The ***Official*** Weekend Singles Thread - Labor Day Weekend(Sept. 1-4)

DollyCali and All of the Singles & their FRiends | September 1, 2006 | DollyCali

[DollyCali]

Labor Day, a national legal holiday over 100 years old has Over the years evolved from a purely labor union celebration into a general "last fling of summer" festival.

It grew out of a celebration and parade in honor of the working class by the Knights of Labor in New York. In 1884, the Knights held a large parade in New York City celebrating the working class. The parade was held on the first Monday in September. The Knights passed a resolution to hold all future parades on the same day, designated by them as Labor Day.

The Socialist Party held a similar celebration of the working class on May 1. This date eventually became known as May Day, and was celebrated by Socialists and Communists in commemoration of the working man. In the U.S., the first Monday in September was selected to reject any identification with Communism. Then in 1894, Congress passed a law recognizing Labor Day as an official national holiday.

It has come to be recognized in the U.S. not only as a celebration of the working class, but even more so as the unofficial end of the summer season. In the northern half of the U.S. at least, the summer vacation season begins with Memorial Day and ends with Labor Day. Many colleges and some secondary and elementary schools begin classes immediately after Labor Day.

State parks, swimming pools, and campgrounds are all quite busy on Labor Day, as vacationers take one last advantage of the waning hot season. September is the month that marks the beginning of autumn. And, because of that, the average daytime maximum temperatures take a plunge during the month in most of the U.S.

Labor Day "Linky Links"


U.S. Department of Labor- Bureau of Labor Statistics

Labor Day Greeting Cards

Knights of Labor

Labor Day Recipes

Labor Union Information

U.S. Department of Labor- Bureau of Labor Statistics



JOBS ~~ WORK ~~ PROFESSIONS


Tell us about your work/career..Past/Present

DollyCali shares her "past"

Well..maybe a LITTLE bit! I am currently working harder NOW than ever in my life. The pay monetarily is ZIP. but I know there are other rewards. I am care giving my invalid mom & living with her in HER home & taking care of her home, yards, pets as well as her.

My first “jobs” were in junior high school. I did modeling and taught dance lessons.. Continued this until I graduated from college & then began a teaching career(Biology & Physical Education) of about 10 years in many geographical areas at the junior high, high school and college level.

While I was teaching in NC, I began my real estate career that started at a large firm in residential sales & ended in my own commercial business that dealt with Development, rehabs, and 1031 Exchanging. A lot of money was there and a lot of ego strokes, but deep down something was missing.

Following grad school I began a career in Hospital chaplaincy working with Cancer/AIDS/Hospice patients. Essentially, ALL of my patients died & it was my job to get them and their families ready for that transition. But this was the most rewarding career I had and it has helped me help others – even now – as I am officially “unemployed”.

Now it is YOUR TURN

Please join me and the other “Singles & their Friends” and as you visit this thread over the next fourr days(yes, we will have a ping on Monday also for anyone who wants to visit) to chat, visit and see what is going on with your FRiends, do take a few minutes to share a little about yourself & your work over the years.

[rzeznikj at stout]

Finally made it. I think...

[A knight without armor]

I wonder how you became fearful of the Easter Bunny. I bet you saw something on tv. When I was pre-kindergarden I was so frightened that the house would catch on fire. Even so young I did not want to tell this weakness to my parents. I'd make excuses to get up at night, like being hungry, so my mother would take me down to the kitchen and I could check the house along the way. Once I thought I saw red fire and stooped down to see it was just a red design on the linoleum.

Then later on and up until today my creep-out fear is haunted talking dolls or inanimate objects.

Whitney Strieber wrote in his book about abduction that he stepped out of his house to see where the aliens went but did not find them. He said later on it dawned on him that they were probably up on the roof watching down on him. That freaked me out. I still get weirded out and look up to the roof when I think of it. Especially on still nights. Just thought I'd fill you in on my terrors. Thank you very much.

[Nowhere Man]

If I were in the hospital battling an infected wound, I'm not sure that I'd want to watch a History Channel show about the War Between the States. The medical care in those days wasn't very good, and much of the damage that soldiers sustained was not from initial wounds but from later infection.

Heh, good points. For the most part, they focused on the navy side where they had battles between the USA and CSA as far away as off the shores of the UK. There was a good show about the CSA submarine, the CSS Hunley.

Again, my condolences for Miss Pansy. I'm glad that you're getting a chance to chill out this evening.

