I've been in contact with some actual decision makers regarding work. That's a nice change from trying to get through the fearful 20something HR Hax. I feel pretty good about my prospects, too, because I KNOW that I can help their businesses as a marketing consultant. I have had success in exactly the kind of methods they need to grow. Having worked with owners who are willing to do what it takes to get worthwhile results, my experience is valuable.
Now it's a matter of finding one who's willing to pay me a fair amount for the kind of improvement I will be bringing their way.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
I should have studied Chinese
From watching the news and reading I've heard that unemployment is now at 9.9%. But wait! The government's statistics count as "being employed" those people who have returned to school (and likely are taking out megaloans, which can't be good for the future) because they can't find work, whose Unemployment Insurance has run out, half of a couple who've gone down to one income from two, and prematurely "retired", as being employed. I figure that a realistic unemployment figure is at least double, or 20% plus. This is a real Depression, folks, not a "recession".
It's amazing how much one can learn, without even paying for a school's tuition, just by observing, when one has the time due to lack of work. One thing I've learned is that it takes one to two years before the employment rate starts catching up to the recovery of a stock market. There are many conceivable reasons for this: companies benefiting from foreign trade, resurgence of profits from derivatives, collection on loans, new loans, what have you. But for those of us who were not in a secure spot before the fall, things won't be getting better for a long, long time.
This has got me to reconsider an idea from the recent past: Is it better to be homeless in the U.S., or in, say, Amsterdam? If one winds up losing one's physical home, and one is not tied down with a family, how much of a hardship would it be to just uproot, and "walk the earth"? My Oldsmobile is on its last legs unless I pour some major maintenance money into it. Replacing it with a van or RV would open up some seemingly practical possibilities. No one should count on finding permanent work anywhere, much less in only one location. Mobility is a valuable advantage in such an environment. This could be the rebirth of a nomadic culture. Such had occurred in the 1960s, although for very different reasons. But humans were nomadic hunter-gatherers for most of our existence, hundreds of thousands of years. This time instead of chasing after berries and meat those of us who hit the road will be chasing after bread, cheddar, sustenance.
Some future postings will detail such experiences as result from actions taken along these lines. Anyone with constructive experiences in these topics, feel free to post a reply here (at least, unless there's literally hundreds of you!).
By The Way: I, myself will not very likely go to China or India, but Latin America, Canada, and Europe are distinct possibilities. All I need is a passport.
"It's after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything!" - Tyler Durden.
It's amazing how much one can learn, without even paying for a school's tuition, just by observing, when one has the time due to lack of work. One thing I've learned is that it takes one to two years before the employment rate starts catching up to the recovery of a stock market. There are many conceivable reasons for this: companies benefiting from foreign trade, resurgence of profits from derivatives, collection on loans, new loans, what have you. But for those of us who were not in a secure spot before the fall, things won't be getting better for a long, long time.
This has got me to reconsider an idea from the recent past: Is it better to be homeless in the U.S., or in, say, Amsterdam? If one winds up losing one's physical home, and one is not tied down with a family, how much of a hardship would it be to just uproot, and "walk the earth"? My Oldsmobile is on its last legs unless I pour some major maintenance money into it. Replacing it with a van or RV would open up some seemingly practical possibilities. No one should count on finding permanent work anywhere, much less in only one location. Mobility is a valuable advantage in such an environment. This could be the rebirth of a nomadic culture. Such had occurred in the 1960s, although for very different reasons. But humans were nomadic hunter-gatherers for most of our existence, hundreds of thousands of years. This time instead of chasing after berries and meat those of us who hit the road will be chasing after bread, cheddar, sustenance.
Some future postings will detail such experiences as result from actions taken along these lines. Anyone with constructive experiences in these topics, feel free to post a reply here (at least, unless there's literally hundreds of you!).
By The Way: I, myself will not very likely go to China or India, but Latin America, Canada, and Europe are distinct possibilities. All I need is a passport.
"It's after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything!" - Tyler Durden.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Don't start partying yet!
Here's some practical analysis I've seen, once again from CNBC. It's historically taken one to two years after a stock market recovery happens before unemployment declines. So don't start living the highlife yet (unless you're fortunate enough to have become a Phat Kat before this Depression started & are doing ok now).
As soon as I find decent work, I'm getting a van to live in. What I mean is that I will continue to live low, so as to:
1) Pay off my debts.
2) Sock away as much as possiblt into IRAs, 401(k)s, etc. When the market continues to rebound, these'll go up. Plus I'll have some reserve ready cash, Ohshit Money, I call it.
