Are you affected by the current economic meltdown???

[Undertoad]

Must be nice to have an extra $50k kicking around to blow on a totally unmarketable vanity project!

For $50k spent the right way they could have their own record label.

My buddy Joe started one with his winnings from Who Wants to be a Millionaire. That was $125k, but still.

[monster]

yup. we're feeling it.

[jinx]

Yeah, people aren't buying as many cars. Selfish bastards.

[lookout123]

Weird. They don't seem to be buying as many stocks, bonds, and mutual funds either. I don't get it.

[Griff]

Ah humans, you never can predict them.

(My Dad went on new brain meds this week and went out and bought a new car. This was a good series of events imho.)

[lookout123]

Tell him I've got some very attractively priced mutual funds if he's interested.

[wood*nymph]

Last May I moved into a rental house. It was the first time I've ever had my own place. I had a thriving daycare going and was easily paying the rent and bills, I was actually starting to be able to pay off my student loans even so that I could eventually get back into college and finish off my degree.

In late August, half of my families had to quit because one or both parents had lost their jobs and they couldn't afford daycare anymore. I advertised like crazy but by mid-September I'd lost the last few families as well.

I applied for unemployment (I hadn't made enough money last year to qualify). I applied for rent and utilities assistance, but was told that I couldn't be approved unless I got rid of my car and canceled my 'luxuries' (telephone, TV and internet...all three of which are considered a waste of money apparently).

I was too poor for unemployment and too wealthy for any other assistance. I could hardly pay my rent in October. I don't live near any family so for a while there I simply debated which alleys in town would be the safest ones to live out of my car in.

One of my daycare families heard about my circumstances and offered me a room in their house in exchange for watching their kids from time to time. I became their 'au pair' and here I am.

My business failed, I lost my house, I'm living in a spare room of my friends' house and the only employment I can find is part time retail.

Yeah, I'd say I was affected by the economy.

[kerosene]

My husband survived a round of layoffs back in November. Don't know what is coming up, though. Maybe another round.

We just moved to a different town, so we are much closer to civilization. We are in a small town wedged between three larger towns. I just got back from a staffing company who seemed pretty upbeat about the possibilities for my finding some temporary employment. Temporary is better than noperary, says I. Anyways, yes, we feel it a little here, since everything is "because of the economic climate", etc. But it doesn't seem as dire as in some places. My husband still gets recruiter calls for jobs, but not as many and they are usually straight contract with no possibility for permanence. I count us fortunate, for now.

[Cicero]

I am selling coffee. People will be able to afford it because not only is it cheap, sometimes we give lots of stuff away for free. Our regulars are broke like everyone else. We understand that.


I was wondering how you were doing case. Thank you for the update.

[kerosene]

Thanks, Cic. Feels good to know you had wondered.

[Radar]

I got lucky. I left Siemens about a week before they started cutting jobs. Now I'm working for a company that does movies and mini-series for television. This isn't affected too much by the economy because if anything, when people are broke, they'll stay home and watch more tv.

[Cicero]

Originally Posted by Radar

I got lucky. I left Siemens about a week before they started cutting jobs. Now I'm working for a company that does movies and mini-series for television. This isn't affected too much by the economy because if anything, when people are broke, they'll stay home and watch more tv.

My friend in the movies says the economy is heavily effecting production, but not only the amount- the decision of content has been manipulated. Aaah maybe it is just locally they are seeing cut-backs and politics.

[slang]

I'm working on next gen hip implants and business is good here, for now.

The mood is up here because this is supposed to be recession resistant at the very least.

Overtime and extra money for outside vendors and services is still available but requires much more paperwork.

Current national economic trajectory will bring even this very well run, cash rich corporation to cut jobs and shifts, IMO.

Until then life's pretty good. Once things slow down here I'll be taking another sanity break. That may be for a few years this time as the job market declines.

[chrisinhouston]

Originally Posted by slang

I'm working on next gen hip implants and business is good here, .

When my mom died last year I was tempted to ask for the hip transplants back from the crematory. I broached the subject and they said it wasn't too uncomon. Didn't know what I would do with them but I bet they would make great fishing weight for deep water fishing or a nice mantle piece keep sake.

[slang]

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus

Do you work for The Faux Hip Company?

No. Here's the Link.

Faux News is tuned in to every wide screen TV in the cafe as well as the coffee stations. I like that.

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

Hips-R-Us

There are a few companies that make hip implants here as well as knee implants. This town might be named Hip-R-Us. That might be more accurate.

Originally Posted by classicman

Sounds like things are all Hip-itty do dah for you slang.

So far my life is not directly affected. That doesn't mean that it's all cookies and ice cream.

Most Americans would cringe at my overall lifestyle. It's low. I'm cheap. My temporary living arrangements here are not in a hotel or even an apartment. I rent a room in the (finished) basement of widowed woman's home who "did all the right things in life" but yet now is cleaning houses to survive until her home sells. That probably isn't going to be anytime soon.

At the end of the day at the office I come back to the room to sleep. There is effectively no social life. Social activities cost money. My goal in life is to collect money so that I can spend endless quality hours with my wife in the Philippines. No TV. No beers with friends. No hoarding guns and ammo.

Gold goes in this bag. Cash goes in that bag. Filling those bags are my reason for being here. To collect money to go back where my wife and friends are, Manila Philippines.

Before this money meltdown people would often cautiously make fun of my car. It's old and ugly as sin. That's precisely the way that I want it. Too ugly to fuck with. Worthless. Possibly even a bio hazard of sorts to a burglar.

People with nice cars with big payments don't hassle me much any more. In fact there is a steady cadence of people in the office here that come to me with items they would like to sell. Why? With very few exceptions everyone here is cash poor. Probably house poor and stock poor as well. Debt poor. That's more accurate.

So yes, while the checks are still rolling in and I'm working in a pretty cool environment, it could all turn on a diime today. I know that. Nothing in life here is guaranteed.

Originally Posted by chrisinhouston

When my mom died last year I was tempted to ask for the hip transplants back from the crematory. I broached the subject and they said it wasn't too uncomon. Didn't know what I would do with them but I bet they would make great fishing weight for deep water fishing or a nice mantle piece keep sake.

That's the first time I've ever heard of someone wanting to keep an implant of a loved one.

My first reaction is that those implants that we have installed into cadavers and brought back to the company here smell so bad you would never want to take it back.

These implants that you are talking about have gone through cremation though. That process would eliminate any foul odors or possibly creating new ones.

It's a very interesting question. How often to family members keep an implant of a loved one?

Let's see what the hips team here has to say about that.