The Long Road Back

Today I got a call from my manager at the hotel. He asked if I could work tomorrow night. Could I? Of course!




Yesterday he called and asked if I could work for a few nights in April. Absolutely!



I hope the economy has begun to recover enough that we can all begin the long road back (pictured is Oyster Rocks Road leading to the Broadkill River – I took it this morning.) I have never experienced in my lifetime such a bad economy that affected so many people.



I have lived through recessions before but they never affected me. I always had a good paying job at the bank. But, I like many others of my generation were “outsourced”, “right-sized”, and “job eliminated” before we could reach our normal retirement. I was one of the fortunate few because I was able to make lateral moves throughout the rest of my career. Others, of course, were not so fortunate.



I don’t know of one person in my peer group who was able to reach normal retirement age at their long term job. Not one person. That’s saying something.



I thought I had dodge a bullet but the massive transfer of wealth that the crooks on Wall Street have been perpetuating on the American public since Reagan fired all those air traffic controllers finally caught me in their snare. I couldn’t sell my house after I had already contracted to buy another house here in Delaware. I finally did manage to sell my house but at a price much lower (28%) than I had asked. Because I didn’t sell my house for near what I had planned, I was forced to take on a mortgage on my present house. That wasn’t in my retirement plans.



Again, I am fortunate that I am able to pay for this mortgage unlike many others who were literally left out in the cold. I could pay the mortgage but didn’t leave much wiggle room in my retirement income for anything else. In fact, some months I come up short like the time I had to have car repairs.



Understandably I was quite concerned when our former president began a push to privatize Social Security, thus completing the Right Wing’s agenda of totally wiping out the middle class for their rich benefactors. The Bush Regime almost got my veteran’s benefits cut off. Little wonder that I changed my registration from being a lifetime Republican to a newly radicalized Democrat.



I have to stop myself because I feel myself going into a political rant. But I do want to say that I hope to God (and I’m not religious) that the Democrats get a pair and stand up to the Party of No who are trying to destroy Obama and the country by not supporting ANYTHING Obama proposes, including job creation.



This country needs jobs. The useless Republicans (most of whom are unpatriotic in my view because of their obstructionist policies) and the spineless Democrats need to stop their games and work together to create jobs for the great middle class of this country. I know my pleas are like pissing in the wind but there, I’ve said it.



Mark Twain was right when he said:

 “Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.”

I’m glad I’m going back to work.

Ten Bad Things About Being Laid Off

As promised in my previous blog, listed below are the ten bad things about not working (in no particular order):




1) Decreased cash flow, i.e.; less money

2) No money

3) No pay

4) No income

5) No cash



Okay, the first five are the same. I made my point. Talk about beating a dead horse…………



6) No mental stimulation

7) No reason to get up in the morning

8) No one to bore with my stories (something us old folk tend to do)

9) Fall behind on workplace gossip

10) Gain weight because now food is my only solace, company and friend



Ironically, shortly after I posted my blog about ten good reasons for not working, manager called and asked if I would be able to work in April.



Would I? YES!

Ten Good Things About Being Laid Off

It is now almost two months since I’ve been laid off my job at the hotel. So how is retirement?


Well, it’s been good and bad.

First with the good:

1) I’m getting a lot more sleep. I never miss my afternoon nap. And it shows. I look rested and refreshed. My eyes have that youthful sparkle again. No more the haggard look. I am looking good if I do say so myself.

2) I’m saving money on gas. When I was working I would have to fill my tank at least once at week at $15 to $17 a pop. I don’t remember the last time I filled my tank. Maybe about 2 ½ weeks ago. Could be longer.

3) I get to see all my Netflix movies on a timely basis. I’ve upped my subscription to four movies out at a time. That provides a nice turn around. I always seem to have a movie or two waiting for my viewing pleasure.

4) I’m almost caught up on my backlog of e-mails. At one time I had over 400 messages (not all personal) in my Inbox. I’ve since whittled that down to just a little over hundred (mostly having to do with genealogy. Those e-mails require more attention.)

