Entry for December 13, 2007

Just to briefly recap the week which is my 15th week of being jobless. Gin was in charge of Nolan for four of the five weekdays. Tuesday I rode with Gin to the One Stop job service office. She had her General Orientation and I did some job searches using their resource room. After the brief trip downtown, we stopped at the Inman Library to kill some time before picking Nolan up from daycare. Picking up Nolan was my big bragging event. We walked into his classroom and he was in the final stages of getting changed. As he was rising up from the table, he looked over at me and said "PAPPY". I was thrilled to have him call for me like that.


Most afternoons when Gin has Nolan, she keeps him in the living room while I conduct job searches at our desk in the dining room. I'll take breaks to help when Gin needs it and sometimes when she doesn't. He usually takes a nap for 45 minutes to an hour each afternoon. Sometimes the nap starts on the way home in the car. Sometimes Gin sits with him on the couch and reads a few books to him before he sleeps. Nolan is very good with books and loves the stories and pictures.

Tuesday afternoon I had an interview class at the One Stop office. Thursday, as you read in a previous post, was the March of Dimes CEO Breakfast in which I was the Ambassador Speaker. The rest of the week was normal job searching and applying for work or following up on jobs I've applied for.

This is my third jobless period in my life and I'm feeling more stress than the other two. Our debts are a lot different than before. We just refinanced our home in July and Freddie Mac does not have sympathy on those who just started a loan. Even though we have had this house for over 10 years, there is little help for granting loan modifications due to the loan age. We are constantly communicating with our lender and keeping an open dialog about our situation. I'm not sure how this will all turn out. All I can do is stay focused and keep my head up. I'm always researching avenues of help and advice from housing industry professionals.
The job search is tough and my network of friends and former co-workers is turning up very few leads. Not having a college degree is one major obstacle I face daily when applying for work. Sure, I could take a few steps back and return to my blue-collar roots. But for now, I am determined to find the right company that will see me for my experience in heavy industry as both a worker and a management team member. My last two employers saw my potential and used my blue collar know how to enhance their management practices. There's nothing like knowing how the workers think about something you want them to do. I am also able to communicate, the workers, the intentions of the management team when a decision is handed down.

P@