2024 - Getting Back To Where I Was

  Today was my fourth day being unemployed since 1985. It's going to continue to be a scary place until I have a job .. which may be soon ! I'll get to that later in this post ! It was another chilly morning - 45 when I got up just after 7:30. I put the heat on again to take the chill off in the house. I spent the morning watching YouTube and playing Cookie Jam. Minnie has been demanding to sit on my lap lately but I wanted to get some things done today, so anytime she got up for a stretch, so did I ! I managed to clean the downstairs toilet and I washed the dishes. There is still a lot to do but I'm trying to get away from my "all or nothing" mentality and just get little things done here and there. The laundry room looks so nice and now the kitchen is shaping up. This afternoon I got a call from the guy who used to mow my lawn, asking if I'd like him to mow mine. I actually planned on doing it today but I told him sure. He had a stroke and had to stop plowin...

  Today was my third day being unemployed since 1985. It's going to continue to be a scary place until I have a job. I haven't heard anything from my contact at Accenture but I'm bracing myself for him to say no thanks. We'll see if my years of experience trump my lack of a 4 year degree. I really hope he's willing to take a chance on me. Despite the anxiety it brings, I called the financial planner Joe recommended. His assistant took my info and set up an appointment for Tuesday to go over my financials. I'll be happy to have that part of this nightmare cared for.  I received a payroll deposit today, which I think is the last one. It was nearly $5k because it includes pay for 12 days of vacation. I'll need to go online and get a copy of the paystub. That money will pay the bills for June and probably July, since I still have over $2k in my checking. I do have some house related bills due in June, but I am not worried about my ability to pay. I managed to ge...

  Today was my second day being unemployed since 1985. It's going to continue to be a scary place until I have a job.  Speaking of which, yesterday I received a connection request on LinkedIn from a high level manager at Accenture, a telecom consulting company that works extensively with AT&T. Many former AT&T employees work there. After accepting the connection I messaged the gentleman to thank him and to advise I'd love to chat about opportunities. He responded today to advise he had a couple of telecom billing audit positions open and asked me to send a resume. I'm writing this after midnight (so it's 5-30 now) and I sent the resume at 12:10 am. I really hope to get an interview and ultimately, get the job. It would be a great use of my skills and would give me new skills. I went to rock and roll bingo at Point Place tonight with Kim & Joe and Rich & Barb. We had a good time and it didn't cost me a dime ! Joe paid the bill and wouldn't take an...

  Today is my first day being unemployed since 1985. It's a scary place and reading online articles about high paying remote jobs drying up doesn't help. What I see on LinkedIn directly contradicts those alarmist articles, so I'm not going to start worrying just yet. I'm less than 2 weeks into my job search and though I may not find a 6 figure job, I am sure I will find something to pay the bills. The only real concern is medical and dental insurance. If I can't find a reasonable job I may go ahead and buy a fake Bachelor's degree online. What do I have to lose other than a couple hundred bucks ? I went to bed very late last night but I was up before 8 am today. I don't want to get my days and nights turned around so I don't plan on letting the late nights become a habit. I went online to file for unemployment and right at the end of the process it said there was an error and to try again in a few hours. Hmm. Is that a sign that I'll have a job soon ...

It still doesn't seem real. I keep thinking I'll wake up and this was all a dream. Wouldn't that be nice ? Today was another wasted day. I watched YouTube and scrolled my phone all day. I couldn't even bring myself to go to the grocery store. I will do that tomorrow for sure. I also need to go pick up my new glasses. I figured the stores would be crowded today because it's Memorial Day and by noon it had turned into a rainy day, so it was a good day to stay home. I spent a little bit of time on LinkedIn to see if there was anything new and exciting but there was nothing. I'm hoping I hear from the job I applied for that would be perfect for me. I would really love to get that job if the pay is reasonable. Tomorrow I will go online and sign up for unemployment. Hopefully I will not need to collect that for long !

  I was looking at my email on my phone after I went to bed last night and deja vu - I received an email inviting me to apply for the job that I thought was perfect for me and had already applied to ! Perhaps I will get an interview out of this one. That little email made me feel so good - just really hopeful for the first time in 2 weeks. Salary will be a determining factor, because I'm not sure I want to take the first job that comes along unless the pay is good. Until I have a new job and start receiving paychecks I have to make sure I keep an eye on my checking account balance, since I auto pay the majority of my bills. I'm not worried about being able to pay everything, but once paychecks stop coming I'll need to transfer money in to cover the bills. I should get my severance payment in the next month or so, so I'll have plenty of money. June/July is tough as I have to pay my village taxes, my water/sewer assessment, car insurance and my homeowners ! I may set up a...

  Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I spent the morning and some of the afternoon feeling lost, scared and alone. Then I opened my laptop and spent some time on LinkedIn. I applied to a job that would be perfect for me and it doesn't require a Bachelor's degree, so I didn't bother lying on my resume. I have to limit the amount of time I spend on LinkedIn as it becomes stressful and overwhelming. 

  Today I closed the books on over 39 years with AT&T. I had hoped to hang in there another 3-5 years and retire on my terms, but the years of job cuts finally found our team. I honestly don't think the "powers that be" understand the implications of letting us go, but they're laser focused on one thing: reducing expenses. It's a sour ending to my career and that really bothers me. The good thing is I spent the past 5 years paying off my debt and thanks to mom I was able to side the house and have a sizeable savings account. My one regret is gaining all the weight back, so addressing that is going to be my "job" starting Monday ! I logged in as usual this morning but we found we were pretty much locked out of everything other than mail and teams. We couldn't even "clock in". No surprise, since today is the end of employment. I already deleted all of my emails, files and bookmarks anyways, so the jokes on them. We had a team call just to...

