New to the support group

"OceanView" wrote in message
...
"That T Woman" wrote in
:


"Beverly" wrote in message
...

"That T Woman" wrote in message
...

Well, then you're going to have to either take a low paying
job
(Wal-Mart
greeter if you're old enough), Tonia


He can't have the Wal-Mart greeter position - that's the one I
want when I retire from this IT rat race


2 people, thousands of Wal-Marts, I don't see a problem. My
guess is that he'll opt for the sign, though.

Tonia




That was unneccesarily rude. alt. what was it again?

It's a diet newsgroup. Support doesn't mean we can't kid around. It was a
bit of gallows humor. You feel too sorry for yourself. Read your posts,
you sound like you've given up when you're not bragging about how much you
used to make and how educated you are. Begging with a sign at the side of
the road looks to be where you're headed with your attitude. Spring is
here. Scrounge up a lawn mower and go around and cut grass. Lots of guys
here do it. You aren't going to get another $90/hour job. You'll have to
settle. Swallow your pride and quit talking about Phi Beta Kappa and maybe
you'll stand a chance. You might also consider moving out of Mass. and to
where there are some jobs. It won't be hard to pack if you're as destitute
as you say you are.

Hark! I heard "Perple Gyrl" say:

"J.J. in WA State"

At one time, yes, I had similar issues. I weighed 275 lbs (I'm only
5'4"), and I knew I needed to get healthy. Yet Id still wind up
eating an entire bag of microwave popcorn slathered with 1/2 cube of
melted butter, then following that up with 3-4 candy bars.The worst
of all, I *didn't accept* that I had a problem with food -- after all,
my husband ate more at meal time than I did.

Been there done that... No one ever saw me eat a large meal. I would eat
sensible meals and hide my binges. I remember eating 3-4 (or more) candy
bars in under 15 mins. They were easy to hide in my glove compartment.

And isn't it amazing how one can simply pretend the binges never
happened? Denial is a strange thing.

One day, I noticed that our insurance company would help pay for
weight loss if one was morbidly obese. I had finally realized that
if I didn't do something, I wouldn't live long enough to see my
grandchildren. Yet I still couldn't seem to get in gear. I was
pinning my hopes on weight loss surgery, but still eating like
there was no tomorrow.

It is amazing that they freaking pay for surgery but won't pay for us to be
on a doctor supervised diet.

My insurance company (onehealthplan.com) is a little different on that.
I looked into the surgery first, but they wouldn't pay for it unless I
tried a doctor supervised diet first. I was very upset about this at
the time, but now I credit the nurse at the insurance co. for saving me
from unnecessary surgery.

snip

Being overweight, for me, was a kind of security blanket. There are
fewer emotional risks involved in that lifestyle. I could hide inside
of myself -- and I'm a rather shy person, so all the better. People
didn't seem to expect much out of me; after all, I'm fat so I must be
lazy too, you know the stereotypes. And if I got to feeling low, the
food would comfort me; at least until after I ate it, then I'd start
hating myself for having no control.

J.J., I could have written the above paragraph. It is so nice to know that
there are people out there that have been through what I've been thru as far
as binging food addiction. Every sentance is me. I am very shy in social
situations, but not shy in my job. I was so shy in high school that I
didn't date much or go to my prom because I never socialized with guys. I
was so painfully shy, I was scared to.

It sucks, doesn't it? That's why I'd never have considered joining
an organized weight loss company -- I couldn't stand the thought
of going to meetings. Thank goodness for the Internet; we can talk
together without letting the shyness overcome us. I find that this
actually makes me a bit more outgoing...

snip




--
J.J. in WA State - 251/241/150
(Change COLD to HOT for e-mail)

Ignoramus11750 wrote in
:

in article , OceanView
wrote:
"Beverly" wrote in
:


"That T Woman" wrote in message
...

Well, then you're going to have to either take a low paying
job (Wal-Mart greeter if you're old enough), Tonia


He can't have the Wal-Mart greeter position - that's the one I
want when I retire from this IT rat race




I know you folks think this is hilarious, or that I'm making
excuses. It isn't, and I'm not.

As someone who picked the absolute Worst time in the history of
planet get out of the IT ratrace (two months before the rest of
the department), you'd be better off to hold on to what you've
got with both hands. 60 hours? Im possible deliverables? Yes,
sir. Thank you sir! May I have another? Trust me when I say
that if you've been unemployed before and think you know what
it's like, you haven't. For those of us in IT, this isn't a
downturn, it's a full-blown depression, and it may very well
not come back. (Three million jobs have disappeared since
2000) I've been laid off four times, and all the previous times
*combined* don't compare to this.

