I ain't goin' nowhere

[angrycarpenter]

It's funny how a simple double negative sentence can convey an attitude so well. I am sure that a variation of this phrase has been spoken by desperate, pissed-off people since the beginning of time. It is the line in the sand.

I hit a low point yesterday. I have been laid off for two weeks now. I may have to let the cable and telephone go this month. On top of everything else the thought of missing my daily visits to DU made me really sad. So I posted a tearful farewell to my home on the internet.

The self pity is over.

Life is full of triumph. You see it everyday. Simple human beings stand in defiance of life's everyday disasters and somehow thrive. It is the will to survive when things look hopeless. It is what ultimately finishes tyrannical rulers and the idea that might makes right.

I will stand in the face of this economic storm that has devastated our nation. I know I will take a beating, there is no avoiding that. But I will weather this storm and come out an even stronger person.

I look back at the times in my life when I have just given up and surrendered to despair. It was always when I felt that I was alone in the world. But then someone always came along and showed me that hope still exists and that ordinary people can be so good that they deserve sainthood.

Yesterday when I was feeling hopeless a multitude of people came forth and showed me that simple human decency can still be the most powerful thing in the world. I am still overwhelmed at the response it received. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Every one of you continually renew my faith in humanity.

I ain't goin' nowhere.



<[/IMG>

[MercutioATC]

1. Welcome back (though you never left)

I'm happy you're staying :)

[Tangerine LaBamba]

2. Hang on

Don't hesitate to feel sorry for yourself when the feelings overwhelm you. Go with them, roll with them, but don't stay there. You're still upright, you'll still above ground, and you've got DU. This is a great place to find friends and affirmation when you're feeling down - I see people doing it all the time.

In the meantime, hang on. I don't know that this is any comfort, but just about everyone I know is having big trouble like you're having right now, and we're all holding on to each other, sometimes holding each other up. That's what friends are for. Let yours love you, and don't be hesitant about accepting any loving kindness that comes your way.

You'll make it. Keep in mind that the Chinese character for "danger" is the same one used for "opportunity," so just try to embrace the notion that change is your friend - in the long run - and don't be afraid.

You're going to be fine. Just stay close.

[Warpy]

3. Good for you

Some people on this board know I experienced my own period of privation recently when illness reduced me to living on $800/month when the mortgage took the first $560. To my advantage was the fact that I'd never lived outside my means and knew how to hunker down and be poor. My internet service was my entire reading and entertainment budget and I was able to keep it since I'd been grandfathered in to a cheap introductory DSL service.

The hardest part was staying cold in winter. I could roll up in my electric blanket at the puter, but if I wanted to do anything I had to unroll and face a 50 degree house.

This is temporary but it might last some time. One thing you might consider is starting your own handyman business, a "rent-a-husband" kind of service for doing odd jobs for singles and the elderly.

In any case, good luck. I'm sure something will turn up to keep survival cash coming in.

[angrycarpenter]

11. One year I made a wood stove.

I may do it again this year. I took a 55 gallon drum and cut out a square in the front. I put it back with some hinges and drilled holes in it. I made a handle out of a thick coil spring. I bought metal duct and ran it out and up for a chimney. I then piled bricks around it to retain heat. For fuel I burned wooden pallets that were plentiful and cheap and were made from oak.

It worked very well, except for the age-old problem of building the fire back up in the morning.

[Warpy]

12. Some friends in New England did that

and we all thought it was working fine until one night the power went out.

That sucker was glowing cherry red.

Needless to say, they made a few modifications before they used it again.

[angrycarpenter]

15. They only last one winter

but being easy to make it is no hardship to replace one at any time. I put a grate in the bottom of mine so that the coals were not laying right on the bottom. That seemed to solve the problem of hot spots.

[Warpy]

19. Yep, that's sort of the modification they made

only they just stacked firebricks in the bottom

[Mopar151]

36. Us thrifty New Englanders

make a ruggeder version of the barrel stove with 4 20" truck rims, welded end to end. I worked all winter in a tire shop with one for heat - a small computer fan to circulate the air, and we were toasty.

[Obamanaut]

24. Some years back a brother in law did that with TWO 35 gallon

drums. It was plans/parts for Sotz Stove, from Mother Earth News (I don't know if Sotz and M.E.News still exist.)

