Boy -- I have gotten so NASTY lately.

[gateley]

I just asked where I could find Obama's schedule by date and somebody asked "why?".

In the old days I would have explained my reasoning (that I'm curious what he's doing between now and the convention so I can FIGURE OUT when he'll make his announcement).

The new, NOT improved me said "Unless you're the Secret Service it's none of your business."

What is my problem?

[PatSeg]

1. The past week got a tad stressful around here

It just seemed so many people were being snotty at one time. Things have settled down some now. Maybe its anticipation as the convention nears.

[Muttocracy]

2. signs of needing a break! I'm having those in life in general

I am way overdue for a vacation (family trip to D.C. earlier this year was short and didn't really count).

I am trying to stop myself from having DU add to my stress.

I think I have lost an important little flash drive and I'm freaking out. If I find it, I'm going to have to tie something huge to it so I don't lose it again. This always happens - when I get too stressed and worn out and am doing too many things, I start losing stuff. Good thing my head is firmly attached!

[jillan]

4. You are so right about not letting DU add stress.

The other nite I was livid about the lies being said about Biden.
Why? Why should it bother us what some little DUer says? I mean, who are these people that we let them get to us? For all we know they could be the kind of person that we read about on the front page of the paper. DU is not real life.

[gateley]

5. After I lost a little flash drive, when I got a new one

I hooked the ring over the first hangar in my closet. There it stays and I always know where it is.

Mary Ellen's Helpful Hints

[Muttocracy]

7. Great idea. Would you believe I lost it a couple of weeks ago?

Turns out one of my dogs or I had knocked it under a chair. I searched all over my apartment, both of my work offices...

That search turned up some mold problems in my apartment which is a whole 'nother story I won't go into. I'm working on moving which is part of the reason my brain is shot and I can't find anything - I've moved a few things already and now I'm really starting to misplace things.

[gateley]

8. Be thankful the dogs didn't chew on it. Or eat it.

I lose EVERYTHING when I'm trying to move. You have my sympathy.

[Muttocracy]

9. well, actually, I'd feel better if they had

I'm worried that it has some financial files of mine on it! There's one place I'm going to ask tomorrow - it may have been in my pocket when I was getting some change out - other than that, I'll either find it when I get more stuff cleared out, or it's just disappeared.

[jillan]

11. How frustrating. I hope you find it.

If you're like me, you'll find it after you stop looking for it, when you just accept that it's gone... then viola' there it is.

[Muttocracy]

21. yeah, I kept myself from completely tearing up my apt.

so far anyway! if I do, I'll just lose more things. I know I had it last night, so it can't have gone far. It's either here somewhere or lost it between the car and one of my offices today.

[jillan]

24. Did you look real good in your car?

My daughter thought she lost her ipod. Months later I found it in my car. It had fallen between the back seat and the trunk area ( I have a 5 door ) It had slid under the actual back seat. One day I was folding down the back seat to make the trunk area bigger and saw some papers that fell in this area. I pulled them out, and there was her ipod. I was so glad I didn't listen to her whining to buy her another one!

So don't give up. It's there, just hiding in some weird place.

[Muttocracy]

27. that was the end of my cell phone hunt a few weeks ago

(see a pattern here?) It must have slipped out of my purse when I was driving to work and had my stuff on the back seat. After a lot of frantic looking, I went grocery shopping. Of course the dogs came with me. It was sitting next to one of them on the back seat when I came back. I have no idea where it was - maybe under one of the seat belt things somehow. Or else my dog has learned to use my cell phone and that's going to be a whole 'nother realm of trouble!

[PatSeg]

39. Klepto Dogs???

Or a sinister plot to drive the human crazy!

[Muttocracy]

40. hmm, very clever plan to make the human

spend more time relaxing and calming down and taking doggies for walkies. They're both very smart, so I wouldn't put it past them!

[PatSeg]

42. Ahhhh

Its all starting to make perfect sense now!

[jillan]

3. I don't think it's you.

I think the whole tone of DU has turned into gutter slime lately.

I could start a thread saying that the sky is blue, and people would probably argue about that and ask me how I could believe that.
It's insane.

[gateley]

6. Yeah, it's been ugly -- but so have I.

I seem to have a perpetual scowl on my face and hardly every smile.

A lot is the stress of not having a job and being worried about the attendant problems, and I think a lot IS the stress of the upcoming election-and I'm really worried about the future of our country.

[jillan]

10. Talk to me!

What are the attendant problems?


About a week ago we brought in Chinese Food. My fortune in my little cookie -
Stop thinking about it so much. I just laughed, how true!

Don't be sad, gateley

[gateley]

13. Ha! That's good advice about ANY problem.

Just the attendant problems of having no money and no income. Not sure how you're going to pay your bills, eat, pay rent, BUY EXPENSIVE PRESCRIPTION CAT FOOD! The things that more and more Americans are having to deal with now. I used to make a really good salary, I was the highest paid in the county for what I did. And I grew up in an affluent household and always lived very well - so I'm one of the people who couldn't fathom living like I am now.

