How I feel right now

[jiacinto]

I am unemployed, running out of money, and wondering why this is happening to me. I am probably going to get a job next week at a store. While the wage won't be enough most likely to make ends meet it will keep the dogs away some what. Today I paid my phone bill, student loan bill, car insurance bill, and life insurance bill. It is really scary.

My friends all have good jobs that pay very well. And I wonder why they always do better. That's not how I am supposed to feel but I wonder why that can't be me. I am not trying to feel jealous but it's so hard when I hear from my friends about their promotions and other things while I am stuck in the low wage workforce.

I just don't understand why I can't get a break. I have a lot more than many people, but reminding myself of that simply doesn't make me feel any better.

[XanaDUer]

1. Carlos

Do you have some family or friends you can call right now for assistance?

Also, call the student loan people and try to get an unemployment deferrment. They may have some other emergency-type deferrments for the unemployed.

I got degrees in the "helping professions", and have always known friends who made a lot more money than I. I am trying to rectify that now, but it is depressing when you realize that social-work type careers don't pay well.

I am sure you will get back on your feet eventually.

[jiacinto]

2. I know

But it seems like in my whole life I've never been able to catch a break.

[trumad]

3. Todays the first day of you new life brother

Forget the electric bill... Go to South Beach, meet a chick, get drunk, and then get laid!

You may wake up with no lights on in the morning but at least you'll have lived life for the last 24 hours... Make it happen Carlos... Get your feel sorry for yourself ass up and make it happen...

For God sakes man, go to the damn beach AND WATCH THE THONG CLAD BABES...

[Loyal]

6. LOL

:P

[XanaDUer]

4. It's depression

That's natural. I moved far away to take a job that turned out to be total BS and I quit. Sometimes I think that was good, othertimes bad.

There is always retraining for a better-paying job, but you need to get some job first to stabilize your life and have some income.

[XanaDUer]

7. Here some other advice

Real advice:

If you can, get North of Palm Beach County. It's cheaper to live.

Also, are you Catholic? They will help anyone, but contact Catholic Family Services. I cannot remember where they are in Miami.

If you have a Master's degree in anything, check out the Community Colleges for work-perhaps you can teach online classes, freeing you up for another job.

If I think of anything else, I will PM you.

[madmax]

5. Yeah, it's always something.

Sounds corny but, at least you have your health.

This is about my son. I don't mean to undermine the seriousness of your situation or to imply that mine is worse than yours or anyone else's. Hang in there jiacinto, this too shall pass.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=111&topic_id=7454

:loveya:

[Brucey]

8. We support you.

Go to a local college and ask to see a counselor... ask about job programs or educational programs that lead to good careers. Get some books on depression and read them and try some of the exercises... a good one is "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy" available in paperback for cheap. Keep posting and talking to us. I wish I could get you a good job. I applied for 4 this past summer, got one interview, but got no offers. It is said that you have to apply for 100 jobs to get an interview and 100 interviews to get a job. Well, okay, send out those resumes to everyone. Good luck, and keep us informed.

[XanaDUer]

12. "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy" , excellent book

It's a tough time, Carlos. Take care of yourself. :pals:

[LearnedHand]

9. Carlos, don't know the circumstances of your being unemployed,

but have you applied for unemployment? What is your degree? Also, public schools are ALWAYS looking for substitute teachers. Community colleges are ALWAYS looking for tutors if you don't have a Master's degree. If you like teaching, schools are HURTING for teachers! Have you looked into that?

Please keep your chin up. I know how worthless you can feel if you don't have a job (I was unemployed 8 months last year!) Good luck!

[NJCher]

10. this isn't instant relief, but...

If you haven't spent time getting to know yourself, do so. I mean things like psychological aptitude tests and dream study. Also have your natal horoscope done. When people don't do well, it's often because they are not following their life blueprint. We all have one. Some people are in touch with it; some aren't. If you are, things often go smoothly. If you're not--well, then it can be a tough game.


Cher

[Wanet]

11. Hope things will soon be looking up for you !

Have you checked into having your student loan payments deferred while you are unemployed or underemployed? That might help a little bit...

[newyawker99]

21. Hi Wanet!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Lars39]

13. I wish you the best, Carlos.

Unemployment is the pits. I really hope you find work soon.
I hesitate to say this, but I cringed when you said you had quit your job and that you didn't have another one lined up. There's an old maxim that says "don't quit your job unless you have job." Belated advice, and I wouldn't blame you for grousing at me, but this maxim has stood my family in good stead for many years. Good luck on the job hunt.