5) I’ve made a serious dent (not completed yet) of unpacking the boxes from my move to Delaware three years ago and sorting through those items and making decisions of what stays and what goes.

6) I sleep late EVERYDAY. I get up when I want to. I go to bed when I want to. The importance of that freedom cannot be stressed enough. For over fifty years I got up out of bed on someone else’s schedule. I looked forward to the day when I could get up when I wanted to, take a nap when I wanted to, and go to bed when I wanted to. I LOVE IT!

7) I don’t have anyone complaining to me. Again, a seemingly small thing but very important on lowering and eliminating stress in my life.

8) I get to enjoy my wonderful new home that I worked for all my life. I had this home built to accommodate me in the final phase of my life. I treasure every day in my nest, no matter what the weather is outside. I LOVE IT!

9) Speaking of the weather – I don’t have to go out in the bad weather. Rain, lightening, and blizzards. I don’t have to go anywhere. I can stay inside snug as a bug in a rug. I do not take that small luxury for granted. I LOVE IT!

10) I now have the time to cook my favorite dishes. Apple pie, eggplant Parmesan, spinach lasagna. Who needs restaurants? I cook better than any restaurant and I don’t have to tip myself. I LOVE IT!



Tomorrow I’ll list the ten bad things about not working.

I Gotta Get Out of Here

It’s been almost a month now since I’ve been out work. I still haven’t reset my daily schedule to cope with this unexpected development.




I needed work not only for the extra money that it brought into the household (and paid the mortgage) but for my mental well being.



I am hard wired to work. I’ve had some kind of job since I was 5 years old (used to run errands to the local grocery store for my neighbors) to paper boy, office cleaner, dishwasher, store clerk, bank operations manager, and now hotel front desk clerk. It’s been quite a ride but I’m not ready to quit working yet.



I don’t want to work full time but I do want and need the discipline of a job to go to. As a co-worker of mine explained (he also worked part-time like I did), “My job gives me something to plan my week around.” That explains my needs also.



It’s not as if I don’t have enough to do around the house, I do. However, I do need to go out and when I go out I like to get paid. If I don’t get paid, then when I go out I’m spending money. Or at least that’s what I used to do. I’m at a time of my life that I don’t need much of anything any more. I’m in the maintenance stage. Plus, I don’t have the disposable income to indulge in buying things I don’t need.



So it’s time for reset in my life. I need to reset my daily routine where it doesn’t include getting dressed up and going to work and dealing with the public.



That’s where I am at now. I can’t do what I did today. I let my sour mood bring out the worst in my personality and I posted a very negative blog. There are more than enough blogs that complain about everything, mine certainly isn’t going to make a difference. Besides, the things I complain about are like pissing in the wind. It all comes back on me.



Thus tomorrow I will get out, even if it is for a ride to visit my friend who lives in the woods on the outskirts of Georgetown. Maybe I’ll just take a ride to the end of Long Neck Road and sit in my car and look at the bay. I have to do something to get out of the house and not let my negative feelings overtake me. I am better than that.

My New Job

This is the first working day of the New Year. As I mentioned in previous blog postings, I’m on hiatus from my part time job at the hotel. However, that doesn’t mean I stop working. To the contrary, I have a new job. I’m working for myself.




Today I’m selecting old photographs to scan into my computer. Some of these photographs I’m posting to my Facebook account to share with friends and family. This is a job that I’ve been putting off for a long time. Now is the time.

I feel this need to get everything in order before I check out of this world. At 68 years old, I don’t have that long horizon of time left to me to procrastinate.



The thought has crossed my mind more than a few times that no one would be interested in whatever mementos that I leave behind. But I can’t be concerned about that. I have to do what I have to do.



Through my genealogy research I know how appreciative I am to come across information and photos left behind my ancestors. Sadly, most people leave this earth and their life history goes with them. I’m just that self involved that I don’t want that to be my legacy.



The sun is out today, the winds have died down but the cold is still in the area. Shortly I’m meeting friends for lunch in Rehoboth. I feel good about my situation now and I'm looking forward to a very productive year.