MIA Colormist

[colormist]

Sorry I went offline there for a while, folks. Apparently a couple members were worried about me, so I thought I'd pop in to say that I am alive and well.

Back in Feb (when I disappeared) I lost my job of four years. They're going through massive downsizing to make the company more efficient and way more generic. I worked as a web designer for a locally owned company in Michigan. They were bought out by a global company. (I won't mention the name, but I would bet that everyone has at least something in their house made by them.) When we were purchased, the design team found out that our new parent company didn't employ designers and didn't know what to do with us. A year later, half the design team lost their jobs. It came as no surprise to me, but lots of my friends were hurt.

So I've been sitting at home, making dinner, cleaning the house, and doing the whole "find a new job" routine. The dogs love that I'm home. They get to sit with me all day long. I filed for unemployment the other day. The only real bites to my resume has been for contract or freelance work. Nobody wants to pay for benefits for full-time workers anymore.

My husband is also hearing murmurs at his company that they are going to sell to a competitor. He doesn't know what that means, but he's expecting to lose his job any day now. One would hope they would keep him, but we're expecting the worst.

That being said, we keep trying to relocate, but the housing market really sucks in Michigan. Houses that are twice the size of mine are selling for what I owe my mortgage company. We're not underwater yet, but we're kind of stuck.

Thankfully unemployment in Michigan is very generous (due to a 13% unemployment rate) and lasts for 3 years. We won't have healthcare, but we'll be able to eat.

I kept looking at the forum link and thinking I should visit, but I always had about 20 other things to do. Today I have to apply for a job, look for jobs, fill out some unemployment forms (paper and online), respond to several emails about freelance jobs, and hopefully find some time to work on the mural I started when I lost my job.

I will definitely try to stop by at least once a week henceforth, though. I have to keep in touch with all my friends.

[Tammy]

Glad to see you are back, although sorry to hear about the troubles. I was hoping you were MIA for good circumstances.

I just saw on the news where Michigan is going to lower the amount of weeks of unemployment. I hope this means you are grandfathered in already.

Good luck in the job search!

[charlie]

Hi Laura,
great to hear from you, we can't have the Gods disappearing!!!! So sorry to hear you have been having such a rough time, fingers crossed for your husband too.

Maybe you could set up a dietary advise business, like all of us on here you probably have enough knowledge for a PHD in it - or at least a Masters with honours. specialist diets are becoming such a big subject nowadays, especially for children. Or writed a fructose free cookery book as there is no such thing so far!

Anyway, all the best, thinking of you and fingers crossed things pick up.

Charlie

[colormist]

Thanks guys!

Charlie, your comment on the HFI cookbook got my wheels turning. I've been wanting to make one for ages now. I have lots of idea percolating in my pea brain of ways to make money. I have a etsy vintage toy store; I'm writing a children's book and illustrating a half-dozen others; I freelance my design skills. I definitely have things to do, just nothing that brings in a regular income.

I worry about a HFI cookbook. I don't know the rules about amending recipes. Maybe I can just do a HFI recipe blog and ask for donations? My only weak point is photography, because I suck at it and photos are the best part of cookbooks!

[charlie]

As far as I know there is no problem with amending recipes, obviously if you copy one word for word you would have to acknowledge the writer but all these celebrity chefs just print their own version of popular dishes, I think you only have to make sure you have all the correct measurements and cooking times, temperatures etc. which would be the fiddliest bit.

To be honest you could market it as low sugar diets etc which are becoming more and more popular so that would widen the market. It is something I have thought of doing recently too whilst stuck indoors with Megs. I'm sure the photo bit wouldn't be too hard, if you had a decent digital camera you can just take loads of snaps and pick out the best.

The trouble is it is probably a long term project. But could you source internet available products and set up a website to market them that suit HFI folk?? It is something that could grow slowly, just pick and choose products. there have been companies over here promoting this idea recently, if I find them in my archives I'll forward details. My computer is too slow and geriatric at the moment to do anything like this.

Great news on childrens stories, if you want a critic you can always email me some and I'll get Meg to check them out!!!!

Good luck, I'm sure you will succeed whatever you turn your mind too, I reckon anyone that has HFI and has to stick to the diet has enough self discipline to succeed. It may just take time. I'm sure we will all help sending in recipes, put it this way, we all owe you gods alot for the support and sanity and free knowledge you have all imparted.

[ukbill]

You have got my best wishes as well.

We have a professional photographer on the site Sheree Davies-chandler, well her husband anyway perhaps you could do a joint co-production?

there is a HUGH market out there for good food for people with eating problems.. be it Gluten free, Lactose free or anything really. You might be on your way to a fortune.. go for it girl.