  05-17-24 I've been going through the motions since the bottom fell out of my career. I'm not taking on any new work and I'm not taking the next step on any of the 29 items left on my worklist. Why would I ? The company has indicated I'm not needed, so there is no point in going the extra mile. I log in, see if anything can be closed and then I watch YouTube or play games on my tablet (or both!) until it's time to log out for the day. I also check LinkedIn and today found a new listing that I would be perfect for, so I need to finish up my revised resume and submit some applications. On a positive note, before all this happened my brother asked me to go to a ballgame. That's happening today after work, so I'm looking forward to getting out of the house and having some fun. I took a shower and washed my hair during my lunch hour and I plan to be ready to run out at the door at 5 pm. 05-18-24 Had a great time at the ball game last night and our home team won....

  I've been up and down but I'm not giving up. I might have been close to rock bottom but I held on tight and started the climb out. I can't look back and I can't change the past, but I have full control of the future when it comes to my weight. My job, not so much! 05-12-24 Last night I fell asleep on the couch and forced myself to go upstairs around 12:15 am. I was able to go to sleep relatively quickly but I was awake at 6:30. I didn't bother trying to sleep longer so that I'll be able to sleep tonight. I have 10 work days left, not that I expect to do much work. I won't be taking anything new and my only focus is going to be doing the things required as I exit the payroll. Today I spent the day on the couch watching YouTube videos and scrolling my phone. I'm really kind of angry about being laid off. It's just a shitty way to treat someone who has dedicated 39 years of their life to the job. Hopefully it will turn out to be a blessing in disguise...

  I've been up and down but I'm not giving up. I might have been close to rock bottom but I held on tight and started the climb out. I can't look back and I can't change the past, but I have full control of the future when it comes to my weight. Sleep didn't come easily last night and I woke up feeling pretty hopeless. I had made an eye appointment so I took a shower and washed my hair before heading out. I stopped at the post office first and wtf ... got a jury summons for Federal Court in Syracuse. I served in 2016 so I guess it's time again. My mom used to get them all the time and she would literally melt down over it. I think I inherited her social anxiety to some degree. My term runs from 6-6 through 7-4 and I have to call every Thursday starting 6-6 to determine if I have to report the following Monday. It's called "petit jury service", which I have never heard of. If it works the same as grand jury, you're excused once you've been c...

  I've been up and down but I'm not giving up. I might have been close to rock bottom but I held on tight and started the climb out. I can't look back and I can't change the past, but I have full control of the future when it comes to my weight. Today I received word that I'm being laid off as of 5-24. The other 3 folks on my team that are located in Syracuse also got the boot. We figured it was coming, but no one expected it to happen this soon. My boss actually sent me the notification letter via email before calling me, which was a goof on her part and a shock to me. She felt really bad about it, but in the end it didn't matter who delivered the bad news.  It was a shock but I'm actually glad to not have the fear of layoff hanging over my head anymore. It helps that I am financially secure. I get 6 months severance pay and medical until the end of the year. I also have a pension benefit and a healthy 401k. I'm glad I also have over $50k in my savings ...

  I've been up and down but I'm not giving up. I might have been close to rock bottom but I held on tight and started the climb out. I can't look back and I can't change the past, but I have full control of the future when it comes to my weight. I managed to get the biggest part of the lawn mowed yesterday but the front and driveway side will have to wait for a dry day. We had rain overnight and more thunderstorms are in the forecast for this afternoon. Rain is in the forecast every day until Tuesday, but I hope that changes! The cleanup of the demolished building went on all day yesterday and continued today. Something is going on in the pit from the auto shop. During demolition and during cleanup there were huge bursts of what looked like steam released. I'm wondering if it had something to do maybe with an auto lift and the pneumatics needed for that to operate. There was activity at the remaining apartment building and the Code Enforcement guy was in the buildin...

  I've been up and down but I'm not giving up. I might have been close to rock bottom but I held on tight and started the climb out. I can't look back and I can't change the past, but I have full control of the future when it comes to my weight. I'm going to try and get a daily blog published starting today. I'm typing better as my hand heals, so it's not quite so difficult! Yesterday was quite the day! They demolished the commercial building across the street. The apartment building is still there as it's owned by someone else, but the crew told me they're trying to buy it and bring it down as well. I'm wondering if someone is going to build on the site. Anything would be an improvement over that eyesore, but the construction means noise, dust and possible street closures. I'd be happier with a green space. During the demolition they accidentally took out the power and internet! I lost power around 2:45 yesterday and it was out until about 4...

  I've been up and down but I'm not giving up. I might have been close to rock bottom but I held on tight and started the climb out. I can't look back and I can't change the past, but I have full control of the future when it comes to my weight. 04-29-24 39 years ago today I started working for AT&T. With any luck I'll still be there a year from now to celebrate 40 years! From a health perspective, I feel like I'm doing better. I haven't seen any blood in my stool for over a week and things seem "normal". My appetite is returning but it's not consistent. Some days I am hungry and other days I am not. Perhaps part of that is what I'm eating. I've been feeding my carb addiction with Pop Tarts, candy and Gardetto's! Was lack of carbs feeding my hunger? Hard to say. Breakfast was waffles and I had Pop Tarts late morning. Lunch was a burrito with salsa .. I was happy I could open the jar using my bum hand! My hand is getting better b...