Anybody out there want a slightly used cat with bad aim?
The road back to gainful employment is looking to be a lot harder than I thought. I've had a fair number of interviews, but the pressure on hiring managers to fill positions internally, and procrastinate on their decisions is immense, plus the competition for available jobs is fierce. Still, I'm optimistic that something will turn up, and if it doesn't, I've already started looking for temporary work to tide me over. Mrs. BH wants to remain in her job for another year, so that's been limiting my search to the local area, which offers few opportunities for the kind of work I do.
Financially, we're in okay shape. I had been counting on receiving about 4 months of wages and benefits from my former employer, but when they filed for Chapter 11 on April 1st (no fooling), everything they owed me was tossed into bankruptcy court, and I was forced to start collecting unemployment insurance, as Mrs. BH's salary is not enough to cover our expenses. Let me tell you that anyone who thinks that UI is some sort of wonderful benefit that turns otherwise hard-working people into welfare queens is in for a rude shock if you ever find yourself in my situation; what I get in a month works out to barely 10% of my former wages, just enough to pay our mortgage. If not for our second income, we'd be in dire straights right now. As it is, we are just covering our expenses, and will have enough to last us through next summer, if we're very careful and don't get any nasty surprises.
As for the lost severance, after consulting with an attorney, it appears that I will probably be able to recover almost $11K of my pre-filing wages and benefits (minus taxes), but everything they owed me after April 1st is essentially lost. If I'm very lucky, I might see 2-4% of it. The company that purchased the assets of my ex-employer has no obligation whatsoever under the law to repay the monies I'm owed, so my legal options are extremely limited. Bankruptcy law in this country is weighted almost entirely towards the employer, and what laws exist to protect employees are filled with easily exploited loopholes.
All in all, things could be a lot worse though. I've run into former colleagues who've been out of work for years, and have few prospects of ever returning to the workforce in any meaningful capacity. While I'm waiting for the next opportunity, I'm getting a lot of home projects done, and brushing up my skills by training myself on new software packages. I'm also looking into taking some college courses, if we can afford it.
Finally, we're still planning to attend the Hukilau next month. We'd already purchased the plane and event tickets before I lost my job, and my sainted mother has offered to cover the rest of our expenses as an early 29th wedding anniversary present.
That should about cover it. I'll be back in another 3 months, or earlier if I have anything positive to report.
Aloha,
Mr. BH
Dear Readers,
I lost my job of 26 years last Thursday, and will be devoting all of my time and energy to locating a new one. Blogging will resume when (or if) that happens.
I pretty much saw this coming, but it was still a shock when it happened. Fortunately, we had taken steps to greatly reduce our mortgage debt and build our savings up last year, so between Mrs. BH's income as a librarian, the severance package from my former company, savings, and unemployment insurance, we should be able to pay the bills and eat for quite a while if nothing turns up. Mrs. BH has great health insurance too, so that's not a worry either.
Hopefully, this will be just a temporary setback, and I will be back to entertain you again shortly. In the meantime, please keep us in your thoughts and/or prayers.
Your pal,
Mr. Bali Hai
Back in a week or so.
We've just returned from a 3-day trip down the Great River Road to pick up our daughter from orchestra camp in Decorah, Iowa. We stayed at a couple of bed-and-breakfasts along the Mississippi River, antiqued and thrifted 'til we dropped, ate odd local delicacies, and generally had a very fun time. The weather was absolutely picture-perfect.
As you can see, my tiki-scoring mojo endured my return from California, as I managed to find cool PolyPop tschotkes just about everywhere I went, and at very reasonable prices too, although I did have to pass up a couple of fairly common Trader Vic's fog-cutter mugs which some jackass dealer had marked up to $95 each! Good luck selling those, buddy.
Larger images and item descriptions are located once again in the mug gallery, and some photographs of our trip can be viewed at my Flickr account. I even saw a Tiki bar along the muddy Mississipp, but unfortunately, there wasn't a single thing tiki about it besides the name.
[Link: Tiki Mug Gallery]
[Link: Great River Road Photos]
*-No actual foam Cheeseheads were harmed in the making of this truly awful song parody.
In anticipation of that tragic day, I've decided that I wish to be fitted with a rocket-propelled prosthetic arm, holding a tiki mug.
That is all.