[julienc]

Laura,

I'm so sorry to hear about your job! I've been a little MIA lately, too, and am just now reading this. The cookbook idea is great - there seems to be a huge fructose intolerance market.

Good luck, and I hope you can find something soon. Or maybe this is the beginning of a whole new, fruitful direction!

[colormist]

Slight update on my situation.

I got a contract job at a design firm near home. The pay is really, really, really great but I really don't know if I'll have an income from week to week. Thankfully for every week they pay me I can afford to pay for my house and car for another month.

On Friday it is so amazing at this office. They bring in bagels--Panera bagels. One of my few sugar-weaknesses is Panera Asiago Bagels. MMMMmmm... I was eyeballing them while making coffee in the kitchen. Then I went back to my desk to see what the ingredients were. I thought MAYBE I could be lucky enough that it wouldn't have a LOT of sugar in it.

It not only had sugar, but also molasses and brown sugar. It was a trifecta of evil temptation.

Later, around 4pm, they carted around from desk to desk trays of sugar cookies.

I complained about it on my facebook wall and my brother (who also has HFI) proceeded to declare how evil and vile such actions were.

[Tammy]

Yeah! on the job.
Boo! on the temptations

[charlie]

Fab news on the work front, fingers crossed for the future there.
Hmm, that sucks on the office food supplies, good luck on that one.

[julienc]

Fantastic news on the job!! Bummer about the bagels. I love their Asigo bread, which I think is safe. Maybe they can order some of that for you next time.

[colormist]

I was contemplating the Asiago bread. Maybe I'll run and get some, toast it, then use the cream cheese as a spread.

[colormist]

Small life update.

Summary: I lost my job in January of last year. It took a full year for me to find another job. I started my new job as a temp on January 9th (I missed a full year of being unemployed by a few days). I live in WV now since I couldn't find a job in MI that wasn't contract work in Detroit. I've been reassured many times by my boss that they are going to hire me permanently.

I did manage to work as a freelancer and get a 2-month contract position while looking for a permanent position. The contract position and freelancing paid enough so that I didn't have to go on unemployment for the full year or collect food stamps, but neither take out money for taxes. It was really tight financially. My husband took a job offer in WV that paid less than what he was making MI, but since he was receiving death threats in MI, we thought that was the better option.

Late in October, I moved to WV with my husband into a teeny tiny apartment. Our house still remained unsold in Michigan. We managed to get it rented in January (2012) and that helped significantly with our financials.

Yesterday we did our taxes. We owe 4,000. We're still reviewing them and haven't filed yet, but it's simply amazing how we ended up in this situation. I told my husband that we made the best choices we could and tried to do the right thing, but that it probably would have been better to just walk away from the house, ruin our credit, and go on welfare and unemployment. Now we are being punished for not playing the game the right way.

I think I made about 15,000 total last year. My husband paid all his taxes, so this 4,000 is what I owe. We're going to try to file separately to see if that helps any.

Yesterday morning I was really happy. I bought some bad chicken from Giant Eagle and got double my money back. I had signed up for a gift exchange, bought my two gifts, and was told that my gifter had sent my gift in the mail already. My husband and I had all our financials in order and were looking into moving into a larger apartment. We had finally stopped accruing massive debt on our credit cards and had begun focusing on paying them off. We finally felt like we had gotten out of the black hole that unemployment had shoved us into, then more bad news.

I'm just a bit bummed right now. Sorry if I'm inactive or don't update the blog in the meantime. Hopefully I'll get some good news sometime soon.

[Tammy]

Sometimes life sure doesn't seem fair

Reading this it sure would be easy to see all the heartache. But know what I saw? A married couple who is doing it together. I'm sure it wasn't easy, moving, changing your whole lives, making the hard decisions............. But so many times that will end the marriage and all the good that goes with it.

So........YEAH for you!!!!!!!!! You guys are my heroes. If you made it through all that last year, then - chin up and keep plugging away. Don't let this one last setback beat you now........

Maybe you won't get the bigger apt for a bit, but you're not sleeping in your car, either.

Everyone can do the easy times. Horrah for you for making it through the hard times. It takes special people for that.

[charlie]

I second that Tammy. And I can so relate to your comment Laura on going on benefits, you can hold your heads up high with pride. And its not like you can live off cheap crap food like others too!!

