Week 2 of unemployment

Things have been going OK since my layoff, but today I'm having a bit of anxiety.  While I already have a resume, I'm rewriting it based on formats that have been suggested by the outplacement company.  It is a service provided by my former employer.  It's free for 30 days, so I'll take advantage of it while I can.

I know that I know my stuff.  People around me know that I know my stuff, but it's really tough putting your experience (I've been in the working world for 34 years!) in to 2 pages and really impress those that might be hiring me.

I'll get through it, but it ain't easy.

Beginning of the end

So, I learned today of others that were victims of the RIF last week.  Some were not surprising while others were shocking.  I also learned of people that have decided to pack it in and are leaving on their own.  One individual has already given notice and another has already met with a recruiter to help her find another position.

We'll see how things look around there it a few weeks.

UNEMPLOYMENT - DAY 1

Wednesday, July 15, 2015, I was laid off from the job I held for 9 years.  I don't know that the reality of the situation has sunk in yet.  I enjoyed my extended weekend with my family.  Today is the first day I've had time to sit and really think about much.  It was supposed to have been my first day back to work after my mini-vaca.  So this is the first day of the unemployment thing.

I'll be checking in here from time to time just to write my thoughts and maybe ideas.  I will use this as my place to vent.

Wish me luck world.  Prayers are always welcome.

HISTORY, TOLERANCE AND OUR GIANT FAIL

History (from Greek ἱστορία, historia, meaning "inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation")^[2]

noun, plural histories

1. the branch of knowledge dealing with past events.
2. a continuous, systematic narrative of past events as relating to a particular people, country, period, person, etc., usually written as a chronological account; chronicle: a history of France; a medical history of the patient.
3. the aggregate of past events.
4. the record of past events and times, especially in connection with the human race.

History is history.  No matter how hard we may try, it cannot be rewritten.  We cannot erase actual documented events just because we don’t like them.  By removing these events from the records and history books does not mean that they never happened.

Yes, the Indians (Native Americans) were treated badly, but they weren’t the first ones to suffer from someone “invading” their country.  Columbus may have, as some declare, committed genocide against the Indians, but by ignoring his arrival in America does not mean that what may have happened in the 1400’s did not happen.  The pilgrims did their fair share as well.
    

Yes, slavery in America happened, but they were not the first ones to have been part of a slave/master situation. No human should ever be considered the “property” of another human.  However, that does not mean that those of us alive today should be held responsible and continue to pay for what our ancestors did 200 or 300 years ago.  Yes, my ancestors may have been directly involved, but I am not responsible for the things these people did hundreds of years ago.  I am no more responsible for that than a murderer’s child today is responsible for what their parent did.  On the other side of this, not all black people have ancestors that were slaves.  And not even all that were slaves suffered the atrocities that we know took place.  Some actually thrived and prospered because they came to America as slaves.  Black people need to quit taking the liberty of throwing out the slavery card in order to justify their actions and beliefs.
  

Neither of these issues is pleasant, but I am sick of the country today telling me that I need to be sorry and continually acknowledge these facts as if I had participated in either of these acts directly. 

What we are responsible for is learning from these past issues and continuing to make the world a better place.  This does NOT mean constantly telling people how horrible they are because they do not believe certain things are right, or that they do believe those things are right.  We need to ALL practice the true meaning of TOLERANCE on BOTH sides of the issues.

TOLERANCE

noun

1. a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, beliefs, practices, racial or ethnic origins, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.
2. air, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions, beliefs, and practices that differ from one's own.
3. interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint.

What we are not doing is making the world a better and we are not tolerant… myself included. I see this is a giant FAIL.  There are many things in this world today with which I do not agree, but I am not going to be mean, spiteful, and hateful about it.  I may occasionally express my displeasure or lack of understanding, but I am not going to wish harm on someone because of it.  That is not the type of human being I am or want to be.      

This may all seem disjointed (it feels that way to me) but this is all something that has been on my mind.  It is even more so today after a couple of posts I’ve seen (and shared) on Facebook today.  Please… EVERYONE: black, white, yellow, male, female, gay, straight…. EVERYONE … Think about your actions before acting on them.  Respect your country. Respect others.  Respect yourself.

Where Things Stand Today – November 7, 2012

The Presidential election for 2012 is now history.
 

Each campaign season we hear numbers thrown out about gas prices were this, mortgage rates were this, unemployment was this…etc.  I decided to put somethings down in writing for my own verification in 4 years.  While the numbers I find may not be the real numbers (who knows what’s real and what’s not anymore!), I think this will give me a truer idea of where things stood TODAY versus what they will be claiming in 2016.

I realize that this information is probably as subjective as any candidate’s declaration.  However, hopefully we can return to these same sources in 3 or 4 years and see how things compare.

So here they are, with the source:

Gasoline prices (Denver Metro area) – Regular $3.37 (personal observation); average seems to be $3.46 from GasBuddy 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/moneybuilder/2011/09/30/2012-federal-income-tax-brackets-irs-tax-rates/

And here is the link to the DoD budget request for 2013