Saturday, August 25, 2012

Personal Update


For those of you that know me (Few) I have been dealing with some issues over the last few years. I will now recap for those that are new to this blog and explain the reasons for the recent lack of posts for the rest.

In 2007 I was recruited to a position with a small company in Columbus Ohio. I moved my wife and me there and bought a house as everything was looking up for us. I did not sell my house in Louisville and refurbished/repaired it and moved my mother in law in. She was on limited government income and I charged her no rent as I could pay both mortgages with the new job.  In 2008 shit happened and things did not look so good. I began to worry! In 2009 I was let go due to the failing economy. My wife has ocularhistoplasmosis and is legally blind in one eye that we know of. She had to quit working in a doctor’s office as she could no longer take x-rays, draw blood, and give shots. This was many years ago and her vision has worsened however there is nothing we can do about it so we have not had her vision checked in the last few years.

 So here I was sole supporter of several family members with two mortgages and no job. I had to go on unemployment! I was not happy about it but TPTB left me no choice and I thought I would find a job quickly. It was not to be as that area was hit hard and I was relatively new with little reputation in the in the new area. I started cashing in all of my retirement to make ends meet. I was out of work for almost two years searching diligently for employment. I had many interviews and recruiters looking at me but nobody was hiring.

 I decided to put the house in Columbus on the market and move back to Louisville. We moved into the basement of my house and left the upstairs for the mother in law while I went back and forth working on painting and improvements to get the house sold. Finally I was able to get a lease/purchase agreement with a young family that needed time for the military benefits to kick in. The agreement was for 20K less that I bought the house for (my entire down payment).

 During this time I was not feeling well with night sweats, blurring vision, shaking hands and dizzy spells. I also had a couple of episodes of severe nose bleeds however I did not go to the doctor as I had no insurance. I somehow managed to move all of our stuff back to Louisville with a little help from a friend and a brother in law. On one of the last trips back I felt so bad I thought I was going to die. When I finally made it back to Louisville family called the EMT who lived across the street. My blood pressure was 178/132 (normal 120/80) and I was in stroke territory. I went to the doctor and he immediately put me on meds. This started helping as I made the last few trips.

 When I finally got everything out of the house and turned the keys over I went back to Louisville and was contemplating how best to start my job search here. I decided that I would go to a society meeting that I had previously been very active with and announce my return and availability. Before this happened I was contacted by a colleague and asked if I would be interested in a position with his company. Within a week of returning my reputation alone landed me an interview here without trying. 

 I got the job for half the salary I was making plus commission and I am still there as they are good people and treat me well. They have even thanked me for coming to work for them on numerous occasions. I have thanked them as well and voiced my loyalty to them for giving me the opportunity. During this time I have been continually struggling with medications to get my BP where it needs to be. Some of the medications I have been put on were ineffective, one over effective and some with side effects I could not live with.

 This week, still dealing with side effects of a new medication, I was able to finally get the sale on the house in Columbus closed. This should reduce my stress and hopefully help with the blood pressure. I no longer have to worry about a property three hours away and I did not have to foreclose which will keep my credit and integrity in tact. 

 Even though I got fucked severely I paid my bills and honored my commitments and Kept my Word. I did not take the easy way out even though it took a lot of time and has effected my health. For the III that understand it is all about personal honor not the cost. Money is just a tool and tools can be replaced. Honor once lost is seldom regained without extreme effort and sacrifice.

 My only hope is that one day our government will learn to act in such a manner! And I know our next government will.

3 comments:

  1. Hang in there Alan... hopefully you will get a stretch of good luck!! your health is the most important.

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  2. Thanks Irish!
    I will hang in there but be assured it will not be by the throat.

    ReplyDelete