Jobs

Before the main topic, one more thing about the weather. We just finished a spell of weather unlike anything I can remember in the northeast. Temps probably 25 degrees below normal. And snow in northern New England. I've NEVER heard of snow this late in the year in these parts. Not even at the highest elevations. I don't know what to think about global warming. Or even global change. There's been more bizarre weather in the last year than I can remember. I truly don't know what to make of it.
OK, on to the main topic. The "J" word. I don't have a full time one at the moment. My two closest buddies have had major events happen in the last few weeks. One just got a full time job in what sounds like a perfect match for his skills. He's 61. Another just lost his, after many years. And he'll be turning 60 later this year.
I don't know what to make of it either (my phrase for the blog, I guess). On the hopeful side, one can say that there's always a shot, regardless of age. On the down side, one could say that a job is never safe. And I know from personal experience about how hard it is to find work in middle age. I know that if I'm the one making hiring decisions, do I hire someone healthy, fresh out of college who might stick around for awhile? Or do I hire someone middle age who probably has health issues and will probably only stick around for a short while? Oh, and is probably expecting a higher salary based on their history?
Pretty easy decision.
Which leads me to where I'm at. I start school in late August. I'm so thrilled and grateful that words cannot do justice. I'm incredibly lucky to have a family member (my uncle) who is footing my bill. Without him, it would be next to impossible to do this. Until late August, I'm essentially in the same boat as my buddy who lost his job. I'm supposed to be teaching as an adjunct professor in a few weeks but for both courses, the enrollment is very low and I wouldn't be surprised if each course got cancelled. I essentially have no other income and am trying to be as inventive and open minded as I can.  I'll get by one way or another. Even if I can't find anything, I'm still way more fortunate than so many other people.
I'll do whatever it takes. I've already gone literally door to door in areas of high concentration professional industries with resume in hand. Most of the time, I've been treated as if I was an insect, to be shooed away like any other annoyance. It doesn't particularly bother me, but that's only because I'm expecting this reaction and am mentally prepared for it. But as a society, I don't know the answer. The numbers suck. Baby boomers sucking up society's resources. Especially when we're unemployed. Corporations with more and more operations overseas. Why? Because a CEO answers to the stockholders. Which means profits, as close to the edge of illegal as possible without hopefully crossing the lines. That means tax havens, cheap labor, all the other things that are destroying our economy. And completely legally.
I don't have any answers for society. I think I favor a flat tax, which I do think will encourage employers to keep jobs stateside.  But I don't know enough about it nor do I think that it would be a panacea.
As for me, all I can do is to do the footwork and to be as open minded and as inventive as possible. 
It does seem that every success I've ever had has been counter intuitive. That is, good things happen not only when I least expect them, but also when I'm not pushing things and stressing out. Last year at this time, I was wondering how I could make it through the summer. Out of the blue, I got a call from a recruiting agency. They didn't even have my most recent address. They offered me a 3 week consulting gig which provided a good chunk of my summer income.

I close with a list of the things that help me:
1: Noticing beauty and contentment. Yesterday, my girlfriend and I were at a picnic. A lot of the people there were in recovery. I could have done a much better job of just appreciating their journeys. I did not. My girlfriend alluded to this...not directly. But the lesson was learned. And supplemented when, later on, we were driving by a local beach and saw so many kids just having a great time, eating, playing. It was Memorial Day. And I thought about our veterans, and how lucky we are to be living in America, despite our problems and the rigged system that I alluded to above.
2: Being grateful for what I have. (I keep an alphabetical list)
3: Finding humor.
4: Listening to my inner voice. Which often tells me to slow my mind down.
5: Forgiving myself for my past, and even current screwups.

Thanks for reading.