Lars

[jiacinto]

15. I had no choice

There were really sketchy things going on there that I had to leave.

[Lars39]

22. I understand.

"sketchy things going on" is a VERY good reason to leave, whether you have another job lined up or not.

[jiacinto]

23. In this case it was the right decision

nt

[Mika]

14. Welcome to the poorest city in America..

.. no thanks to your Cuban "exile" maffia pals who ran the city and county into the ground with their Batista stye corruption.

Maybe you could catch a break by getting a dishwashing job at the Versailles on Calle Ocho, at least you would be, politically speaking, on friendly turf.

[XanaDUer]

16. Miami is a nightmare...

I cannot say I miss it.

I hope to never go back, either.

[jiacinto]

17. It's not that bad

I like it so far. If I didn't have all the problems I have right now I would be fine here.

[XanaDUer]

36. I am glad you like it

"Bad" places to live are, of course, subjective. Your bad is my great, and vice versa.

As much as things look bad, you will get over the bad patch. Even if you have to work some yucky jobs (been there , done that), you can get by until a better job comes to pass.

Would you consider temp teacher jobs? I just thought of that. Or, ESL?

[oneighty]

18. Carlos!

You do not try hard enough damn it. You gotta put your head down and your butt up and charge! The world is there for the taking. Stop the self pity. You can do it Carlos. You can do it! You can win.

Ed

And good luck to you too!

[HEyHEY]

19. Well, you may have to leave Florida

Or just take a shit job and keep the search going

[Mika]

20. A shit job

A shit job is just about the only kind of job in Miami.. unless you own your own business.

Here's Carlos' competition thanks to the US embargo on Cuba - willing, able, well educated in Cuba, ready to work for cheap and send money back home to Cuba - all illegal entrants made legal IF they touch US soil, thanks to the US's "wet foot/Dry foot" policy for Cubans only , and flowing in every day,


.. only to return to Cuba for vacations and family visits, while the rest of us Americans can do no such thing- at the behest of the extremist "exiles' that Carlos has so vigorously supported in the past.

[thom1102]

26. You know, this is really uncalled for...

The guy is here looking for solutions and maybe some sympathy and you attack him based on passed posts? That's just wrong. If you can't muster up enough decency and courtesy to say something nice to a guy who is already hurting, then hit the back button and move on! Have a little compassion and sympathy! Jeez!

[Mika]

41. Its entirely called for

Carlos is decrying the terrible labor market conditions in Miami-Dade. Businesses moving out in droves, the labor market is flooded with illegal Cuban immigrants (made legal when they touch US shores, by US policy that Carlos supports) which forces the pay scales way down. I know, I live in Miami. This hostile takeover has happened in Miami-Dade because of the political corruption of the Batistano supporting Cuban-American, and Cuban "exile" influx that Carlos has repeatedly supported.

Carlos is just personally discovering the effect part of the cause/effect relationship of offering support to the intransigent "exiles" who run Miami like the corrupt Cuba of yesteryear.


Sometimes people don't understand the impact of their support for political causes (like support for Cuban so called "exiles") until they wade in to the war zone, as Carlos has in Miami-Dade.

Carlos could turn this experience, unemployment, overcrowded schools, poor pay scales, overloaded labor pool with illegal immigrants, etc., into a real learning experience - learning how the rubber meets the road on the critical issues that Miami-Dade faces ("exile" run government corruption &Cuban illegal immigration are such issues).

[thom1102]

42. The problem is context...

You are kicking a guy when he is down, rather than showing a little sympathy for someone who is suffering. Regardless of his political belief's, he is looking to hear some some positive, supportive dialog, and you are hear saying "I told you so! It's your own damn fault for... blah blah blah!" This is the Lounge not the GD. Start a thread in the GD about people who support policies that come back to bite them. That would be appropriate, not coming into a thread in the lounge where a guy is hurting and throwing salt and lemon juice into the wound. That is freeper tactics.

[Mika]

43. freeper tactics?

"You are kicking a guy when he is down, rather than showing a little sympathy for someone who is suffering. Regardless of his political belief's, he is looking to hear some some positive, supportive dialog, and you are hear saying "I told you so! It's your own damn fault for... blah blah blah!"


I never said that it was Carlos' own damn fault. I never said that he deserves his plight - no one does. I said "welcome to the poorest city in America". I pointed out that there are reasons for the economic situation in Miami-Dade that Carlos should consider while he can.