It will work out. Things always do, no matter how bad they get. I'm considering this a BIG life lesson!

Thanks for the hug! :hug:

[jillan]

17. About the cat food - Nero's worth it! Such a handsome little guy.

What happened to your job?

I'm not working either right now because of my one daughter. I'm going to have to figure out something soon. Maybe we could figure out a home-based business together. I can't go back to the corporate world.

[gateley]

30. I quit. The company was sold, my boss was the first to go

since he was the President/COO. I signed a contract for two years where they would keep me at my salary, then readjust. (They had no comparable position in their company structure.) I almost didn't last the two years. I've never worked in such an oppressive environment, where EVERYONE hated their jobs, and I'd never been treated so disrespectfully. I left when my contract was up. Lazed around (because I never had problems finding work before), then when I started looking, was shocked to see how many jobs there WEREN'T available!

I sent off a couple of resumes today via Monster that were Executive Assistant type positions, but I realized I do NOT want to work in that type of job/environment again. I honest to God would rather work as a clerk in a store so when the day is done, my job is over until the next day.
Years ago I used to work at the Doubletree in Seattle --Front Desk, and it was great. Something like that would be nice.

OR, a home-based thing, like you said would be ideal!

[Muttocracy]

18. eventually things will get better.

My low point a few years ago was delivering phone books during a blizzard. I think by the time I paid for gas, I netted about $2 an hour. It wasn't worth the exhaustion and risk of wrecking my car. I'm down from 5 to 2 part-time jobs now. Sometimes I have to remind myself of that when I complain about my jobs now.

[gateley]

Holy cow - that sounds awful!

What type of part time jobs do you have? (I'm looking for ideas.) So do you work the two jobs only? Or are those in addition to a full time job? Do you LIKE any of them?

[Muttocracy]

36. I'm working two 20 hr/wk jobs.

They're in completely different departments at the same employer. It feels like I have 2 Mondays a week, but not two Fridays if that makes any sense. I like parts of both of them, and like the people I work with which is very important. I quit a job a few years ago because I couldn't deal with my supervisors - it was so stressful it was physically unhealthy. I could have made more money with that, but I was working so many hours a week it wasn't that great actually. So I like the people I work with now. But with only part-time at each one, it's hard to make as much progress as I'd like and point myself into more of a career with one or the other. Oh well, one day at a time.

[Muttocracy]

23. oh, lordy, pet food, that's another thing

The cost of my dogs' food just jumped up a lot - they had held it steady for a long time actually. Then the 40 lb bags became 35 lb bags, and the ingredients have changed and they're not agreeing w/ my dogs as well. I'm afraid they had to switch to cheaper ingredients or something.

I'm buying one of the higher end foods, but not the most expensive. If I have to switch to one of those, it's going to be financially painful.

:hug:

[gateley]

33. The other day I bought Nero a bag of his prescription food (5 lb/$25). It keeps

him alive so there's no way I'm going to not get it for him. I LITERALLY had Top Ramen (39 cents) for dinner.

[PatSeg]

12. There are so many things in the air these days

and the whole uncertain future thing is starting to takes its toll on people. It is really difficult to be optimistic anymore. But I try.

[gateley]

14. Sometimes just going to the store (I don't go far because of gas prices)

with a really blue sky, poufy white clouds, sometimes the scent of mowed grass, and really loud kick ass music on the radio make me really glad to be alive.

[Muttocracy]

15. I made myself sit outside with my dogs for a while this afternoon

doing nothing but enjoying dappled sun and a little breeze. I am a compulsive multi-tasker and have way too much on my plate at home and work right now, and I've been realizing that I never fully relax. Life isn't so bad when you remember to breathe. I'm glad I have my dogs for that. I'm not a morning person at all, but usually by the time I've taken them for a walk in the morning I can cope with the day.

[gateley]

16. We just need to "be" and stop trying to paddle upstream all the time.

It's hard for us --especially in our culture -- to do that.

Om.

[Muttocracy]

19. yeah, right now it's nothing huge wrong in my life

and I sometimes feel guilty for being stressed as much as I am given I've got it better than a lot of people. The problem is I'm still digging out of debt, and have been stressed about jobs and finances for about 10 years now (lots of short-term teaching stints, grant-funded jobs, etc.) - I think it's the chronic stress that's frying my nerves rather than anything at the moment. The cloud that's been over the country for most of those years hasn't helped either!

Are you jobhunting in N.C. or all over?

[gateley]

38. I always take exception to people saying "other people have it worse".

That doesn't negate our problems in the least. Just because someone else is going through more and different horrors, doesn't mean we're not rightfully scared or worried about OUR situation. It's valid and understandable. Our problems are real, too!

It sounds as though you've had to scrabble for years, and it makes sense you're still vigilant (for lack of a better word.) Debt is a BIG stress, and is always eating away at your insides.

I'm FIRST of all looking just right around where live. When I get a job I can get my car fixed to travel a little further, like to Raleigh, for a better paying job, then I want to get enough money together to move home to Seattle. That's my hope, anyway.