Yeah, it was tough, she was the second cat we lost this year plus the oldest. At least I still have one 1980's era cat left, Corky who was born in 1989. I miss having a calico cagt around here tough. We almost lost Boo (Buddha) this year but we pulled him through. Thank God, three cats in one year would have been worse. We still have him under a vet's care though, just a watch to safeguard him, he gets checked up next month.

[DollyCali]

nice to have those quiet evenings sometimes

[DollyCali]

you think?

well, hello if you are really here!

[WFTR]

I was out of work for two long stretches in the 90's. I was laid off the first time in August of '94. If I remember correctly, I had a hot prospect almost immediately. I think I interviewed in the first week of September. During the two weeks leading up to that interview, I did a great deal of biking and started some library research on companies that might need someone like me. I had a nice severance package, so I didn't bother with unemployment at first. I was hoping that I'd find something good before the severance stopped. At that time, I didn't have a TV, so there was no late-night TV watching. I didn't have a computer, and I was going to Kinko's to print all of my cover letters and resumes. I remember that I used to go to Kinko's after midnight because I didn't want to be disturbed while I was doing this work. I'd usually finish around one or two in the morning and head to the post office with a bunch of envelopes. I'd put them in the box and go home to sleep. I'd sleep late and then wait for the mail to come or try to make phone calls.

The second time was in '99 when I finished my second master's degree. By this time, I had a computer but still no TV. I was finishing my thesis for part of the time that I was looking for work, so the thesis kept me busy. Afterward, I just took walks around campus and surfed the internet to keep myself busy.

I can't say that I ever really learned to enjoy unemployment. I'm sure that I'll love retirement, but I have a hard time relaxing when I know that something big is waiting for me to complete. I never took a job because I wanted to be ready to go at a moment's notice. Furthermore, I'm not really suited to do anything but be an engineer. In the '94 to '95 time period, I was almost ready to do some odd stuff when I finally found the job at the consulting firm.

Bill

[rzeznikj at stout]

True, true.

But sometimes, it can be too quiet...

[rzeznikj at stout]

If I think I'm here, then I must be here.
I think I'm here.

---

Therefore, I must be here.

[DollyCali]

wow.. something must have happened to you as a very little baby/child with a big easter bunny.(person in costume).. afraid to think of things like that sometimes..

[DollyCali]

sounds like a philosopher

[WFTR]

So this license could mean that you could hang out your own shingle as an independent agent? That would be exciting, and I can see where they'd pay you more to keep you in the office.

Bill

[rzeznikj at stout]

I took Phil 101 last semester--for the humanities credits...

[Nowhere Man]

Oh no!!! I'm sorry about Miss Pansy!!!!!

Thanks. Yeah, she was hard to take, she was doing well on her thyroid meds but then something else cropped up, possible lymphatic cancer. IF we caught it earlier, we might have able to arrest and shrink the tumors with constant cortisone treatments but things got out of hand it seems so we ended up losing her. At least she turned 19 offically a week before she passed on.

[trussell]

Each license you earn gives you a raise. But the raise is miniscule. I'm making $8 an hour...as a single mom, we are almost living in poverty.

[DollyCali]

yes

[DollyCali]

I just had the one philosophy class as an undergrad & I guess I was too obtuse to learn or enjoy it. So many of my early classes like that were lost on me.

[DollyCali]

that must be difficult! Is the cost of living low/high? where you are at?

[A knight without armor]

"An over-active imagination, perhaps. I don't know."

One never knows where these things start. I read something once...perhaps it was Stephen King??? I read an interview and he said what got him into scary stories so much was his brother. He said his brother would be so afraid because of this night visitor. It was a white wolf that came into his room at night and would stand by the bed and look at him. And the white wolf would come in walking and standing on its two hind legs like a person. The interviewee said that description was so chilling and unforgettable it spurred on his imagination to horror stories.

[Maximus_Ridiculousness]

You're welcome!

My latest fear started when hubby left for Iraq. I spent 16 months alone in a small cottage-style home (minus trips to see family). I had a repeating nightmare that someone was trying to break in. I'd wake up in the middle of the night all sweaty and my heart racing. Then I'd think I'd hear something and I'd hold my breath. Nothing. I used to get up and walk through the house and check every room just to make sure. Nothing. But I would do this just about every night. Even when hubby leaves town for drill, I still can’t help but to get up at night and look around and check all the rooms. I keep a pistol on the nightstand too.

[rzeznikj at stout]

I still have gen-eds to take this fall...

Classes start on Tuesday morning...

...and about 40lbs of textbooks later