The fire was in lower drum, with the second mounted above with about a 6 - 8 inch gap. Stove pipe ran from the lower to the upper. Allowed for smaller fire in the lower, as the heat accumulated in the upper before going out the pipe to the outside. "They said" the second barrel could be located in an upper floor if one had a two story dwelling.

A layer of builder sand was in the lower barrel along with a grate. Metal feet on the lower, metal bracket between the upper and lower. Fire bricks on the floor beneath the lower barrel. There are heat shields available for wood burning stoves to stand on. He lived in a wood frame house with a wood floor, had no problem.

[MJW]

30. rent-a - husband it a really good suggestion ,warpy

I have a young man that does odd jobs for me and I really do not know what I would do without him He fixed my well pump, hung a door ,fixed my kitchen floor ( it had a hole in it) He looks for on sale supplies to keep my cost down and accepts payments . I am a fixed income widow and I really appreciate him . He even brings me fresh produce sometimes.


He is a great resource for me .When I asked him if he knew about furnaces he said "no but I hve this buddy who has a small furnace repair busines"

Can't beat that!

[tbyg52]

32. I second, or third, or fourth (didn't count the replies)

the rent-a-hubby suggestion. I'm in the market for one here, and a good one is hard to find!

You might also consider fixing up houses that are being readied for sale - we hired someone to go through and pretty it up when we sold our first one, and he turned out to be unreliable, overpriced and not do a very good job, all of which I'm sure would *not* apply to you!

[CrispyQ]

4. Cute pup!

Time with my pup always makes me happier! A good night's sleep helps too!

Glad you are feeling more hopeful.

[angrycarpenter]

6. That's Tigga

A 90 MPH bundle of energy. In most of the pics I have of her she is a blur.

[Libby2]

5. Ah, some good news, finally!! I'm so glad.

[TomInTib]

7. Check your Inbox

[nickyt]

8. F*ckin' A, A! Hang in! DU loves you back!

[Raksha]

9. Thank you, angrycarpenter.

Life is full of triumph. You see it everyday. Simple human beings stand in defiance of life's everyday disasters and somehow thrive. It is the will to survive when things look hopeless. It is what ultimately finishes tyrannical rulers and the idea that might makes right.

You just reminded me that I've been surviving "everyday disasters" for a long, long time. Sometimes one more seems like just too much...but it really isn't.

Re I will stand in the face of this economic storm that has devastated our nation. I know I will take a beating, there is no avoiding that. But I will weather this storm and come out an even stronger person.

Me too. You don't know what I'm talking about, but that's okay. You just reminded me that I have allies too.

[snappyturtle]

22. Me too....on everything you said! nt

[KharmaTrain]

10. Tough Times Makes One Appreciate The Simpler Things

Here's hoping you find work soon. Too bad you're not in the Chicago area, sounds like your the person I'm searching for to help do some work around my palatial "estate". I was born with 20 thumbs.

As you've seen, many of us have suffered similar fates...I'm told its what tests your soul and if you are able to keep your wits about you when it looks bad, you can never be beaten...or as the saying goes "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger". This is the time when I take inventory of what really is near and dear...family, health and a sense of humor.

I'd write a "Good Bye Cruel World" post here, but I'm certain, I'd get plenty of "don't let the door hit your ass on the way out" and "thank goodness that bastard is gone"...but I'm too stupid to take the hint. :rofl:

Most important, don't let the bastards get you down...hold onto your dreams and beliefs...know inside that you are doing what you can and that there are others out there that do care.

Cheers...

:toast:

[Waiting For Everyman]

13. You're NOT at all alone, Angry...

There's lots of company in the struggle-for-survival-boat right now. Don't despair cuz you never know what's around the next corner. I just got hired last week after being laid off in May. I've only worked 2 months since January after being widowed with no insurance or savings...

I even went without hot water for 3 months after my water-heater broke before I could get it replaced. I've had utilities shut off, lots of issues. (I'll tell you though, I'd hold onto my internet connection to the last, because it's my contact with what's going on in the world and a big help nowadays in finding a job/making a living.)

I couldn't even remember it all to tell you how I've gotten through these months, because so many little battles come and go in a week. Yet somehow, even though I've skirted the very edge all this time, I'm not even in foreclosure (just late). I've lived in my home for 12 years - this mortgage crisis happened at the same time as my own personal crisis. Somehow, I'm still here and still "live to fight another day" with a possibility of recovering. And if I do lose everything it's still the same - as long as there's life, there's hope.

