Sunday, July 26, 2020

I'm back! Sort of....

Hello there. Been awhile.
I've been hanging out over at Facebook for the last couple years. It ain't always pretty over there. Got a few friends, a few people who follow me and seem to like what I do -- but there's a lot of petty, stupid BS over there, too.
So I'm posting this to see if anyone notices. Maybe it's time for this blog to make a comeback.
Things have changed. I'm no longer working, been unemployed since last November, before the coronavirus crisis. They worked me to death at my old job, to the point where my legs and feet were cramping up every night. Every day for three months, I complained that I needed more help, that nobody was doing their job, that everybody left all their work for me.
Finally, I came in on a Monday evening to discover that the place was a wreck, that nothing had been done during my weekend off. I had a screaming meltdown for about five minutes. Then I did my usual evening's work, putting the place back together from scratch.
I was fired the next day, after 16 years at the store. It came as sort of a relief.
My request for unemployment compensation was denied. It took the unemployment folks two months to make a decision. My appeal was also denied. My former employers didn't even bother to show up for the appeal hearing.
I started sending out resumes the first day after getting fired, but there wasn't much out there. Then the coronavirus hit and jobs practically disappeared.
There's been a slight bounceback since mid-May, when the economy started opening back up again, but there still isn't much out there. I sort of went into shock when corona hit, but since then have been fairly optimistic about future job possibilities.
I'm just grateful I had a little money stashed away when I was fired.
Know anybody who could use a decent reporter-editor-proofreader-photographer with 20 years of experience? How about a retail-sales cashier and customer-service rep with 21 years of experience? If so, let me know below. I could use a good job, even part-time. Not truly desperate yet, but getting there.
Still reading lots and listening to music some. I have maybe half the energy I did five years ago, so I'm afraid that book I was planning to write about Really Bad Prog is most likely never going to get finished.
I have a couple other book projects in the works, however. Am currently 8,000 words into a cheezy B-movie-style horror novel. God knows if I'll get it done, either. But my next completed book will go to a legitimate print publisher. My experience with selling e-books has not been good.
I am hanging in. Wish I had some more positive news to pass on.
My girlfriend had a heart pacemaker installed back in December after some fairly scary health-related stuff happened, and though she feels way better than she did before, neither of us are planning to run any marathons. I'm grateful she's around to take care of me. I do my best to take care of her.
If anybody's out there, drop me a line in the comments below. Let me know what you've been up to. We'll see if this blog is worth getting rolling again.