Layoffs, economy slowdown and conference

The client I have been working for (and flew out to Austin for four months) is laying off 10% of its workforce. They were spending money like water and offered me a job which I think I am glad I didn't take. Rough times may be ahead for everyone. Rebecca commented that this past conference did not have much said about getting out of debt, or stocking up for emergencies. It made me think, sometimes what isn't said in conference can be telling, as well. Before this crash, getting out of debt and saving for rough times required a bit of faith to do. Now it is obvious that having very little debt or no debt and some emergency savings is a very good idea. There is really no need to warn and council on what is now obvious to everyone. So I have to think, "What did the Lord warn or council me to do now?" There will probably come a day when what I was asked to do now will seem so obvious I will kick myself for not listening and acting on it when I was first told.

Get Linked In Right Now

If the economy slows down and jobs turn scarce, it may come down to who you know and the size of your professional network to obtain employment. I think the site http://www.linkedin.com/ is a great place to put your work history and keep current and former professional contact info. What is awesome about it is:

• it is free
• It can build itself, once you're in it, old acquaintances may come out of the woodwork and link up with you.
• you just have to put your information in there, if contacts you had at some company move on, they will update their profile and you won't have outdated contacts and lose the connection with that person.
• lots of people are already in it, you might be surprised who uses it. Lots of manager types, who are clued in, are already in there i.e. the people who actually do the hiring and interviewing.
• Headhunters use it as a gold mine to fill hard to hire positions, so a new job can just land in your inbox. (It happened to me twice.)
• Your able to see how interconnected the world is. I am two connections away from the State Director at the Office of Senator Bob Bennett

The sooner you organize and update your resume information and establish your network, the more prepared you become for a situation where you are looking for work. So what are you waiting for eh?

Credit bailout makes no sense to me

Credit is a system whereby a person who can not pay gets another person who can not pay to guarantee that he can pay. - Charles Dickens

Explain to me why credit is so vital to everything? If I don't have access to fast and loose credit anymore, how is this bad for me? Credit is often misused anyway. People now think that wants are needs (eating-out=need, car=need, education=need, house=need, vacation=need, ) and a good old fashioned recession could correct that misconception. Our real needs are:

• oxygen
  
• hydration
• nutrition
• shelter plus basic utilities for water and heat
  
• clothing
• hygiene items
  
• medications
  
• video games
  

See how easy that was! pared down to the basics I tell ya.

Fall and the year's end

This year is over 1/2 done, and I am excited to finish it out. I really can't remember when I was excited for the November December time frame. I have been, for a long time, just unimpressed with them and treated that time as any other time of life. You would catch me saying, "It is colder and you get some vacation days but I like the heat, so summer is better." "Snow sucks to drive in and shovel." "When will it all melt?" "It is too cold to do anything."

Well this year seems different, I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas like I haven't since I was a kid. Maybe I will try snowboarding or something, yes I am that much into the idea of snow this year. Anyone want to loan me a snowboard ? Yes, I think I will board down a hill then nurse a concussion and broken leg while playing some awesome video game all winter long, sounds sweet to me.

New Things

Things I recently accomplished:

• installed water heater bracket (for earthquake protection)
• scheduled ward missionaries over for dinner (harder than it sounds)
  
• woke up and went to the gym at dark-thirty in the morning
• upgraded computer RAM to 2GB
• mowed lawn and replaced broken sprinkler head
• helped setup basement room for Ray
  

Things I have not enough taken action on:

• family emergency preparedness
• family history work
• planning weekly date nights
• computer system backup (my backup is old)
  
• personal goal setting
• finishing the garage
  

Anyway I got to write this stuff down. Get it out there and then prioritize, plan and execute.

Wisdom teeth (what they didn't tell me)

Here is what you may not want to know if you are considering wisdom teeth extraction late in life.

"Healing is usually complete after 2 to 3 months from the time of the extraction."

I have this puffyness in my mouth that just does not go away... and because of that food gets caught between my cheek and molars. So I have this gross puss stuff in my mouth after every meal that I must carefully sweep out with a toothbrush while tugging at each of my cheeks in a mirror. If I fail to do this, the stuff begins to stink giving me dragon breath or worse: the foul stuff comes loose while drinking water or yawning or talking. I must also be careful not to sweep it out too vigorously or I begin to bleed at that spot. Well I complain but I guess it could be worse. Rebecca said to take a look around at all the 24 hour emergency dental offices, you don't want to put off dental work until you need to go to one of those. Also, if their is a major catastrophe, simple health problems can become major issues as they cannot be handled when the needed infrastructure has been damaged (utilities, roads, personnel, etc..)

Even so, I still say blah.

Wedding Dinner and Sprinkler System...

We went to Brianna's wedding dinner at Maddox Lodge, it was a long drive and Eleanor was asleep for most of the way up. The food was spectacular, 10oz NY strip steak with a salad and rolls. It mush have cost a fortune considering how many people were at the reception. Brianna was asked to give a speech so she did: "We're in love. The End." Rebecca noted that she had now met all of my uncles. The way home was a cry fest for Eleanor from Ogden to about 100 ft from our house when she finally gave up whining. To be fair I think her feet hurt, she has peeling skin on the bottom of one foot and on some toes. I put some of Grandpa's Emprizone on there and they seem good as new today.

Ugh... replaced another sprinkler head. Our lawn has some swamp areas that are so wet mushrooms grow amongst the grass and then other areas so dry the grass is dead and there is nothing but bare dirt (not even dead grass). I have been getting one or two adjustments or replacements done a week after mowing to try to keep the yard presentable. Rebecca and I want to have family over for a BBQ/ games maybe for Hillary's birthday? Do we need to wait for a birthday for an excuse? How does one set this up?

I got a cool board game from Rebecca for my birthday in July and we have only played it once, it is called Power Grid. So we need some additional volunteers to come play it with us as well. Steven is heading over to play some video games today, it has been way too long. Car's in the shop or I would probably have wanted to see FFXI at his house, yes I still miss that game, I miss it/hate it.