But your feelings are very justified and natural. And I'll add, expressing them (somewhere) helps. So does feedback from people like those here. I also had a lot of support from a small MB I've been on for several years. You draw encouragement and ideas from where you can, right? (And that's not always available from people we know in "real life").

You'll come through, Angry. It might get messy but there's always tomorrow. I've been "up" and "down" so many times in my life. That doesn't make it any easier at all, but you come to know that things can change. And not always for the worse, either.

That's why I'm not too cynical to get involved in political change right now. It's those who have been hit by these policies who understand what's wrong with them... in a way at this point, it's almost necessary for a lot of us to be harmed by it, for enough people to be motivated to fight for a better way of life here in the future. We've got to get over this idea that every man is his own island; this idea that as long as "I'm ok", screw everybody else. It's true that a rising tide raises all boats. And when others aren't making it, I'm going to be at risk soon enough too. If we win this battle and fix things enough, I hope that's a lesson we don't forget (again).

PS I read your other thread too, but didn't comment because I'm kinda new here. But I want to say that I already like your writing too (and thoughts expressed). Keep hope! To use a sports analogy... as long as you don't walk off the field and "forfeit the game" there's hope. But the emotions are just part of what you go through, part of the process - just don't get stuck in one of them, keep looking for the next idea or the next thing you can do, even if it's small and not a total answer to the whole thing.

[madokie]

14. Good deal

[Flying Dream Blues]

16. Great news, AC. I would miss you if you left, and I'm glad you're feeling

more hopeful than you did yesterday. Hang in and keep us posted; I hope a good job is just around the corner for you. Sending my best to you.
:hug:

[onethatcares]

17. hey, I got to thinkin about your situation, and

you can collect unemployment compensation right? Well, it seems there's always a need for some kind of carpentry here and there and sometimes the price is a bit lower if it gets paid in cold hard gold, ya know what I mean? Anyway, we all get pissed, but for we here on DU, we get pissed off more than others cause we see what the hell is happening. Good luck and all that. BTW, great lookin dog. PEACE

[varelse]

18. *cheers*

:bounce:

[Psyop Samurai]

20. To the Greatest with you and that chiwoowoo! .nt

[HCE SuiGeneris]

21. A toast!

To righting this ship... :toast:

[Hissyspit]

23. You and Bob Dylan!

(Don't have a motorcycle accident, though.)

:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY0dNn3ermE

[nc4bo]

25. So glad you feel better! :cheers: nt

[tom_paine]

26. Good luck. Stay strong and you'll get through this.

:hug:

[ThatsMyBarack]

27. angrycarpenter!

:yourock:

[MJW]

28. wonderful!

I am so glad that you decided to stay

[Subdivisions]

29. Flip-flopper!

Just kidding! I'm glad you going fight to stay in the fight!

Now, get in there and throw some punches at TPTB!


But first, check out this cutie:

[roguevalley]

31. we love ya and hope you stay. I also love your dog. I lurve your doggy

:P

[DU GrovelBot]

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[annabanana]

34. YAAY!!

We sure like having you around here!

[Usrename]

35. Glad to here it.

Didn't want to see you go nohow.

[Naturyl]

37. Good to hear it

I don't know you personally, but I know about struggle. Sometimes I feel like I stay alive simply to spite natural selection and especially to spite those who believe in it as a social philosophy. To hell with them, we have a right to live and a right to participate in this whole human experiment, and we're going to do it whether anyone wants to co-operate or not.

So cheers to you. You will survive, regardless of a system that might not care if you do.

[Straight Shooter]

38. I was going to check with a couple GC's around here, to check whether carpenters are in demand.

Talked to my neighbor about it and she gave me a couple good names to contact. You're probably a frame carpenter rather than a trim carpenter, right?

Well, anyway, "you ain't goin' nowhere," but if you think Oregon might be nice, PM me, and I'll follow up on finding out some info. I have a friend who might be willing to barter a room for rent for a while in exchange for some carpentry work. Lord knows her house could use a bit of fix-up. She was asking me if I knew of anyone who might want to do some house-sitting, too.

If you decide to stay where you're at, best of luck to you. I think all the ideas from your first thread will inspire you and you'll find yourself doing something else you love, until the carpentry business gets back on its feet.

Is that your dog? Adorable! :D

[JerseygirlCT]

39. Glad to hear it! nt