I've pretty much made the decision that I'm a high-school
dropout and starting from scratch (if I choose to bother). I'm
just not going to waste hours every day pouring resumes into a
black hole. Zero ROI. I'm going back to the idea of
self-employment, though it's pretty tough with zero startup
capital.

what were you doing in IT, specifically? can you learn something
else?

i


In 28 years, I've done everything, most recently database
development. Obviously, I'll have to learn someting else, but it
will be something that won't put the power to ruin my life at whim
of one bafoon. In other words, I'll have own business, where the
worst that can happen is losing a client or two. There are
"other" things that can go wrong of course!

"Chrys" wrote in
:

"OceanView" wrote in message
...
I've already tried that. So far, I've been rejected by Lowes,
Home Depot, Stop & Shop, two temp agencies, and so on. Trust
me when I say that there's nothing more demenaing than getting
rejected for a $6.60 job when you're a member of Phi Beta Kappa
and made $90 two years ago.

If I had a family, or could find a date even, maybe I'd see
some reason to push through it. Right now I don't even know
why I get out of bed.

Did you put on the applications that you used to make $90/hr.?
If so, that could be enough to make you get rejected if they
know you're going to leave as soon as you find something better.




90k/year, and no. Usually, I list my last employer but omit salary.

"That T Woman" wrote in
:

Your depression and desperation are probably showing during your
interviews. You have no support network of friends/family/church
that can help you? If you don't, find a church, make some
friends and see if someone there can point you towards some
social interaction and maybe a connection for a job. I know it's
a clich‚ but clich‚s are based on real circumstances.


I have a limited support network, and I've completely exhausted it.
I'm pretty bad a social things (I have social phobia, which is what
started my withdrawing and eating origially). I do have a small
group of semi-friends, but since half of them ar also unemployed,
they aren't much help.

I think looking for some new connections is a good idea, though. I
really think I just need to find something I don't hate long enough
to figure out I want to do. Mentally, I need to break free of this
computer crap and realize that there are other things I could do.

"That T Woman" wrote in
:


"OceanView" wrote in message
...
"That T Woman" wrote in
:


"Beverly" wrote in message
...

"That T Woman" wrote in message
...

Well, then you're going to have to either take a low
paying job
(Wal-Mart
greeter if you're old enough), Tonia


He can't have the Wal-Mart greeter position - that's the one
I want when I retire from this IT rat race


2 people, thousands of Wal-Marts, I don't see a problem. My
guess is that he'll opt for the sign, though.

Tonia




That was unneccesarily rude. alt. what was it again?

It's a diet newsgroup. Support doesn't mean we can't kid
around. It was a bit of gallows humor. You feel too sorry for
yourself. Read your posts, you sound like you've given up when
you're not bragging about how much you used to make and how
educated you are. Begging with a sign at the side of the road
looks to be where you're headed with your attitude. Spring is
here. Scrounge up a lawn mower and go around and cut grass.
Lots of guys here do it. You aren't going to get another
$90/hour job. You'll have to settle. Swallow your pride and
quit talking about Phi Beta Kappa and maybe you'll stand a
chance. You might also consider moving out of Mass. and to
where there are some jobs. It won't be hard to pack if you're
as destitute as you say you are.


A diet newsgroup with a thread that started with knee problems and
weight control/exercise. Just because a topic wanders doen't grant
you right to abuse. Kidding around and making fun of someone
else's pain are different.

Anyway, I was not bragging, and I've never, ever made $90/hr. (90k
year, once) BTW, is this area, people cut their own grass because
95 percent of us have postage stamp lawns (it's only three month
season anyway) or they hire a big-buck service. It's a mix of
frugal (aka cheap) yankess and rich snobs.

I have five rooms and a basement full of "stuff." I've already sold
what was sellable. My "pride" as you so patronizing call it, does
not prevent me from on occasion going trash picking and reselling
stuff I've refinished or repaired. The trouble with no-pride jobs
is that they (a) don't pay the minimum bills (I've already cut
Everything that is cuttable, i.e. live with thermostat at 60) and
(b) they eat up all the time I need to find something better. I
could do handyman-type stuff, but there are a lot of people here
doing that.

Selling my house and moving is the only real solution I can think
of now. I can't buy a cheaper house because they're aren't any
here, and rent would cost more than I'm paying now---welcome to
Boston.

The IT jobs are the same the whole country. Every ad draws 1500
resumes (not making up the number). So "Where" isn't the problem,
"What" is the problem. If I were a nurse (yuck), I could work
anywhere. It *was* that way in IT just 3-4 years ago.

There has to be a solution, but presistance doesn't always work.

