So, help?

~1~ · 12-07-2009, 08:05 AM

I'm usually one to be answering posts here but this time I could use a little guidance.

First, some background about my situation.

About 4 years ago I started with this company as a delivery driver, about a year in my then boss realized I was a fairly valuable employee. I knew my route as well as the rest of them, I was also able to run the show here when my boss was out, this lead to me taking over the gig as manager when my old boss left the company. I had 9 drivers under me and everything was going pretty well, they liked and respected me and I was real happy with my crew.
Then the economy started to take a hit, raw material prices rose, fuel and maintinence costs climbed. Quality began to slip because the 7 owners of the corporation decided that they were the only ones in the company that weren't going to take a cut in pay, they would have to make cuts everywhere else. This was the beginning of the end for the company. Production ceased on 6/15/09, I laid off my drivers on the 16th and the bakery closed. I, along with the other operations manager, were told that we would be kept on for another month while we finalized accounts and decommisioned the facility.

Cut to December 7th, 2009.

I have been manning this ship, alone, since the beginning of July. I come in at about six in the morning, make sure the place is still intact and deal with whatever my supervisor (who is six hundred miles north of me at our other facility) needs done at the time. Most of my day consists of looking for another job, posting here and watching Law and Order on the computer. I hang out until about 2:30 in the afternoon (8 hour day). The facility is off the street, behind other businesses, my only real 'visitors' are a couple of feral cats who live on the property and one of them was run over this weekend, got to see that as I came in this morning.

There is a paycheck every Friday, I get to do pretty much whatever I want down here but...

Its just getting to where I can't take it anymore.

I think its called 'stir crazy'. Part of it is the fact that I'm all alone here, I deal with that one okay for the most part but the fact that this ghost town was once a vibrant, living place that now sits here dormant with very little chance of it repoening while I work here. Most everyone who knows of my situation says that its weird but i should stick it out as long as I'm getting paid, Christmas is around the corner and the staggering unemployment in Los Angeles is one of the only things that is keeping me here but those are beginning to be less compelling reasons than they used to be.

Its getting depressing and it seems to be carrying over to my home life. I leave here and i drive home and sit in front of the TV or my computer at home and smoke weed and drink (neither to excess) when I used to see friends or play with my car or hang with the kids.

I think I just gotta leave the place behind...

my_scatterheart · 12-07-2009, 08:17 AM

If you can financially afford to leave, go for it. If not, don't be stupid.

~1~ · 12-07-2009, 08:49 AM

But where is the line?

Sure I have a paycheck every week but my mental health is at stake here.

There is a fat 401(k) with my name on it but I don't want to suck that dry with little prospect of refunding whatever i take out of it.

Where is the line?!

verklingen · 12-07-2009, 08:58 AM

you are the line my man. is it just yourself you take care of? if so i'd be more eager to advise that you follow your heart, as the saying goes.

i'm in a relatively similar position, but i work in a business my grandfather started and i don't think i could forgive myself if i left. work has been slower than i've seen yet in my 5+ years. . . slower than it's ever been really. anyway, the balance between psychological and financial happiness is out for you to find, or may be right before you already, awaiting a shift in perspective. i sincerely hope you figure something out to work for you

José · 12-07-2009, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by №1

But where is the line?

Sure I have a paycheck every week but my mental health is at stake here.

There is a fat 401(k) with my name on it but I don't want to suck that dry with little prospect of refunding whatever i take out of it.

Where is the line?!

dude that's insane, but if you can stick it out I have a feeling it might be worth it. i'm pretty sure there's companies that are in worse positions than yours. I mean of course I don't know all the circumstances, but I know that if you have a job still, keep it! You probably won't be able to find another, unemployment is rising everyday.

Debaser · 12-07-2009, 01:25 PM

I'll trade places with ya, sounds like a dream job for me!

my_scatterheart · 12-07-2009, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by №1

But where is the line?

Sure I have a paycheck every week but my mental health is at stake here.

There is a fat 401(k) with my name on it but I don't want to suck that dry with little prospect of refunding whatever i take out of it.

Where is the line?!

