That is just a little sentence I came up with accidentally about 2 months ago to describe the situation I am in right now. First, Elisabeth and Penny are fantastic. Penny is having some poop issues, things all little ones go through, but it is cool. Things between my wife and I, considering the situation, are really good. My problem is with the lay-off and what has come after. If you want to hear an introspective Rick, read on, if not, we will soon return you to your regularly scheduled Drover and Savvy update.
Quick update: I was laid off Jan 6, collected my severance until Feb 24, and have been on unemployment the whole time. I thought to myself that freelancing in NY was the answer, since pickings are slim in Philly, so I pursued that avenue. "The View" was an experience to say the least, but the 3:30 - 5AM drive didn't help, and the beyatch that was training me, and the nasty mood I was in dictated that it wouldn't last long. Next option: school. Lucky for me, Bucks County Comm. Coll. was giving free classes to laid-off county residents. I am currently enrolled in an accounting course that I actually like. The one bright spot in all of this. Also, I agreed to do work at my mothers house for pay, but that is turning into a black hole. Don't get me wrong, I like working on houses and stuff, but working for my mother who can't decide on shit has got me so frustrated. I want to be done that job yesterday, and it's been like 6 weeks so far. She has paid me for the materials so far, but not the labor. I don't even know how or what to charge her for labor. Like I said, I hate me new life.
The worst part in all of this is I am missing the people I used to work with. We were extremely close, and some people I haven't talked to in a month. My best friend whom I worked with, who lives 5 minutes from me by car, has a god awful TV job in NY at 4 AM and can never hang out. And I am 30 years old and still don't know what to do when I grow up. I want to be done with my mother's so I can go to work part time, but I know as soon as that happens I will wish I was back at my mother's. Like Stewie said, "Life is complicated when you grow up, isn't it Brian?" I guess I just want to get a PT job, so I can continue with free classes and unemployment, so I can get an accounting cert., so I can get an accounting job. Easier said than done. Well, if you got this far, god bless you. I just needed to vent a little and hopefully get some words of encouragement. Hope ya'll are doing fantastic.
"Brian had sex/ with a really dumb girl/ and now he taking his friend Stewie/ to get some ice cream/ in his car." - sung to the tune "Cars" by Gary Numan
Also, here's a jerk I saw loitering in Peddeler's Village in Lashaska, PA not two weeks ago:
Thursday, March 19, 2009
I Hate My New Life
Posted by Rick at 9:27 PM
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8 comments:
Also, may I add that man-boobs are tragic.
What? I'm sorry, you lost me after i figured out this wasn't a Drover & Savvy update.
You should quit the job at your mother's and come work on my house instead. I need the bathroom redone. And i just decided i want a front porch.
Normally i would put on my "words of encouragement" hat now and point out how great your life is in other ways, but it sounds like you have a good healthy grip of that already. So i'll just say that, even though it's always easier to say than do, it sounds to me like you do have a direction that you'd like to take. So go for it. Life is short. Always go after what you want, if you're lucky enough to have the slightest inkling of what that is.
You are right, I do have it good, and more or less I needed to vent about the one part of my life that is not. I guess I thought when I got laid off that I was cool with it and will find something else, but as time goes by I am getting more frustrated with that situation.
Part of the deal doing the work at my mothers is her watching Penny while I work. How good are you at watching terrible soon to be 2 year olds? Also, I thought your house has a front porch. Maybe I am wrong.
That's rough, dude. Hang in there, and remember that you have a beautiful family. That reminds me: post some pictures of Penny.
I am theoretically excellent at watching children, except for how i'm never home. Plus the dogs are good at it, like the dog in Peter Pan. And my house just has a cement patio outside the front door... i want an overhang. And a railing. Oh yes, i'm so classy.
I still remember when i got really sick of failing to find a job after college. It's just never a good feeling. But you actually have skills and maturity and all that good stuff, so i'm sure something will come along soon -- hopefully something you LIKE. And with perks for me. What's Ron Hextall doing these days? ;-)
Man-cans are indeed a tragedy. I was concerned as a teen that, unless something changed, people would mistake me for a woman. Thankfully, chest hair and a penis solved that.
Working for family is an impressively challenging situation. There's always one side of the transaction that sees it as family, not business, and it drives you up a wall. She wouldn't do that to a contractor, because she'd hear the cash register every time she opened her mouth. Of course, you're neutral on cash, except for the whole "I've invested my time" aspect. Maybe you want to account for your hours, and what you've invested time-wise so far, so she can understand the ramifications of her decisions? It's a hard, difficult discussion for sure.
Taking the time to re-tool yourself is an exceptional idea, just like we discussed when we were up. Especially with accounting and similar business skills, these provide you with a wide, broad skillset that you can apply across many careers and ideas.
You and Elisabeth are smart, hardworking people. Your house is evidence of that. Your also giving, caring people (your house is also evident of that -- I think you let me take a sawzall to your den wall in 2007/2008. In the corporate world, or any work world, the grass is always greener. I've had, to date, 5 or 6 alternative careers start brewing and I didn't pursue a single one because "I don't want this to become a job". It's painfully pragmatic but that's life. The compromise many make is being happy enough with how they spend their time, and what they do, and creating opportunities outside of their work for themselves.
Good luck, Rick, walking your path. Thanks for sharing with all of us; as a group, this is what we are here for.
Andrew, thank you for the kind words. Also, I am worried that you grew your penis as a teen, I've had mine for a lot longer.
You're right about family. They suck. I am now putting my mom's on hold for a week so I can lay tile at my brothers, because the guy he was going to hire to do it flaked out and disappeared on him. And he has a carpet guy ready to go as soon as the tile is in. Pain in the ass because I wanted to be done my mom's this week. My brother is promising cold hard cash, though. So I got that going for me.
As been discussed before, I do like the accounting, it's just that it's going to take to the end of next summer to get the certificate. I never wanted to be unemployed for a year. I will give it time, and then see where life takes me.
For a while, I checked the blog each hour, and then I went away for a couple of months and you all have major life things going on! I'm sorry about the job, but despite the sucky situation, you seem to be dealing beautifully. If it helps at all, Tim's 30, and we still don't have a clue either.
It's great you're enjoying the accounting - for a finance person who shunned it, it's annoyingly and ridiculously everywhere! Definite job security for you. Good luck in discovering the new you!
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