Ignoramus11750 wrote in
:

Hi OV,

Does your state offer any re-education programs? My mom switched
from being a computer programmer to teaching, after completing a
re-education program.

Life sucks without a job. What was it that you were doing in
computers, specifically?

Have you tried buying garage sale stuff and reselling it on
ebay?

Try figuring out why they reject you as an applicant. Adjust
your resume accordingly. There are many tricks to finding a job.

i


I'll have to find something like that. I've done database software
(all different systems) over the last ten years or so. I was a
systems programmer at Harvard, did "gui" development at IBM, and so
on.

I have done the ebay thing (I still have "power seller" next to my
id, though I'm no longer a PS). I found out that I'm not very good
at judging what will sell, and buying it at a price that will turn
a profit.

I really don't know how to find out why they reject me other than
that they have 1500 resumes from people who will work cheaper, or
at lease that's the perception. In other words, I "would" work
cheaper, but my age and expereince suggests that I wouldn't so they
don't bother to ask. I'm not lyning when I say that I've sent
hundreds, at this point probably thousands of resumes out with a
single phone call or email, let alone an interview. This is just
pointless.

I'm ready to try something else just because nothing could possibly
be any worse, mathematically impossible to be worse than zero!

"OceanView" wrote in message
...
Ignoramus11750 wrote in
:

Hi OV,

Does your state offer any re-education programs? My mom switched
from being a computer programmer to teaching, after completing a
re-education program.

Life sucks without a job. What was it that you were doing in
computers, specifically?

Have you tried buying garage sale stuff and reselling it on
ebay?

Try figuring out why they reject you as an applicant. Adjust
your resume accordingly. There are many tricks to finding a job.

i


I'll have to find something like that. I've done database software
(all different systems) over the last ten years or so. I was a
systems programmer at Harvard, did "gui" development at IBM, and so
on.

I have done the ebay thing (I still have "power seller" next to my
id, though I'm no longer a PS). I found out that I'm not very good
at judging what will sell, and buying it at a price that will turn
a profit.

I really don't know how to find out why they reject me other than
that they have 1500 resumes from people who will work cheaper, or
at lease that's the perception. In other words, I "would" work
cheaper, but my age and expereince suggests that I wouldn't so they
don't bother to ask. I'm not lyning when I say that I've sent
hundreds, at this point probably thousands of resumes out with a
single phone call or email, let alone an interview. This is just
pointless.

I'm ready to try something else just because nothing could possibly
be any worse, mathematically impossible to be worse than zero!

You don't even get interviews? You definitely need to get someone to
critique your resume!

I did a search for "boston"+"help wanted" and found this page:

http://bostonworks.boston.com/events/networking_events/

Are you using these resources?

(Jayjay) wrote in
:

Have you considered working with your local employment agencies
for a job replacement/retraining in order to find something new?


That's a thought.

I won't bore you with all the details, but I started on mainframes
in the mid-70's, did "mini's" for a while, Apple II, PC's yada yada
yada. I started in applications, did systems program for a few
years, then systems software, then sort of full circle back to PC
gui-database development. I figured out once that I've learned
more than 50 computer languages! I've worked on more than 10
different database systems, let's see if I can remember them
(SQL/DS, DB2, Paradox, Dbase (I,II,II,IV), F-Risk (one that I
wrote), Model204, Oracle, Access, SQL-Server, MySql, and probably a
few can't remember!

Sherman, set the way-back machine. The year, 1976. What I started
on:

IBM 370-145:
Size: about 9 refrigerators
Cost: $2.1 million
Memory: 256k (yes, k), 200k added at $500,000 (another 2 fridges)
5 disk drives, capacity 230 meg each (5 washing machines)
Input: IBM 2501 Hollorith Card reader (80 column punch cards)
Output: IBM 1403 printer, 3 pages per minute (on a good day)
Tape drives: 2
Monitors/workstations: 0 (real programmers don't need monitors)
OS: IBM OS/VS1, 5 partitions

"OceanView" wrote in message
...

Sherman, set the way-back machine. The year, 1976. What I started
on:

IBM 370-145:
Size: about 9 refrigerators
Cost: $2.1 million
Memory: 256k (yes, k), 200k added at $500,000 (another 2 fridges)
5 disk drives, capacity 230 meg each (5 washing machines)
Input: IBM 2501 Hollorith Card reader (80 column punch cards)
Output: IBM 1403 printer, 3 pages per minute (on a good day)
Tape drives: 2
Monitors/workstations: 0 (real programmers don't need monitors)
OS: IBM OS/VS1, 5 partitions

You started on a big oneg My first job was on an IBM 360-25 (1970). We
were a DOS shop at the time. We switched to OS when we upgraded to the 370
series.

Beverly