Here's what happens.
You quit your job because it's "driving you nuts", right? Then you go home, you get all the time in the world to do what you want to do. You do your favorite things. After about a week these things aren't as fun because you can do them whenever you please. A week and a half, and you've done them in excess and you find you're bored. Except now you're bored in your own home. Without that paycheck. And now you're driving yourself nuts. And getting behind on your bills.
Believe me, it's not going to be as great when you're not sitting in that place doing nothing, even though it may seem like it now. Take it while you can unless you've gotten something else lined up.
edit: please don't live off of your 401k. I think you know you don't want to walk that path.

~1~ · 12-07-2009, 03:58 PM

Trust me scatter, it isn't about having all the time in the world or shit like that...

Its like sitting with the body after the wake (a Southern tradition) before they put it in the ground. This place employed 65-70 people, was operational from 6 am until 4 am seven days a week and now there are spiders living on the machinery. There were trucks moving and people in and out and things going on and now there is me and the cat that's left.

If I were hired to watch the place, that would be a whole different story but to see it like it is now, abandoned and at a standstill. Its disheartening to say the least.

I reached out to an old friend today, she may have a job for me, doing what I did before but for less money.

I guess we just start over....

Again.

my_scatterheart · 12-07-2009, 04:58 PM

It's only depressing if you want it to be

**SageTree** · 12-07-2009, 05:18 PM

I think it's a good idea to work through the rest of December and get some of that good holiday pay under your belt.

Look harder for jobs, pinch your pennies for a rainy day, and quit after the New Year or New Years Eve even!

Give them two weeks if you can, as I'm sure it will be a good reference.

Another thought is if you can learn to make good use of that time personally then you have it made for a while. Do things that will help your spirit. Read a good book at work, journal, blog, take an online class (for a new job) go for lunch break walks. Know that you should plan a little time when you come home to not do the two things you mentioned, at least for a while.

I have had some jobs of late that aren't up to my standard of riveting and I use this time to think and consider other thoughts, that aren't really work related.

Up here I only work a few months out of the year and then I'm home. I quickly found out last year, exactly what scatteredheart said. Even around the house I find that I have to set days FOR things to keep myself hopping some days.

I had to start volunteering places as well for the people content of my life. It's good to feel useful and like you are contributing to something bigger than only the household. Perhaps you can get into something like that on the weekends for now. This time of year there are a lot of people to feed on the street, charities who strive to get a lot of their annual budget. There are many places you can offer your skills of organization that will be priceless to non-profits.

Weather that helps you bide your time or keeps you sane in the jobless times. I wish you the best. Don't be scared to step out on a limb and follow what you know is best for you.

Metta
SageTree

~1~ · 12-07-2009, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by my_scatterheart

It's only depressing if you want it to be

That's what I told everyone else in July.

I started telling myself that in September

I gave up on that in November.

It was supposed to be a transitional thing, the plant was closing, that happens and I can deal with all that. I was supposed to go when the plant sold but it hasn't happened. I feel an obligation to my employers since they have let me stay to keep an eye on things, although for less money than what I was making when there were people here so I really don't feel too comfortable just walking out without someplace else to go (have been told a number of times that if something else comes along to grab with both hands and run) but at the same time I feel a bit trapped in the place.

my_scatterheart · 12-07-2009, 05:59 PM

You're looking at it all wrong. You're getting paid to get your shit done for a change. Take that as you will (head stuff, crossword puzzles, listening to new bands on the internet for 8 hours, watching tv, learning Chinese, etc.), but regardless if you're on the clock or not it's your time.

José · 12-07-2009, 10:50 PM

i'm pretty sure there's A LOT of people that would love to be in that position. as crazy as it sounds, you ARE living the American Dream. kinda fucked up, i know right? it's kinda like how people that work two minimum wage jobs just to feed their kids, end up working physically harder than anyone with an advanced degree in the long run. there's millions of people that would love to be doing what you're doing.

can I come work with you?

BigSpliffSmoka · 12-08-2009, 06:14 AM

I'd have to agree with SageTree. The time you have alone you could be spending it doing something productive and helping yourself in the long run. Maybe get another job.. I mean you come in tired? So what.. take a nap. Maybe night classes.. spend the day doing homework. I work some shift work where I would sit there for 12 hours bored out of my mind.. so I took college courses. I could get a weeks worth of homework done in a shift. It was pretty nice.

**SageTree** · 12-08-2009, 09:43 AM

This is a snippet from a discussion on Buddhism in Prison, but read it secularly or within your tradition.

