post #24,064
1/12/02 4:46:52 PM
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OK Norm, but..
How much of that XXXXX did you save when it was coming in without a hitch - for buying yourself some next training? relocation? ___? expenses + the freedom to actually Choose -- without feeling that you will be bankrupt.. without a salary within 30 days (?)
You may have lots of company but.. it's a National affliction: we 'save' far less than any comparable developed country and - it shows. 'Smart' is about knowing that and also doing something about it: pre-need. It ain't like MO housing is as absurd as SF or Silly Valley, now is it?
Sorry but.. while nobody not-you can know your peculiar details and second-guess those: as said - you have Lots of company out there.
Luck,
A.
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Post #24,071
1/12/02 5:31:04 PM
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Sheesh, Ashton
Kick a guy while he's exposed, why don't you. >:(
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #24,081
1/12/02 6:53:09 PM
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Re: Sheesh, Ashton
Sometimes ya gotta bite a cat.. after enough self-drilled holes mentioned in series. Yeah too.. Norm's been ill - so what do I know? Call it bad timing and heartlessness then. :[
(Thing is, I know a number of families who manage to save Something for emergencies on <30K. Yes too - their car is >10 years old and they ain't got DSL or HBO or ... YMMV. So when Is an appropriate time to mention the idea of 'emergencies' ? (such a boring idea when you don't Have one)).
Ashton
guilty of something
and as vulnerable as the rest, if I ever commit the crime of becoming ill in Murica..
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Post #24,091
1/12/02 8:09:53 PM
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You and Norm had this conversation before
Me I am still paying off 10yold debt and down time incures more. Next week I will be living in a van eating canned food and cup a soup for the next 2 weeks and I make 41.40 per hr. This might allow me not to go bankrupt after being off since nov 15th . Of course I could have cancelled xmas and my little trip but over the years I find that saving for a rainy day doesnt work as it is always raining.
thanx,
bill
My Dreams aren't as empty as my conscience seems to be
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Post #24,099
1/12/02 9:22:05 PM
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Well I do know someone..
who never saves anything for long - and she's still alive. I forgot about Providence so, stand corrected.
You gots four Boxlets too.. hope your Cup-asoup days are few, despite the &^#$^*# endless rain.
A.
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Post #24,104
1/12/02 10:13:38 PM
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I'm with you on that thought, Ashton.
It may seem cruel to some, but it's a parental thought to provide some negative feedback some times. It's a suggestion to think and be be more adult. It is constructive criticism. It is given because Ashton cares. That's how I see it.
I have to confess to a similar thought when Norm reviewed Lord of the Rings. What is guy who worries about losing his house next month doing seeing a movie? Where are his priorities?
Alex
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. -- Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
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Post #24,112
1/12/02 11:23:27 PM
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Just because I am unemployed
does that mean I can't see a movie once in a while? Besides a friend who had worked at the same firm as me, and was let go a year before me, had bought me a ticket to see it as a Christmas present. It was the last film that I saw, and I hadn't seen one a while before that.
But oh no, let's all pile on Norm, let us misjudge him before hearing his side of things. I might as well save you guys the trouble and just jump in front of a bus or something. That way all my Earthly problems will be gone.
Yes I was out sick three months before my ex-employer let me go. Yes it was suggested by the doctor that I take off of work to recover. Yes I was suicidal, and under a lot of stress from work. Yes I did almost wear my savings out, and ranked up a lot of bills for healthcare as I was in a hospital for a while.
It is a bad time of the year to be uninstalled, companies are throwing bodies out on the street like they are garbage. IT workers are being underwritten by accountants and managers who figure they can dump people like me, and hire lower salaried people to replace me.
Worst possible case I lose the house, my wife and son move into an apartment and I live with my folks until I can get back on my feet.
Or maybe I can just get a cardboard box next to the guy asking for spare change near by the old area I used to work in? Maybe some ex-coworkers will take pity on me and buy me lunch?
Yeah sure, my priorities are screwed. I canceled digital cable, canceled my cell phone, and am eating penut butter and jelly sandwiches. Plus I am looking for another job, even if the want-ads have two whole ads for IT positions in the local paper. I even applied to some local casinos to be a slot machine coin changer and other positions.
"In order to completely solve a problem, you must make sure that the root of the problem is completely removed! If you leave the root, the problem will come back later to get you." - Norman King
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Post #24,121
1/13/02 1:29:39 AM
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Sorry, I *assumed* you paid to see the movie!
And, I have yet to see it myself. :)
You may feel dumped on, but that, believe it or not, is not my intent. Nor, do I believe for a moment, is it Ashton's intent. That shallow we are not. We do want you to think and learn. Not about things that other people controlled, but things that you controlled. We are suggesting there are lessons in your sad predicament and you need to think about which of your decisions and actions in the past could have made a difference now. Otherwise, you will always have problems.