I've seen many people put themselves in a deeper hole because they don't have the reserve ready for the inevitable life emergencies. Their vehicle needs major maintenance, but they can't get a loan for a new transmission, so instead of spending $2500 to fix the paid for car, they go into debt for $25000 for a newer one.
I know that we need to treat ourselves, reward ourselves for good behavior. I'm attempting to change my ingrained perception of that to one that's less of going to Hawaii, and more to one that's "It feels great to be two months ahead on all of the bills." That's a serious vacation from stress.
I figure that if I do this well enough, by the time the next major down cycle occurs in 6-12 years I'll be sitting on a nice wad and be able to buy all the stuff that other people splurged on & have to get rid of during a fire sale. Maybe then I can finally have a turn at being a Phat Kat.
As soon as I find decent work, I'm getting a van to live in. What I mean is that I will continue to live low, so as to:
1) Pay off my debts.
2) Sock away as much as possiblt into IRAs, 401(k)s, etc. When the market continues to rebound, these'll go up. Plus I'll have some reserve ready cash, Ohshit Money, I call it.
I've seen many people put themselves in a deeper hole because they don't have the reserve ready for the inevitable life emergencies. Their vehicle needs major maintenance, but they can't get a loan for a new transmission, so instead of spending $2500 to fix the paid for car, they go into debt for $25000 for a newer one.
I know that we need to treat ourselves, reward ourselves for good behavior. I'm attempting to change my ingrained perception of that to one that's less of going to Hawaii, and more to one that's "It feels great to be two months ahead on all of the bills." That's a serious vacation from stress.
I figure that if I do this well enough, by the time the next major down cycle occurs in 6-12 years I'll be sitting on a nice wad and be able to buy all the stuff that other people splurged on & have to get rid of during a fire sale. Maybe then I can finally have a turn at being a Phat Kat.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Prepare for the worst & if it doesn't happen it's a pleasant surprise
Ok, welcome to my blog. Facebook only gives a little space in which to rant, so I'll start actually using this blog to put down my offensive opinions, conclusions and other vituperative, inciteful squeelings.
I'd like to start off with an observation of the current stock market figures. The Dow is up over 100 points as I write, which to me says that unemployment is also increasing. Some of you have already figured out the correlation between unemployment (which includes crappy temp/part-time jobbies that don't really support a life, especially when one must have enough income these days to invest for "retirement", whatever that is, because Socialist Insecurity sure won't cut it). As people are hired, their pay is an accounting debit (loss) on the company's balance sheet, therefore the profit margin decreases, lowering the company's stock price per share. As people are shitcanned, margin goes up, book balance looks better, hence stock price rises. Since the indexes like DJIA, S&P, NASDAQ, etc. are all composites of stock prices, the become (for us little peones) a good indicator of the current state of hiring.
Now, watching a lot of CNBC, I've heard discussions of whether the economy in general will go through another trough (the inverted "head & shoulders" that technical analysts look for) before it improves for the longer term, or whether we'll have an "L" shaped recovery ("Times are so bad that not losing is winning"), or whether it'll take off like a rocket for some unfathomable reason ("V-shaped recovery").
Being a cynical realist (some call that being a pessimist) I'd figure on another big, bad trough before things get better. That means more un/under employment. Me, I'm planning on preparing to live in a van, by the river. I figure that's a fairly low profile for when the shit hits the fan and the big witchhunting backlash happens.
I'd like to start off with an observation of the current stock market figures. The Dow is up over 100 points as I write, which to me says that unemployment is also increasing. Some of you have already figured out the correlation between unemployment (which includes crappy temp/part-time jobbies that don't really support a life, especially when one must have enough income these days to invest for "retirement", whatever that is, because Socialist Insecurity sure won't cut it). As people are hired, their pay is an accounting debit (loss) on the company's balance sheet, therefore the profit margin decreases, lowering the company's stock price per share. As people are shitcanned, margin goes up, book balance looks better, hence stock price rises. Since the indexes like DJIA, S&P, NASDAQ, etc. are all composites of stock prices, the become (for us little peones) a good indicator of the current state of hiring.
Now, watching a lot of CNBC, I've heard discussions of whether the economy in general will go through another trough (the inverted "head & shoulders" that technical analysts look for) before it improves for the longer term, or whether we'll have an "L" shaped recovery ("Times are so bad that not losing is winning"), or whether it'll take off like a rocket for some unfathomable reason ("V-shaped recovery").
Being a cynical realist (some call that being a pessimist) I'd figure on another big, bad trough before things get better. That means more un/under employment. Me, I'm planning on preparing to live in a van, by the river. I figure that's a fairly low profile for when the shit hits the fan and the big witchhunting backlash happens.
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