Quote:

Teaching how to create a peaceful mind, body and soul represents the most productive path for all human beings, whether incarcerated or not. For, in the end, if we do not develop our own innate morality and integrity, we remain in a prison of our own making..

A Tibetan monk once said to the Dalai Lama that when he was in a Chinese prison camp, what he feared most was loosing compassion for his captors.

There are many stories of relationships changing between the guards and the prisoners based on this compassion of the monks, as the guards are also captive to a system they may or may not believe in, 'just following orders'. Metaphorically in a prison they can't escape either. Thinking it better to be on the outside of the bars, enslaved.

The question is are you the monk or the guard?

Will you find a way to work well in the space you have, practicing life in a temporary cell of work or not work and life in general, or will the guard (you) rattle the bars and explain why it's better that you're in the cage? Encouraging the prisoner not to do anything with his time. The monk can't leave, so why should he try to make his stay there better?

Weather you are bound by consciousness or cash, consider compassion for yourself. Knowing is hard. Sometimes we have to jump to make it better. Sometimes we have to climb to reach better ground.

Bend but don't break No.1.....it's all temporary, things will always change, and you have it within your to work through it.

Namaste,
SageTree

osirus2020 · 12-08-2009, 01:21 PM

I would probably start working out or get a table tennis court set up.

stonerkid · 12-08-2009, 02:23 PM

wow thats sad as fuck no1, scary to. it sounds like a night mare, tossin and turnin in your sleep in a empty, dieing factory.

why not grow weed/sell drugs?
that's always thriving it will make you feel better

wellfleation · 12-08-2009, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonerkid

wow thats sad as fuck no1, scary to. it sounds like a night mare, tossin and turnin in your sleep in a empty, dieing factory.

why not grow weed/sell drugs?
that's always thriving it will make you feel better

I think, if possible, furthering your education is the best thing both emotionally (you are accomplishing something that is significant which is satisfying), and at the same time, will give you more employment opportunities in the future. Thats what I did. I didn't start college until I was 23 and graduated when I was 27. I decided on college after going cross country and living in CA and working for an inventory company making shit and living out of a hotel room in Ventura. I wanted better and this deep desire (as well as fear of failure) drove me to do extremely well in my higher ed.

Human-yo · 02-05-2010, 08:10 AM

So what did you do?

tedkennedy · 02-05-2010, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by №1

Then the economy started to take a hit, raw material prices rose, fuel and maintinence costs climbed. Quality began to slip because the 7 owners of the corporation decided that they were the only ones in the company that weren't going to take a cut in pay, they would have to make cuts everywhere else. This was the beginning of the end for the company. Production ceased on 6/15/09, I laid off my drivers on the 16th and the bakery closed. I, along with the other operations manager, were told that we would be kept on for another month while we finalized accounts and decommisioned the facility.

my father had something similiar happen to him...

he has commuted two hours each way to the city for 20 years to work for this advertising agency

the company has terrible management that does jackshit and miserably fail at getting new work so the company is slowly dieing. meanwhile the remaining employees have to work twice as hard at their job and get paid half as much because they are cutting wages and firing employees. my pops cant retire because he lost alot of his 401k with the stock market collapse so he is just living pay check to pay check.

its a bummertrip, but take comfort that at least your job got easier and you werent one of the guys who got laid off