[jillan]

20. That's a good point.

Are you getting enough fresh air? Sitting outside in the sunshine is a great mood elevator.
Unless you live in Arizona this time of year.

[Muttocracy]

22. No. We've had rainy weather this summer and I have mold allergies

which are making me miserable, and which made me freak out when I found mold in my apt. a few weeks ago. I was already working on moving but that has accelerated it.

At one of my jobs the building is under major renovation and construction, and it is so noisy. That's another one of those chronic stress things that creeps up on me. My other office is just noisy.

I keep asking myself how I went to college and grad school, mostly in environmental science, and am now stuck behind a computer for both jobs. I'm glad to have income, but it's not worked out as I had hoped.

[PatSeg]

26. Where are moving to?

Another apartment or a house? Maybe this move will make a difference.

[Muttocracy]

29. it'll be better for mold

but depressing on other counts. It's another apartment, 2nd floor, with central air which will keep things drier. Going to be a pain with my dogs though. I'll be sharing with my mom who's having trouble living on her own on just social security and is having health problems. We do NOT get along under the same roof, but she can't afford her own place right now and I want to save up more money to be able to buy a decent house. A year ago I was making offers on houses and now I've taken some steps backwards which makes me really really really sad.

[PatSeg]

34. I think I've made far more steps "backwards" in my life

than forwards! Right now I figure if people can hold out a few more months, life might look a bit brighter. I'm taking things one-day-at-a-time. There is usually something to be gained from every experience even if it doesn't appear so at the time. I do have to say that overall this has been a really rough year though. No wonder I like coming here.

Can't advise you on "getting along with your mom" though. Never could get along with mine, though I'm fortunate in I get along with both my kids.

[jillan]

28. Does anybody's life ever turn out the way they thought it would?

I can't think of too many. We just have to learn to find the happiness in our situations.
And to remember to laugh at ourselves.

Environmental Science? If Obama gets in the WH, that field will hopefully be growing.
Who knows, your dream job might be just around the corner.

[Muttocracy]

31. Let's just say that finishing grad school

near the beginning of the Bush admin. was bad timing!!

[PatSeg]

35. Good point!

I'm hoping employment opportunities will open up with a Democratic administration. There has been so much damage the past eight years, we can only hope it can be repaired.

[Muttocracy]

25. after such an intriguing title, this thread will be not interesting

to many people :D

[PatSeg]

37. No, not to many people........

[DU GrovelBot]

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[CrispyQ]

41. I think it's an epidemic, & not just on DU.

I think people are starting to wake up & realize that America is on the down-slide & our leaders are asleep at the wheel. As long as they can get another 2-6 year term, great health benefits for life & a cushy lobbyist job when their 'public service' career is over, everything is fine -- who gives a shit about our constituents? :eyes:

I just finished Lee Iacocca's book, "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?" & there was only one thing he said that I disagreed with -- that we need to reconsider nuclear energy. Otherwise, I thought he was spot on with everything else he said. The book was published in 2007 & he has a small section where he discusses some of the presidential candidates. He says good leaders should have the Nine Cs of Leadership: Curiosity, Creativity, Communication, Character, Courage, Conviction, Charisma, Competence, & Common Sense. He has a short section where he discusses some of the presidential candidates in regards to the Nine Cs & in my opinion, Biden comes out on top.

snip...

Joe Biden is a career public servant. I've known Joe for many years & I like the guy. He has many of the qualities that make a leader. He is Competent, Creative & Curious. He has Common Sense. Not much Charisma, though. A lot of people think Biden is too plodding, but in my opinion this is a bum rap. Any maybe what we really need this time around is someone who knows what he or she is doing. I've seen Joe inspire small groups of people with his simple command of facts & his logic. He's not afraid to tell people what he thinks. There's some great experience in that man -- much of it in foreign affairs -- if we're willing to take advantage of it.

Joe's biggest challenge is that despite a long career in the Senate, he's not that well known across the country. If he wasn't to convince us he's ready to lead the nation, he'll have to get outside his cozy insider's world & Communicate his plan in a way that make people pay attention.

===
Ok, so there are two things I disagree with Iacocca about -- I think Joe has tons of Charisma! And I think the problem of not being well known is largely due to a complicit & lazy media.

But back to the original thought -- more & more people are starting to feel the pinch. There's a new super Walmart about 2 blocks from my house. Business is actually picking up there & I suspect that what's happening is that the people in the $500k houses down the road, are starting to shop at Walmart instead of Macy's & The Great Indoors. I don't think we were a very kind society before, but now it's even worse - we're becoming rats competing for fewer & fewer resources.

Gately, I had to smile when you mentioned you didn't want to go back into executive assistant work. After my three jobs in IT, I'm thinking that I'm going to try to go back to exec assist work. ;) Damn! I worked so hard to get IT credentials & certifications & now after a few years, I hate it! The thought of going back to an IT job makes my stomach knot up.

Good luck! I hope you find something that pays the bills & that you like. Forty hours a week is a huge chunk of our lives.

[jillan]

43. I've been meaning to read that book.

Sounds like it's worthwhile.