DISPATCHES FROM THE GHOST MOOSE

Very nice this morning. It cooled off and the breeze picked up. A good day to be outside all day. We went to a party last night, and as usual, I heard of some folks that had recently been laid off, some making do with no insurance, or only catastrophic health insurance. I can really sympathize/empathize (I never know which term to use) with them, and am really thankful that my own situation was resolved. This lousy economy has been here for so long, it's no longer news when a friend loses their job. When I was off, I'd always feel so out of place in social situations like that, even though the subject of unemployment never came up unless I brought it up. On the plus side, I have spoken with, or traded notes with folks I have met through this blog who have found jobs after a long downtime. so, I guess the 6 month estimate to find a new job is about right. if you haven't found something, keep at it and you will. at any rate, get out and enjoy this beautiful weather. and go Wh...

Finally some hot weather. Now it feels like summer. Still plugging away at the job. Now I am there 3 months and it is still interesting and engaging. I think if I had found this organization awhile back, I would have stayed put instead of job hopping the way I did. However, my job changes had usually been a result of anticipated changes, and I was usually right when I jumped ship. so, live and learn. Some of the comments received in the engagement survey at my current company are negative, and are from the longer term employee. They feel too much has changed, and it isn't the same company they started with. It is funny since this place is such a breath of fresh air from some of the dumps I have worked at. So, it's all in the eye of the beholder, I guess. What is a bad place for one may be ideal for another. as I sit at the computer, I remember the long days of sitting here sending out dozens of resumes. watching the summer ebb, watching the leaves change, watching the...

After another very rainy weekend, it is Monday already. We drove to Madison WI and back on Saturday for a graduation party. I saw a total of 1 RV on the 270 miles of driving we did. I would imagine that industry is about dead - who could afford a vehicle like that, let alone the gas it takes to fill it. My yearly fishing trip, going back to 1982, is not happening due to my extended downtime and no money. Last time I talked to the outpost owner, he said many of his regular clients have the same issues preventing them from taking their yearly get away. I will miss the solitude and the opportunity to decompress for a week. But, hopefully next year my crew can go north again. I read an article that unemployment is supposed to get to 10% nationally. It seems the public is now immune to that stat. Makes you wonder if the country will get back to the point where certain luxuries like fishing trips are attainable, or if we'll all be working paycheck to paycheck. The global events of late, ...

Still waiting for some seasonal weather to arrive. We get one nice day then more rain. We'll probably head right into the hot weather from here. I got a call from a recruiter the other day. We had spoken over a year ago about a search he was doing, and he contacted me for another role. this was the second time that had happened, so I guess the lesson here is to continue to sow your seeds, as you never know when something will come up. Easy for me to say since I am not waiting for that call that never comes. I was going through some old written notes and emails from my job search. each note, email or business card is a reminder of that frustration. Probably a good thing to toss it all out. One thing about that time is that you really find out who your friends are. Not that those who didn't help me in my search weren't friends, but some folks would ask what they could do, they'd ask for a copy of my resume and get it to decision makers, they'd call to see h...

Not sure if anyone even reads this blog anymore. My focus has certainly changed since I have been working, and the posts no doubt reflect that. But yesterday, I was riding my bike, enjoying the weather, not a care in the world. and I realized that when I was off, I never, not once, felt that way. There wasn't a minute that I wasn't dwelling on being out of work, or waiting for a call or email that never came. Or wracking my brain thinking of who I could network with that might know of a job. Or how I would cover my bills......I had almost 6 months of anxiety. and the way I felt yesterday was such a polar opposite. But, if you are, or have been, out of work, you know what I mean. Part of the way I felt may have been an over reaction to the situation, but when you read the papers of people that have committed suicide, or have taken out their entire families as someone here in Arlington Heights did recently, you can see that feeling can be far beyond overwhelming. So anyw...

I heard a GM commercial the other night and had to laugh. the narrator of the commercial was saying that GM was correcting it's issues and would be the type of company that Americans could trust. so, after untold billions of bailout money, all they can offer is a puff of hot air. Those empty words reminded me of when I was with a company that was owned by IBM and was sold 5 times in 5 years. The last sale was from McGraw Hill to a private owner, and the McGraw Hill HR people came and told us how great our future was, and how they were jealous that we were landing in such a good situation. I can't begin to estimate how much this wonderful situation personally cost me in lost benefits, defaulted bonus agreements, etc. so when you hear these great things that are right on the horizon, just know that they are all lies. just like the GM commercial. We just gave Chrysler how many billions, and they still declared bankruptcy, closed thousands of dealerships, cut hundreds of t...

It has been a over a week since I last posted. When I was off, posting to this blog was a daily task I looked forward to. I find that I have now been swept up in the job and all that goes along with it; the routine, the mindset, the treadmill we all step on. Of course it is much better to be on that treadmill, but this whole transformation just underscores how different I was as an employed professional than as someone desperate for a job, any job. Standing back and looking at it as an impartial observer, I can see that I saw myself in a different way. Obviously, I had fallen into the trap of identifying myself by what I did and what I earned. It is hard not to, but not a very good approach. If nothing else, it shows the need to diversify and get involved in things other than the pursuit of a good paycheck. We all make lists of what we would like to do, or what we would do if we won the lottery and didn't have to work. But it is likely that list includes a lot of things yo...