Unemployment in the News

Reports trim fears the economy might slide back into recession

Data on jobless, trade gap offer some hope
This morning (2 am on Friday the 17th) I turned on my computer and loaded the Internet. The above titled article was the first thing I saw on my msn.com link. I read the article and immediately had to comment on the msnbc.com website. Following is what I posted.
 
This is the most ridiculous report. I'm so sick of employed people reporting on how the job market is going, if they really want to know then why don't they ask the unemployed people. I had been working for a Property Management /Construction Company for 4 years. When Construction took a turn for the worse the Property Management Company couldn't take the expense and the entire company went under. I was laid off in February of this year and finding another job has been hard. There are so many companies out there that now have the choice to only hire people at minimum wage. You have the high school graduates, the people that have run out of unemployment all together and are desperate and the newly unemployed, you offer any of them $10 hr or below and the high school graduate and the unemployment veteran are going to snag that job in a heartbeat. The truly qualified middle-class American or above is screwed. I would have to take 3 jobs at $10 hr or less, just to make the mortgage, car payment, and feed my kids.


My unemployment ran out in August and I just got the letter saying that it will be continued due to the Federal extension. Can you just imagine how many people out there that have run out of unemployment and don't qualify for the extension. Are we comparing the unemployment rate falling with the welfare rate?

You also have the companies that are eliminating positions while they are posting jobs. I have had 14 responses from employers. Thank you for submitting your resume however we have decided to go in a different direction with this position. The next thing you know that position has been eliminated.

If the job market is doing so well then why is my brother getting laid off at the end of October because his employer decided to replace employee's with automated machines. My Aunt's law firm is down sizing and they are letting people go at the end of the year. My Uncle works for a private school and they are planning on closing by next school year. This is not good news people. The other day I was trying to think of someone I knew that had a job (not many).

Job Hunting

You know the scene in Pretty Women where Julia Roberts comes back from Rodeo Drive and the Hotel Manager pulls her into the office and tells her that she should dress more appropriately if she wants to be seen in the hotel. Then she pulls out all the cash from her pockets and starts crying.

HM: I would also encourage you to dress a little more appropriately; that will be all.

JR: No, that's not all. That's what I was trying to do. I tried to go get a dress on Rodeo Drive today, and the women wouldn't help me and I have all this money now and no dress! Not that I expect you to help me, but I have all of this, okay? I have to buy a dress for dinner tonight and nobody will help me.

That is exactly how I feel. I have all this experience and know one will hire me. When I express my stressed feelings about not having any income, people say well just get a job. I HAVE BEEN TRYING!!! I have applied at every place I can think of. I am overqualified for fast food, and retail stores. I tried not turning in my resume to one employer and just listing the basics on my application but they said I tested to high for the position, come back when they have a supervisory position open.

How about a I have to feed my three kids position - do they have any of those. The doom of a career these days is making to much money. When the economy crashes then companies can't afford to hire you. At this point I will work 2 $10 an hour jobs just to put food on the table and keep the lights on.

Hitting Bottom = No Income, No mate, 3 hungry kids, utilities being shut off, and family that can't help.

Faith = hitting bottom and still believing that everything will be OK.

Crazy = hitting bottom and still believing that everything will be OK.

Slumdog Millionaire

I watched this movie yesterday for the first time. When it came out they kept showing previews of these kids dancing next to trains, so I thought oh great it's a Bali version of high school musical. I immediately wrote it on my do not want to watch list.

Yesterday it was on TV and I just happened to see it. NOTHING like they advertised. It is not a FEEL-GOOD movie. In fact I think I cried through most of it. It is a movie about all the crap this kid went through and how it just happened to be that because of his life experiences he was able to answer most of the questions on Who Wants to be a Millionaire show. Then when he is doing really good they beat him because they think he is cheating. During the entire movie he is searching for the love of his life that he met when he was like 6 yrs old. Every time he finds her something bad happens. It was a good movie about the perspective other countries have on game shows.

Life

Well first off let me say - I suck! For someone that loves to write I haven't been doing a very good job at posting on here!

I had been busy working on my books, selling Tupperware, and looking for a job. My books are confusing me and getting complicated, Tupperware isn't selling and looking for a job sucks. I have applied for property management jobs, accounting jobs, graphic design jobs, office jobs, scale tenant for waste management. Either I get no response or I get an e-mail that says thanks for applying but we have decided to close the position at this time. So had I gotten the job I just would have been laid off right away. The economy really sucks right now, or is it just my life.

Belly Dancing

When I first signed up for belly dancing I was so excited. I had been to a couple of events where they had belly dancers perform. I loved they way they were able to move their bodies. I got ready for class in my comfy loose pants and tank top. I got to the class early and waited out in the hallway for the doors to open. Class began and the 4 of us lined up awaiting instruction. She went over the basic steps and then told us that we would be putting them all together in a dance. She turned and faced the wall of mirrors looking behind her to see if we were following her steps exactly. She couldn't see me because I was standing right behind her, so she had me move over to the left. She started moving and we had to look in the mirror to see all of what she was doing. I looked and I kept seeing this huge woman that barely looked like she was doing the steps. A couple of movements later I realized that was me. I kept messing up the routine, unable to look back into the mirror, I was horrified. She stopped to work with us one-on-one for a while and then some people came in to demonstrate what the full routine would look like when we had gotten it down. I looked over and saw my kids looking through the window. They had been playing at the park and I was glad that they had missed the site of me trying to do belly dancing. At this point I wanted to just go home and throw up.

