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STORY TIME!

Being Unemployed is miserable!

I kind of got used to it. It started several years ago when we bought this hunk of raw forest and for a few years it made sense for the wife to work a job while I built things and cleared land. Did electric and plumbing etc. Worked my arse off for a few years. Then I had plans to work from home but never got started. Kept using the money for more homestead stuff like a $4,000 fence, $1200 for goats, $400 for LGDs etc. One year we needed a new vehicle because she crashed the old one. I could/should have gone to work a few years ago but didn't. Early last year, we bought a second vehicle, 30mpg car because I knew gas would go up and that she was sick of trucks.

That enabled her to start planning her escape. She was doing it in secret last year and had every intention of me being alone by Christmas. Pretty sure a fairly new friend of hers filled her head with crazy stuff. This "friend", who's happily married, was kind enough to print out DYI divorce papers for her.

I figured it out based on Kris' attitude towards me. Then I ended up getting quite drunk one night and rambled on but still couldn't come out and accuse or ask. Next morning all three were looking at me like wtf was that? She asked and I said I get the feeling you're leaving and she confirmed. Week later she brought home covid and got two weeks off from work so we were all here for Christmas after all. LOL Then the trailer she was to rent didn't become available for another two months. By that time, I had settled her down and eased her fears that I was going to do something irrational. I'm very mellow and not like that but like I said, she had friends talking to her. She was ready for it to become a war like many divorces do. I ended up helping her move.

Divorce just went through last month but was ten years in the works. We stayed together for the kids but they're adults now. So the breadwinner moved out a year ago and took the bread with her. Daughter went with her and son stayed with me, their decision. We get along and help each other out. You can take the girl out of the city but not the city out of the girl. I don't do city and she found out she can't do country, other than country music. There's more to it than just that of course.

Been job hunting ever since but not many places want to hire a 125lb, 57 year old. All there is for jobs is factory work or sawmills. Sawmill work is definitely a younger/larger man's job as are most factory jobs. Royal Oak entry level is stacking 40lb bags of charcoal to shoulder height for 8 hours straight. Finally found a maintenance position at one of the factories.

When I met the now ex-wife, I had three un-cashed paychecks and the book keeper at work was complaining that she couldn't balance her books due to that. We've been week to week ever since, whether it was me working, her working or both us us working. It will be nice to have money again. The bills are 25% of what my pay will be. The added expenses of working, like gas/fuel will take more but I'll have $1k per month or so to play with. I worked full time for 25 years with never more than a day or two of not working, even if switching jobs. Always had plenty of money when it was just me.

Of course there are priorities that will come before play. Need a pair of tires for the truck. A second, smaller vehicle than that full size truck with 286k miles on it. Need a backup and something cheaper for the 35 mile commute, one way. Will also be better to teach my son how to drive. A few things around the house, clothes, shoes etc. The production jobs at this factory are light duty and simple so I'm hoping I can get my autistic 20 yo son in at some point.

Been a heck of a year and I have nothing left to sell aside from my tools which ain't happening. I owe a buddy $1,500. Should have started this job two months ago but my license had expired and when I went to renew, they said I had issues in Massachusetts, a place I haven't lived since 1986. Come to find out, they're still digging old paper citations out of the basement and plugging them into the system. Some citation from 1984 triggered enough points or something for a suspension. They wouldn't let me start working knowing I'd be driving illegally to get there. It was against the HR guy's Christian values, plus he said his wife works in the field of driver training or similar. Said it was a sign from God. I left angry but a few miles down the road, decided it's a sign for me to get the DL taken care of before anything else.

Had to take a "driver attitudinal course" but since I live in MO, had to do it online and the earliest they had was over a month away. Had to buy a webcam. Meanwhile I sold two wood stoves to get us through. Then it takes a week after completing the National Safety Council course for MA to have it in their system. The you call for a phone hearing or so I thought. I called and was on hold and had some incoming calls but it said private caller so I ignored. Then at 10:43am I got an email saying your hearing is coming soon and to expect a call. The call time was 10-11:00am but they're an hour earlier time zone. The signup process said nothing about them calling me nor did prior emails. I know that for a fact because I had to do the process of setting up a phone hearing a second time. This time I knew they'd be calling me though. Less than two minute call and $100 fee. Course was $145.

Hearing was a Tues and they do driver testing here on Mondays so that added a week. Ironically, the HR guy's wife gave me the road test. Another sign. Come to find out, she works for the state police in driver training/testing. My license had been expired over 6 months by this point so I had to take the full tests like a 16 year old. My son got his learner's permit the same day.

This story could have been a lot longer if I told of all the many other things that have gone wrong in the past year. Let's just say it's been a year for things to break that I can't afford to fix or replace.