Off topic: Life sucks, and: Many thanks guys and gals...

[Jim Clark]

Dam Tug!

Congrats on the new arrival.

The loss of a job always sucks. I'll bet it turns out to be a good thing though, as others have said. I had my own software business for many years. I was forced to close it a few years back. Since then I've made a living doing several different things. Mostly I've done computer service work through a classified ad in the paper. I've just started trying to do some other things that I hope will make me a little more money, because I've just barely been scraping by with the computer work. I'm building some furniture and hopefully I can sell it. And like Jim Clark, I'm fixing up my current house and hope to sell it for a profit and then buy another to do the same. I'm not sure if this is all going to work out, but for the time being it beats the hell out of any other job I've ever had and if a good job presents itself, I can take it with no problem and continue some of this other stuff on the side.

My dad and granddad were both carpenters. In fact my dad had a really good corporate job for a Fortune 500 company when he decided he wanted to do something else. He started building houses. My grandpa acted as a mentor for my dad and taught him the ins and outs of construction. We did pretty much everthing carpentry-wise on the first several houses, and then later he settled in to doing the trim carpentry and building the decks. So, I think you should go for it and I wish you luck and hope that you're very happy doing it.

John

Not that it really matters in the long run, but my address will remain unchanged! I had bought and been working on another house, although mine always seems to need a little something done to it. I'm seriously looking at doing the same with a duplex however I may try to hold on to it and see if I can make some money renting it out. Being a landlord isn't something I have any experience with and I'm not sure it's going to be worth the hassle but you never know.

jc

[3-LockBox]

I can relate having been laid off numerous times and fired once. One time I was laid off just two months before my first child was due. The boss seemed to be concerned that I had been taking so much time off to accompany my wife on doctor's appointments. Its very likely your company saw you as a future albatros, being a new dad, if you showed more dedication to your family than your job. I've seen it over and over, that men who never even consider their own family seem to be put off by the ones that do. It was that 'laying off' that convinced me and my wife that I become a stay-at-home dad, and I was for the next 4 years. I never regretted it either.

Chin up. You can spend more time bonding with your child. You will see the fruits of such time spent later down the road and its worth it. sounds like you were set up but you know what they say, living well is the best revenge. These bastards who helped set you up know that they could be next and you'd be able to cut the paranoia and tension with a knife. This may very well be a favour in disguise.

Best of luck to in whatever field you pursue

Could you send me your address?

threelockboxtodd@yahoo.com

[LDL]

You,ll have your day! I lost my job to overseas op.(18yrs. on the job) The guys that did the inplant throat cutting seemed to be sorry,but did their job easily. I learned just the other day that my x-boss is now a long haul truck driver.As for me? I work for a local Car Audio shop.Now I'm the Boss! X-boss came in for XM!!!

[paper warrior]

Getting monotononous but i'm not really religious either.Not sure why I think of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" as somewhat religious and comforting maybe because I'm going to be 53 this year. Also Numbers with Wings by the Bongos from the New Wave era:

http://www1.shore.net/~natalie/numbers.htm