Times are tough all over
 

--wailing in the hallways over the stock market

--a friend of mine's mother just lost her job of 37 years, and tried to commit suicide. She is several states away, and can't afford to fly to her bedside

--did you hear about the MBA in finance who lost his job and could not find another, and so shot and killed himself and his entire family?

--lots of layoffs in the real estate, title, and construction industries.

a veritable pall hangs over everything . . .

The only grocery store within 22 miles of my house, a mom and pop place, closed. :( 29 people lost their jobs.

Old lady living 15 min. from me shot herself over home finance troubles.

DooM! DoooM!!! :)

Just putting in my last two cents. lol!!

I hope with all this hardship I develop a sense of humour.

sense of humor, sense of perspective, and love and support to and from one's loved ones.

We're all going to need it.

I'm worried about my sister-in-laws. One has a 1-year-old, the other has a baby on the way. The one with a one-year-old is a stay at home mom, lessening the financial security of her family. As far as I can tell, all three of the wage-earners jobs could be at risk.

My husband and I are intentionally keeping a bigger cash cushion than we normally would, in case they need the help.

Umm. I already have the other stuff, which is why I specified. Thanks for the speech tho'.
:p

Oh and DooooM!!:D

Just found out that my brother was laid off. He's getting married at the end of the month. (Well, they've already been married for a year - they're just having the ceremony now.)

Shawnee and Flint just got newer, better jobs. I just changed jobs a few months ago.

It's not all bad news.

Mega budget cuts for me.

we got a lecture on cash flow problems at my firm; we're being pressured to bill more. I hate that, because we have no clerical support, so lots of my hours are spent doing filing, sending out correspondence, answering the phone, etc., and I feel like they want me to pad our bills. Bad.

Um, not to belabor the point, but Oprah would suggest you all get copies of "The Secret", read in a nice, hot bubble bath (while Enya softly plays in the background) and light your 55 dollar scented candles for some "aromatherapy."

Anyway---that's what she does. And Oprah is very, very, very happy. And smart! Smart and happy.

AND FUCKING RICH.

(Sorry, didn't mean to yell.)

*tilts head towards SD, gives him a sidelong glance*

That's what I meant, Steve. I was being ironically.

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