We left and I held back my tears in the car. When we got home I told the kids I had hurt my knee and needed to go up stairs and lay down. I walked into my room and sat in my office chair. How could I have let myself get this big. I turned and noticed my reflection in the mirrors on the closet door. Then I turned and LOOKED at myself in the wall of mirrors behind me. I realized that even though I had mirrors on 3 out of 4 walls in my room I had actually never looked at myself in them. Come to think of it I had not actually looked at myself in any mirror for the past 14 years. Yea I had pulled a mirror close up to put on my makeup or pluck my eyebrows. I gave myself the daily glance to make sure I matched, but that was it. In my mind I am 125 lbs with long brown hair, perky tits, a plump ass, and a flat stomach. That is who i am when I dream, when I right a story, and when I look down. Every once in a while I would see a picture, get horrified and then forget about it. Not this time the site of all that fat moving when I moved and hiding all of the moving that I thought I was doing has been burned into my retina. That night I dreamt of myself as a fat person. The next day I held up my close before I put them on and they looked like circus tents. The blinders had come off.

A couple of days later we were going hiking and I was excited because exercise would do this body good. We got half way up the hill and I couldn't breath, I felt like I was wearing a fat suit and my joints wouldn't bend. I stopped and thought for a moment. How is it that I could do this hike a month ago with no problem and yet now I thought I was going to die. I don't think that I gained all of this weight in the last month, because all of my close are the same size as they were 14 years ago. So what has changed? Oh yea my perception of myself. How could I go back to thinking thin. Well I definitely wasn't going back to Belly Dancing class. I know I will work on my story and then I will have to think thin. I walked back down the hill and went and sat in the van waiting for the rest of the group to finish. Then when I got home I worked on my story. That night I had a dream where I was back to my old body - the skinny sexy one. The next morning I went back to my ways of not LOOKING into the mirror. I felt better already.
Now I practice my belly dancing in the comfort of my living room (there's no mirror in there).

Drum Circle

The drum is a musical instrument transformed into a healing tool. Drumming is a return to wholeness. It helps humanity maintain its innate connection to the rhythms of nature. Your body has natural rhythms such as the rhythm of your heartbeat, your circadian rhythm, which is sleeping and waking, the rhythm of your breathing, rhythms of brain waves, and hormonal rhythms. Your immune system loves a good beat. Drumming is about self-expression, relaxation, spirituality, quality of life and healing.
You don't need any drumming experience. Drums will be available for you to use or you can bring your own. The philosophy of drumming is about connecting to the beat within you. Healing, like rhythm, comes from within you.
Daniel Ide is an experienced drummer and a great drum circle facilitator. He has a great understanding of the drum and different sounds that you can get depending on the type and how you hit it.
Above is a picture of a drum circle group. Our group meets in a wood paneled room with wood floors. If you just sit while the others are drumming and put your hands on the top of the drum then you can feel the vibrations go through your hands and feet. It is amazing!

OBMS

ORANGE BELT MINERALOGICAL SOCIETY


A nonprofit organization and club promoting education of geology, and the lapidary arts. Donations accepted receipts available upon request, and for larger donations.

Working with Gem Stones and Rocks is called Lapidary.

Lapidary is fun and rewarding. All are welcome to join our meetup group. You will find good information in our links area, the OBMS news letters offer a wealth of information. We also have photos of events and field trips, so join up even if you are not local to this area. We offer Training, and access to a fully tooled Work Shop. Training includes, Lapidary, Field Trips, go collect your own Gems and Rocks with our group and group leaders!

We give instruction on making Jewelry, Silver Smithing, Wire Wrapping, learn how to carve, and much more. After you collect your Gems and Rocks, or make some Jewelry you can sell your finds, and art work at our “Gem and Mineral Tail Gate Show’s” This is a regular event to support our nonprofit organization, so that we can continue educating the community young and not so young and everyone in between, about minerals and the Lapidary arts.

On the first Thursday of the month the general Public is invited to visit our work Shop, and receive the valuable instruction on turning stones into jewlery. You will be shown how to use the shop equipment and have a hands on experience to make your own piece. We will even include the material for your first FREE Visit as our Guest.

THE WORK SHOP IS LOCATED AT: 205 W. BENEDICT #8 SAN BERNARDINO, CA

Just off of Arrowhead Ave, by the Orange Show Grounds

You are welcome to come by any time that we are open for up to four free visits. Visits include personal instruction and the use of the general workshop, first timers will recieve a free gem/lapidary slab to work with and help in creating your first jewlery ready lapidary stone, known as a Cab. Saw use and other items require a donation to use, so that we can replace blades and so on.

You are welcome to become a full OBMS member fees run between $25 and $45 a year( depending on the size of your family), with a $10 first time enrollment fee. Shop or class fees are $5 each time

We are Open, Mondays through Thursdays 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

Saturdays 10:00 am to 3:00 pm and often other times as well.

Shop Number: 909-381-0089 Email: OBMS_PR@yahoo.com