Luke122
06-07-2010, 03:31 PM
I always hate reading threads where people bitch about stuff, and their terrible situations, so if you feel the same, stop reading now. I need to vent this all somewhere, and since this is my main point of presence on the web, you guys get to hear/read it.
I quit my job at the tail end of 2008 to go out on my own and consult. It went great for a month or so, then the recession hit, and everything fell apart. I worked at a cell phone place for a bit, then got laid off 8 days before Christmas. I had a young son at the time, and my wife and I couldnt exchange gifts with each other because there was just no money.
In January, I found a job as a janitor, and that kept us afloat, though just barely. We were eating through our savings and credit cards at a horrifying rate, and new something better had to come up soon. I landed a job as a technician at a computer store, and hoped that my experience would help me advance quickly. Alas, the company was small, and I ended up with the same money as the janitor job.
Through the course of 2009, we tried some direct selling stuff to make money, and just ended up carrying even more debt on our credit cards to buy product. Great product, but we just couldnt find the market that we needed, and ended up losing a few grand.
Bills kept piling up, and we started to fall behind. I've been struggling to make some extra coin here and there, including refurbishing and reselling laptops and systems, but overall we are still losing ground fast.
On Dec 10th 2009, we had our second son arrive, healthy and happy. One point of light in a very dark year. My wife and I again did not exchange gifts this year. Also, we found out our new son might have asthma, and requires prescription inhalers (as does my wife).
For my wife's birthday, my parents offered to give us some help with repairs around the house. Did we want some new windows, or a furnace service? We have cold winters here, so either would help. My wife has asthma, so we chose the service. They found that the heat exchanger is cracked, and will need to be replaced. No point in fixing an old piece of crap, get a new furnace. $3-5k for that.
Three weeks ago, we had a serious windstorm, and lost a bunch of shingles off of our roof. Luckily, we noticed right away, and called a contractor friend who fixed it for free. Two days later, another storm, lost more shingles, this time we did not notice. Last week we got a huge rainstorm, and a bunch of water poured through the roof into my 3 year old sons bedroom.
We are waiting on insurance to see if they'll cover it, but apparently the roof is in bad enough shape that it should be replaced.. $5000 estimate for sheeting/shingling, and we need a few trusses replaced too. :P
Last thursday morning, I noticed my battery indicator was on when I was driving to work (20mi commute). When I got to work, I investigated.. my alternator is dead. A new one is $190 but I can install it myself, I'm reasonably handy.
Saturday, my youngest son started wheezing really badly, and his inhalers werent helping, so we went to the hospital, and they transferred us to the pediatric ward at the nearest city (25 mins away). I've slept in a chair for the last two nights, but Andrew is improving, and they thing he might be ok to go home in the next day or two.
I hate being a negative person, but with everything that has happened in the last 18 months, it's so hard to be positive about anything. It's frustrating beyond words that I've been applying for every job I can find, and I've only had 2 replies (one was a thanks for the resume, and the other was a thanks, but we've decided we cant afford to hire anyone now) out of hundreds of applications.
I'm not going to get into the whole "life isnt fair" spiel right now, that's not going to do anything worthwhile. We are probably less than a month from losing our home and vehicle right now, and yet I'm still getting out of bed everday, going to work, and doing my best to advance. Why?
Faith. I believe that things will get better, and this is just a test. It's easy to give up and get angry, but it's hard to persevere and struggle onward in the face of these things. Whether or not you think you can or can not, you are right.
I quit my job at the tail end of 2008 to go out on my own and consult. It went great for a month or so, then the recession hit, and everything fell apart. I worked at a cell phone place for a bit, then got laid off 8 days before Christmas. I had a young son at the time, and my wife and I couldnt exchange gifts with each other because there was just no money.
In January, I found a job as a janitor, and that kept us afloat, though just barely. We were eating through our savings and credit cards at a horrifying rate, and new something better had to come up soon. I landed a job as a technician at a computer store, and hoped that my experience would help me advance quickly. Alas, the company was small, and I ended up with the same money as the janitor job.
Through the course of 2009, we tried some direct selling stuff to make money, and just ended up carrying even more debt on our credit cards to buy product. Great product, but we just couldnt find the market that we needed, and ended up losing a few grand.
Bills kept piling up, and we started to fall behind. I've been struggling to make some extra coin here and there, including refurbishing and reselling laptops and systems, but overall we are still losing ground fast.
On Dec 10th 2009, we had our second son arrive, healthy and happy. One point of light in a very dark year. My wife and I again did not exchange gifts this year. Also, we found out our new son might have asthma, and requires prescription inhalers (as does my wife).
For my wife's birthday, my parents offered to give us some help with repairs around the house. Did we want some new windows, or a furnace service? We have cold winters here, so either would help. My wife has asthma, so we chose the service. They found that the heat exchanger is cracked, and will need to be replaced. No point in fixing an old piece of crap, get a new furnace. $3-5k for that.
Three weeks ago, we had a serious windstorm, and lost a bunch of shingles off of our roof. Luckily, we noticed right away, and called a contractor friend who fixed it for free. Two days later, another storm, lost more shingles, this time we did not notice. Last week we got a huge rainstorm, and a bunch of water poured through the roof into my 3 year old sons bedroom.
We are waiting on insurance to see if they'll cover it, but apparently the roof is in bad enough shape that it should be replaced.. $5000 estimate for sheeting/shingling, and we need a few trusses replaced too. :P
Last thursday morning, I noticed my battery indicator was on when I was driving to work (20mi commute). When I got to work, I investigated.. my alternator is dead. A new one is $190 but I can install it myself, I'm reasonably handy.
Saturday, my youngest son started wheezing really badly, and his inhalers werent helping, so we went to the hospital, and they transferred us to the pediatric ward at the nearest city (25 mins away). I've slept in a chair for the last two nights, but Andrew is improving, and they thing he might be ok to go home in the next day or two.
I hate being a negative person, but with everything that has happened in the last 18 months, it's so hard to be positive about anything. It's frustrating beyond words that I've been applying for every job I can find, and I've only had 2 replies (one was a thanks for the resume, and the other was a thanks, but we've decided we cant afford to hire anyone now) out of hundreds of applications.
I'm not going to get into the whole "life isnt fair" spiel right now, that's not going to do anything worthwhile. We are probably less than a month from losing our home and vehicle right now, and yet I'm still getting out of bed everday, going to work, and doing my best to advance. Why?
Faith. I believe that things will get better, and this is just a test. It's easy to give up and get angry, but it's hard to persevere and struggle onward in the face of these things. Whether or not you think you can or can not, you are right.