I'm a single parent, self employed with a child I never know if I can get to school each day and at the moment the money is just not coming in, you end up in debt but the taxes still need to be paid, and I'm the same, I hardly earn yet they still reckon you owe thousands...... so wouldn't it be easier to throw in the towel and sit back and claim all the benefits. if I did I would get my rent paid, my council tax plus extras, but I wouldn't have my pride and I would probably just crumble with boredom after enjoying the initial time off.

So well done for plodding on, from what I have heard the financial and job situation is worse over there than it is here but I do feel a turn in the tide here to things picking up so maybe I can waft a bit of that over the pond to you. Take each day as it comes, make a little positive action each day and gradually you will find it builds up into a bigger positive. And enjoy the smaller place for now - less cleaning for a start...... and use each other support. And if he won't listen feel free to moan to us........!!!

And carry on keeping us all entertained....... That's more important.

[esmee]

Unfortunately, I have been hearing many stories similar to yours colormist. I know a number of folks who are upside down in their homes who tried to work it out with their morgage companies without success. Consequently, many of them just stopped paying their morgages altogether and stayed in the house as long as legally allowed (which can be quite a long time as it turns out) and saved all their money to get a new place at the now much lower real estate price. My boyfriend has a dog kennel and he has had to pay more in taxes than he makes. He was also paid for an injury he received while serving in the Marines many years ago, which he used to get caught up on all his bills and he had to pay taxes on that money and then they told him they made a mistake and wanted it back while they reviewed his records or he would be charged with theft or some such thing. It is all so ridiculous. I am sorry you are going though this. I hope you do get hired on at your new position permanently.

[ukbill]

Just what had your husband done to get death threats???

Unfortunately when we are born we do not get a "life will be fair to you" ticket.

I tried to explain this to my Daughter when she was about 5 years old.

A few hours later I herd my eldest son shouting at his sister that the sweet she was about to eat was his.. to which she said " well life isn't fair is it Rob" and popped the sweet in her mouth!.. OH did that one come back and bite me on the bum!.

I then had to explain to her that just because life is not necessarily fair there is no need to go around making it less fair to those around you!

We just have to play the cards we are dealt the best way possible.. yes we all make mistakes.

The only people who 'make mistakes don't make anything.. (or are extraordinarily good at covering up)

But if its any consolation I think you both trying to work through it and not throwing the towel in and going on benefits is very good. At least you have far more self esteem than people who took the easy way out .

Hence you should be higher on the employability list, just by your self assurance that you will project.

I spent 25 years working in IT.. now I'm a Taxi driver!..

Sometimes life plans don't work out.. however they work out better than not having any plans

I always say if you don't fail occasionally you are just not trying hard enough!

Perhaps I tried a bit too hard??

Above all else KEEP smiling! (at least it will make people wonder what you have been up to)

Best wishes to both of you..

[tikitavi]

So sorry, Colormist! I hope that things turn around soon for you and your family.

[colormist]

Thanks guys. It's funny because we're just barely managing to squeak by, but we're still underwater with our mortgage. We keep making the best possible choices given the situation, but because we're making this better choices, we don't get any government home relief (like, help on our mortgage and whatnot). The people that are making the wrong choices are the ones that are getting help. Really, really bums me out.

Anyway, on to more interesting topics, my husband (Ben) got death threats from his unstable coworker who had handed out death threats before to other employees. The crazy man tried to run over Ben with his work truck, tried to lure Ben into a secluded area, and when Ben wouldnt' follow him into a secluded area, the guy grabbed him by the collar and threw him against the wall (with lots of explicits and death threats). Ben finally caved and called HR in the corporate office because his manager wasn't doing anything about the crazy guy. The manager then proceeds to give the crazy guy two days off of work (paid) to "cool off" and yells at Ben for going to HR behind his back.

This, of course, did nothing to stop the crazy guy from acting threatening toward Ben. This all happened a couple months after I lost my job. The crazy guy knew where we lived, so we thought it might be best to distance ourselves from the situation. I'm sure there are other details I forgot to mention. It was all very scary at the time and my husband was afraid to go to work. He was shocked to learn that the crazy guy had done something similar in the past and still hadn't been let go.

I talked to a friend about the situation (before we left the state) and he said his uncle was in a similar situation a few years back. That his uncle died because the crazy guy at his uncle's work killed him a couple weeks after giving out a death threat. His uncle had also reported it, but management didn't do much aside from a slap on the wrist.

[charlie]

OMG, what a nightmare for you both, your poor husband and a huge worry for you too. Sounds like you did the right thing getting out of the situation, it sounds like he has mental health problems but if the people at the top won't help then there is nothing you can do yourself.

One day the man will hopefully threaten the wrong person but for now you stay safe.