12-07-2009, 08:05 AM	#1 (permalink)
~1~ Successful Failure Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: where 'they' can't see. Posts: 10,925 Thanks: 466 Thanked 1,581 Times in 925 Posts	So, help? I'm usually one to be answering posts here but this time I could use a little guidance. First, some background about my situation. About 4 years ago I started with this company as a delivery driver, about a year in my then boss realized I was a fairly valuable employee. I knew my route as well as the rest of them, I was also able to run the show here when my boss was out, this lead to me taking over the gig as manager when my old boss left the company. I had 9 drivers under me and everything was going pretty well, they liked and respected me and I was real happy with my crew. Then the economy started to take a hit, raw material prices rose, fuel and maintinence costs climbed. Quality began to slip because the 7 owners of the corporation decided that they were the only ones in the company that weren't going to take a cut in pay, they would have to make cuts everywhere else. This was the beginning of the end for the company. Production ceased on 6/15/09, I laid off my drivers on the 16th and the bakery closed. I, along with the other operations manager, were told that we would be kept on for another month while we finalized accounts and decommisioned the facility. Cut to December 7th, 2009. I have been manning this ship, alone, since the beginning of July. I come in at about six in the morning, make sure the place is still intact and deal with whatever my supervisor (who is six hundred miles north of me at our other facility) needs done at the time. Most of my day consists of looking for another job, posting here and watching Law and Order on the computer. I hang out until about 2:30 in the afternoon (8 hour day). The facility is off the street, behind other businesses, my only real 'visitors' are a couple of feral cats who live on the property and one of them was run over this weekend, got to see that as I came in this morning. There is a paycheck every Friday, I get to do pretty much whatever I want down here but... Its just getting to where I can't take it anymore. I think its called 'stir crazy'. Part of it is the fact that I'm all alone here, I deal with that one okay for the most part but the fact that this ghost town was once a vibrant, living place that now sits here dormant with very little chance of it repoening while I work here. Most everyone who knows of my situation says that its weird but i should stick it out as long as I'm getting paid, Christmas is around the corner and the staggering unemployment in Los Angeles is one of the only things that is keeping me here but those are beginning to be less compelling reasons than they used to be. Its getting depressing and it seems to be carrying over to my home life. I leave here and i drive home and sit in front of the TV or my computer at home and smoke weed and drink (neither to excess) when I used to see friends or play with my car or hang with the kids. I think I just gotta leave the place behind... __________________ "And those who are successful, be always on your guard. Success walks hand in hand with failure, along Hollywood Boulevard" Ray Davies --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Click Here Asshole

12-07-2009, 08:17 AM	#2 (permalink)
my_scatterheart Today, I am alive. Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: NJ Posts: 3,565 Thanks: 1,486 Thanked 3,328 Times in 1,870 Posts	If you can financially afford to leave, go for it. If not, don't be stupid. __________________ Be mindful even if your mind is full. -J. De La Vega

12-07-2009, 08:49 AM	#3 (permalink)
~1~ Successful Failure Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: where 'they' can't see. Posts: 10,925 Thanks: 466 Thanked 1,581 Times in 925 Posts	But where is the line? Sure I have a paycheck every week but my mental health is at stake here. There is a fat 401(k) with my name on it but I don't want to suck that dry with little prospect of refunding whatever i take out of it. Where is the line?! __________________ "And those who are successful, be always on your guard. Success walks hand in hand with failure, along Hollywood Boulevard" Ray Davies --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Click Here Asshole

12-07-2009, 08:58 AM	#4 (permalink)
verklingen Radical Dreamer Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: texas Posts: 8,005 Thanks: 811 Thanked 1,491 Times in 946 Posts	you are the line my man. is it just yourself you take care of? if so i'd be more eager to advise that you follow your heart, as the saying goes. i'm in a relatively similar position, but i work in a business my grandfather started and i don't think i could forgive myself if i left. work has been slower than i've seen yet in my 5+ years. . . slower than it's ever been really. anyway, the balance between psychological and financial happiness is out for you to find, or may be right before you already, awaiting a shift in perspective. i sincerely hope you figure something out to work for you __________________ “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” rip matt

12-07-2009, 01:25 PM	#6 (permalink)
Debaser Baked Fresh Daily Join Date: Nov 1999 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 1,186 Thanks: 32 Thanked 303 Times in 177 Posts	I'll trade places with ya, sounds like a dream job for me! __________________ Wouldn't it be great to heal the world with only a song? Message CM47: Let's go pay some hookers to knock our junk around.

12-07-2009, 03:58 PM	#8 (permalink)
~1~ Successful Failure Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: where 'they' can't see. Posts: 10,925 Thanks: 466 Thanked 1,581 Times in 925 Posts	Trust me scatter, it isn't about having all the time in the world or shit like that... Its like sitting with the body after the wake (a Southern tradition) before they put it in the ground. This place employed 65-70 people, was operational from 6 am until 4 am seven days a week and now there are spiders living on the machinery. There were trucks moving and people in and out and things going on and now there is me and the cat that's left. If I were hired to watch the place, that would be a whole different story but to see it like it is now, abandoned and at a standstill. Its disheartening to say the least. I reached out to an old friend today, she may have a job for me, doing what I did before but for less money. I guess we just start over.... Again. __________________ "And those who are successful, be always on your guard. Success walks hand in hand with failure, along Hollywood Boulevard" Ray Davies --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Click Here Asshole