You can pout, if you like. And, you can think we're uncaring old bastards. But, for me, it would have been easier to have said nothing to you at all.
Alex
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. -- Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
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Post #24,183
1/13/02 7:55:39 PM
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Gimmie a break.
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #24,205
1/13/02 10:45:15 PM
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No problem, I've had worse
in fact there was a lot I didn't have control over in my last job. Basically the PHBs had complete control, they contradicted themselves, provided vauge instructions, changed their minds at the last minute, and then accused me of placing blame when I asked a simple question.
About the movie, at first I didn't want to go. My friend talked me into it. He said for the sake of my sanity that I should go. That he goes to one every month just for the sake of his sanity. Then he offered to buy me a ticket so I could go with him. I haven't seen a movie in the threatre since. Only on TV, and Movie rentals (we got a video store near us that rents them for $1 each or 2 for $1 for the "Turkey" movies. Kid's movies are free, but costs an extra $1 to turn them in late.).
Mistakes I made and learned from:
Never trust an employer, expecially when they break so many promises to me. When that happens either quit, or look for another job. A big clue I should have followed on was when the firm got investigated for fraud by the FBI and SEC in 1998, and set up one of their partners as a patsy. If they do that to one of their own, imagine what they'd do to an employee?
I got backstabbed and sabotaged. Apparently I wasn't playing office politics and one of the sides went after me to get rid of me. Guess they won? next time I need to learn to socialize more and smooze around. I've been all work and no socializing.
My illness was a factor, but I don't really have control over that. Even if management thought I did. It is not like I can wake up in the morning and say that "I'm not going to be sick today". Since my doctor notes vanished from my HR file, at my next employer I will photocopy each note myself and save a copy at home. Just in case they try to screw me at review time again.
If I need to get training, and the firm is too chickensh*t to pay for it, I should do it on my own. No matter what they promise me, if they keep breaking their promises for training, get the heck out of there.
Next time, try to apply for a supervior or management position. I think this last time I wasn't gutsy enough to apply for one. A coworker did this, but he chickened out of it and quit the project manager position. I wouldn't do such a thing.
If they want me to work like a Codemonkey (for those who don't know, a code monkey produces code quick and sloppy. Does not bother to test it, only gets it out as quick as they can to please managers.) I'll do it, but will look for another job where they want quality over quanity.
"In order to completely solve a problem, you must make sure that the root of the problem is completely removed! If you leave the root, the problem will come back later to get you." - Norman King
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Post #24,254
1/14/02 9:18:03 AM
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Heres a suggestion
Have you thought about dressing up like you were going to work, heading downtown to where the mass transit picks up all the workers and hold up a big posterboard with
WILL CODE VB FOR CASH along with a list of the languages you know. It would take a lot of intestinal fortitude, but you have that. It also garners attention, you need that to stand out from the fellow out of work IT folks. Do it for a couple of days, take some business cards with you to hand out(print them on your printer) and good luck. In West Palm the business district isnt concentrated like St Louis or I would try it here.
thanx,
bill
My Dreams aren't as empty as my conscience seems to be
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Post #24,276
1/14/02 11:15:34 AM
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Will code Visual BASIC for cash
the worst that could happen is that some ex-coworkers will see me and laugh at me. :)
But it does make a new tagline I can use for ZIWETHEY.
Much better than "Will wrestle you for food" that I saw someone else hold up once.
"Will code Visual BASIC for cash." - Norman King
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Post #24,280
1/14/02 12:02:19 PM
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On second thought
the Police might harass me and ask me for a solicitor's license. I might do a better job if I made a web site about it and submitted it to many different search engines? Then I could work at home as a Freelancer.
"Will code Visual BASIC for cash."
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Post #24,289
1/14/02 12:43:01 PM
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I remember a news article about someone who did this already
It made his city newspapers and TV he got a good job out of it.
thanx,
bill
My Dreams aren't as empty as my conscience seems to be
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Post #24,752
1/17/02 4:24:12 PM
8/21/07 5:42:42 AM
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After the StarWars years
when the defense money dried up, I saw someone in Denver (where Martin Marietta builds all the Titan rockets) dressed like an engineer with a briefcase that had a sign on it that said "Will build spacecraft for food."
The average hunter gatherer works 20 hours a week.
The average farmer works 40 hours a week.
The average programmer works 60 hours a week.
What the hell are we thinking?
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Post #24,756
1/17/02 4:39:13 PM
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Waiting impatiently for..
In the panicky days following the selling off of the Microsloth Campus, to pay lawsuit creditors:
Will design crappy software, for junky food
(Hell, honesty gets donations - it's so rare) Guy or gal could become the first Junk Millionaire.. OK maybe the 1001st.
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Post #24,181
1/13/02 7:49:37 PM
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If you are Norm's parent
then feel free to be parental. Otherwise, you're a peer, goddamnit. Act like that instead.
Christ on a crutch. It's the march of the "I-told-you-so" brigade.
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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