Well...thus far 2007 has truly been the worst of years for me personally even more so that 2006 when I lost my Mother and Grandmother.
Jan07 .... Nortel Networks lays off an additional 3000 employees.... bringing the world wide workforce to a minimalist 30,000. Over the past 6 years nearly 60,000 people were "released" from the 90,000 strong workforce that helped Nortel become a leading player in VOIP and Enterprise Switching hardware.
I would like to thank Mexico, Turkey (for the fundamental mind fugging blow they deliver to U.S. employees, by providing outsourcing services to U.S. companies just because a taco or package of halva is less than a hamburger), every CEO (we once had a CEO (John Roth) give himself a 12million dollar bonus) and CFO that saw fit to mis-report and "cook the books" and then bail with inflated stock option values.
Every co-worker I had the privilege of knowing had gone at least 6 YEARS without an increase in pay... because we knew the higher-ups had screwed the company, but we believed we were on the road to recovery.
Guess I could to move to mexico to get back into the company...but wait Americans CANNOT work in Mexico...and their government prosecutes companies that employ gringos! What a Concept! Imagine that!
They now hire what they call NPWs...contractors that can only work for 47 weeks of the year....they then have to wait a period of time before they can again work for Nortel...this eliminates any chance of insurance/benefits or financial obligation to those people.
4 months later...still unable to secure employment in my area at even 1/2 of my previous salary. Job market not what it was 10 years ago... now I have to be a minority or illegal with a masters degree to earn or be level 1 lab tech.
Then...April07, in an effort to capture a quality video for the h.org folks at the spring bash.....I let everyone go ahead after the first stop, thinking that it would be nice to come up from the back of the pack getting everyone on tape for a little while during the ride...I make a casual pass zukracer and flow through a gentle left sweeper only to notice a trooper on the side... I gave a acknowledging wave as I passed him and then saw his lights. I stopped fast enuf that he didn't have to move much more than 50 ft from his spot.
My reward...an alleged 79 in a 45.
I am not too sure if that is accurate, I was only in 3rd gear at about 5K~6K RPM ....with a 43T rear sprocket.
Either way...it's a MANDATORY court appearance. No fine listed on the citation. Did I mention I live in FL?
22 days and 3 phone calls later...I still have not been given a call back from the attorney firm I have been trying to reach off the TOD web page.
Now May07.... unemployed, looming court date drawing closer, frustrated by the fact that my wife has to assume the role of "provider".... I get regular insomnia and live with a gut wrenching knot in my stomach from all this.
So I decide to let things take their course, and do some "home improvement" projects...to let the wife know I am not completely useless.
I have been using craigslist and some other sites as well as Habbitat for Humanities to track down some inexpensive supplies (if not free) and I acquired what materials I needed to keep me going for a while.
I managed to screen in our back patio (to avoid the FL state bird...the Mosquito) so it could be used at night.
Then due to the age of the patio, it was a nasty grey/aged aluminum roof.... so I got some "kool white" roof coating to apply and improve the look as well as keep out the heat.
Well....after applying the top coat to the roof....I found myself in a situation where I took the "express route" off my roof...and even though it's only 10 feet...apparently you can accelerate very quickly in that short distance. So... 10ft X 240lb person + uneven ground = broken leg.
Ok, "broken" isn't quite right, but multiple fractures in the fibula and tibia plateau as seen by the MRI do require immobilization for a week or two.
This significantly hinders the job search part of my routine and nearly eliminates any interview options.
I am sure there's more....but if this continues to follow this pattern everyone had better steer clear of me.... I don't want to rub off on anyone.
Jan07 .... Nortel Networks lays off an additional 3000 employees.... bringing the world wide workforce to a minimalist 30,000. Over the past 6 years nearly 60,000 people were "released" from the 90,000 strong workforce that helped Nortel become a leading player in VOIP and Enterprise Switching hardware.
I would like to thank Mexico, Turkey (for the fundamental mind fugging blow they deliver to U.S. employees, by providing outsourcing services to U.S. companies just because a taco or package of halva is less than a hamburger), every CEO (we once had a CEO (John Roth) give himself a 12million dollar bonus) and CFO that saw fit to mis-report and "cook the books" and then bail with inflated stock option values.
Every co-worker I had the privilege of knowing had gone at least 6 YEARS without an increase in pay... because we knew the higher-ups had screwed the company, but we believed we were on the road to recovery.
Guess I could to move to mexico to get back into the company...but wait Americans CANNOT work in Mexico...and their government prosecutes companies that employ gringos! What a Concept! Imagine that!
They now hire what they call NPWs...contractors that can only work for 47 weeks of the year....they then have to wait a period of time before they can again work for Nortel...this eliminates any chance of insurance/benefits or financial obligation to those people.
4 months later...still unable to secure employment in my area at even 1/2 of my previous salary. Job market not what it was 10 years ago... now I have to be a minority or illegal with a masters degree to earn or be level 1 lab tech.
Then...April07, in an effort to capture a quality video for the h.org folks at the spring bash.....I let everyone go ahead after the first stop, thinking that it would be nice to come up from the back of the pack getting everyone on tape for a little while during the ride...I make a casual pass zukracer and flow through a gentle left sweeper only to notice a trooper on the side... I gave a acknowledging wave as I passed him and then saw his lights. I stopped fast enuf that he didn't have to move much more than 50 ft from his spot.
My reward...an alleged 79 in a 45.
I am not too sure if that is accurate, I was only in 3rd gear at about 5K~6K RPM ....with a 43T rear sprocket.
Either way...it's a MANDATORY court appearance. No fine listed on the citation. Did I mention I live in FL?
22 days and 3 phone calls later...I still have not been given a call back from the attorney firm I have been trying to reach off the TOD web page.
Now May07.... unemployed, looming court date drawing closer, frustrated by the fact that my wife has to assume the role of "provider".... I get regular insomnia and live with a gut wrenching knot in my stomach from all this.
So I decide to let things take their course, and do some "home improvement" projects...to let the wife know I am not completely useless.
I have been using craigslist and some other sites as well as Habbitat for Humanities to track down some inexpensive supplies (if not free) and I acquired what materials I needed to keep me going for a while.
I managed to screen in our back patio (to avoid the FL state bird...the Mosquito) so it could be used at night.
Then due to the age of the patio, it was a nasty grey/aged aluminum roof.... so I got some "kool white" roof coating to apply and improve the look as well as keep out the heat.
Well....after applying the top coat to the roof....I found myself in a situation where I took the "express route" off my roof...and even though it's only 10 feet...apparently you can accelerate very quickly in that short distance. So... 10ft X 240lb person + uneven ground = broken leg.
Ok, "broken" isn't quite right, but multiple fractures in the fibula and tibia plateau as seen by the MRI do require immobilization for a week or two.
This significantly hinders the job search part of my routine and nearly eliminates any interview options.
I am sure there's more....but if this continues to follow this pattern everyone had better steer clear of me.... I don't want to rub off on anyone.