12-07-2009, 04:58 PM	#9 (permalink)
my_scatterheart Today, I am alive. Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: NJ Posts: 3,565 Thanks: 1,486 Thanked 3,328 Times in 1,870 Posts	It's only depressing if you want it to be __________________ Be mindful even if your mind is full. -J. De La Vega

12-07-2009, 05:18 PM	#10 (permalink)
SageTree ~Kalyāṇa-mitrā~ Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: In Love Posts: 23,414 Blog Entries: 26 Thanks: 13,070 Thanked 6,768 Times in 4,664 Posts	I think it's a good idea to work through the rest of December and get some of that good holiday pay under your belt. Look harder for jobs, pinch your pennies for a rainy day, and quit after the New Year or New Years Eve even! Give them two weeks if you can, as I'm sure it will be a good reference. Another thought is if you can learn to make good use of that time personally then you have it made for a while. Do things that will help your spirit. Read a good book at work, journal, blog, take an online class (for a new job) go for lunch break walks. Know that you should plan a little time when you come home to not do the two things you mentioned, at least for a while. I have had some jobs of late that aren't up to my standard of riveting and I use this time to think and consider other thoughts, that aren't really work related. Up here I only work a few months out of the year and then I'm home. I quickly found out last year, exactly what scatteredheart said. Even around the house I find that I have to set days FOR things to keep myself hopping some days. I had to start volunteering places as well for the people content of my life. It's good to feel useful and like you are contributing to something bigger than only the household. Perhaps you can get into something like that on the weekends for now. This time of year there are a lot of people to feed on the street, charities who strive to get a lot of their annual budget. There are many places you can offer your skills of organization that will be priceless to non-profits. Weather that helps you bide your time or keeps you sane in the jobless times. I wish you the best. Don't be scared to step out on a limb and follow what you know is best for you. Metta SageTree __________________ "What's oppressive is letting your life be confined by old definitions of what everything is." -Zen Meister my_scatterheart YaHooka is.... Cannabis lovers from around the world pulling up a comfy chair, picking up a vaporizer, a bong, a brownie, a pipe, or a joint, getting high, stoned, buzzed or healthy. Uniting our minds in conversation...While Portraying a Positive Image of marijuana and marijuana users to the world. Treat your fellow YaHookans with kindness,respect and tolerance.

12-07-2009, 05:59 PM	#12 (permalink)
my_scatterheart Today, I am alive. Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: NJ Posts: 3,565 Thanks: 1,486 Thanked 3,328 Times in 1,870 Posts	You're looking at it all wrong. You're getting paid to get your shit done for a change. Take that as you will (head stuff, crossword puzzles, listening to new bands on the internet for 8 hours, watching tv, learning Chinese, etc.), but regardless if you're on the clock or not it's your time. __________________ Be mindful even if your mind is full. -J. De La Vega

12-07-2009, 10:50 PM	#13 (permalink)
José YaHookan Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 3,364 Thanks: 62 Thanked 147 Times in 72 Posts	i'm pretty sure there's A LOT of people that would love to be in that position. as crazy as it sounds, you ARE living the American Dream. kinda fucked up, i know right? it's kinda like how people that work two minimum wage jobs just to feed their kids, end up working physically harder than anyone with an advanced degree in the long run. there's millions of people that would love to be doing what you're doing. can I come work with you?

12-08-2009, 06:14 AM	#14 (permalink)
BigSpliffSmoka ...@ War, BRB Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Chicago Posts: 967 Thanks: 16 Thanked 54 Times in 41 Posts	I'd have to agree with SageTree. The time you have alone you could be spending it doing something productive and helping yourself in the long run. Maybe get another job.. I mean you come in tired? So what.. take a nap. Maybe night classes.. spend the day doing homework. I work some shift work where I would sit there for 12 hours bored out of my mind.. so I took college courses. I could get a weeks worth of homework done in a shift. It was pretty nice. __________________ So if the devil wear Prada, Adam Eve wear Nada, I'm in between, but way more fresher.

02-05-2010, 08:10 AM	#19 (permalink)
Human-yo Posts: 32,562 Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Wisconsin, USA Posts: 4,364 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 83 Thanked 105 Times in 76 Posts	So what did you do? __________________ Love, Human Brought to you by Carl's Jr.

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