I gave support to Carlos - recommending a job opportunity on Calle Ocho, Miami.


But, you're right.. I should come out and say it - I feel sorry for Carlos.

[JanMichael]

24. When I graduated in 1991 there was zip in the way of "good" jobs.

Unless of course in Sales, which I am not that good at, nor wish to be that good at.

Try to remember this too...Low wage jobs can be like quicksand, if you start one and do well then it's likely that you'll get promoted...To a postion that gives you minimal power and just enough income to trap yourself there until they lay you off and send your job to Mars.

[psychopomp]

44. You and me both

I graduted in California at about the same time. The job situation was/is the pits.

[leftofthedial]

25. hang in there

success is survival in Bushco's America.

I was laid off twice in a year when he first seized power and started destroying the economy. I found an entrepreneurial vein I didn't know I had. I'm working four jobs now to scrape together about a third of what I used to make, but I'm doing things I like and surviving.

Be true to yourself and only do things you believe in and will be proud of. The true rewards are not financial.

[Terran]

27. Carlos, "breaks" are not handed to you

you have to work for them. This is the same complaint you had a year or more ago. I don't know why you would quit a job without having another one lined up, but 'things being sketchy' does not sound like a good enough reason. If quitting a job was going to put you in financial jeopardy, then it wasn't a very good idea. Now, unless you're sending out five resumes a day, you're not doing enough to help yourself.

[jiacinto]

28. Ok

I did have good reason. I just can't explain it in public here. But there were good reasons and by "sketchy" I really meant "sketchy".

[rbnyc]

39. You keep making me think of other people's quotes...

I don't remember who said this but, "Pray to catch the bus, and then run as fast as you can."

While I think in some situations it is okay to quit a job before having another job lined up, it's a tremendous act of bravery of spirit and it requires tremendous follow through. You've set yourself up for hard work and now you have to do it.

It's natural to feel scared and down from time to time. It's also natural to feel some envy from time to time. And if you don't express it, and learn from it, it will get the better of you. But make sure you spend time working on your skills, your tools, your character, your health...all the things you need to run as fast as you can.

It's not just a matter of putting out your resume. It's a matter of making room in your life for success.

[KG]

29. well

you are six month out of college with some kind of poli-sci degree. be realistic - how much money did you think you were going to make out of the gate? what kind of jobs are out there for those that hold your kind of degree? what do they pay?

your attitude sucks. like dirk said, you make your own breaks. some of us come by them harder than other, i dam sure know this from personal experience. stop cringing and whining and get out there and hustle and make something happen for yourself.

yeah, you got your degree, but now your education really begins - good luck.

[Generic Other]

30. Are you joining the blame America first crowd?

I hear the military is hiring.

[cmd]

31. The way this old lady see it..........

go to those negative posts, hold your nose and hit ignore. There were quite a few valuable suggestions that were given. Here is another angle. What does Florida have besides citrus? Old people. Who in Florida has money? Old people. Check out some senior programs. Quite often they are looking for young healthy bodies to work for them. You have a lot to offer.

Now about those finances. Do you have any dependents? No? Ditch the life insurance for now. You can pick up a term policy when you need it later in life. Check into deferments on your student loans. Or, go back to school and pick up another degree in something more marketable. Whatever you do, stay out of the military until Bush* leaves office. Keep hanging in here for moral support when you get down. We're a family. Some of us say things that can be hurtful at times, but when help is needed; you will find it here. cmd

[jiacinto]

32. I am ignoring those negative posts

It's sad that those posters have to attack me. And they are the pathetic ones, not me.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

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[rbnyc]

38. Remember...

...what Eleanor Roosevelt said. I don't remember the exact words but it's something like, no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

There are a couple sides to that message. One is that you can participate in your own belittlement by believing the negative things that people say. The other side is that we can participate in our own belittlement by attracting certain messages. If you feel insulted, disrespected by the messages that come to you it has partly to do with the way the message is delivered. There are rules here and we have the right to expect good conduct. But it also has to do with what the universe thinks you need to hear and how secure you are in hearing it.

Just my opinion.

EDIT: typo

[rbnyc]

37. In order to reach the other side...

...one must consent to lose sight of the shore.

I know it's scary, but if you keep asking yourself what you're looking for, imagining answers, and looking around, the right opportunities will come to you, and you really will be alright.

Best of luck to you.

[Deja Q]

40. It's the economy

Some have reassured the same to me as to why I can't even get a second job. But when the time comes, I'll be saying the same thing you are right now.

I wish you the best of luck.