So its been quite a while since ive blogged anything with any depth so let me fill you in; I got the supra painted and entered her in a show, met a truly beautiful person, and lost my job.

With the longstanding task of trying to build a car i enjoyed that offered me a release from the crap of life, i feel i made a car that divulges my like of being different. it took me a little around a year to get the car to the point to which i am proud of it. As anyone knows its a long hard road to build a car; usually a road that never ends. I can already think of a list of things that need to be done to my car, although to the normal person it looks done. For the list of people whom have helped me along the way, refer to my last blog post. On to more important matters.

Not sure if you caught that last item on my list with my subtle way of inserting it, but yes i lost my job. The company to whom i proudly served for 7 years got outbid on a new contract. The new company deemed it necessary to drop all the lower people on the union seniority list leaving me, second from the bottom, laid off. Im still to this day trying not be bitter about the situation. I mean hell, not bragging but i was a hell of a employee. In the 8 years of working there i had a amazing attendance record, did my job and more everyday, was always early for work, never had been written up, etc. So from what i could muster up in my own mind was that none of this was my fault, which is true, but i at least wish that it could be for something i did. If i made a mistake that has ended in me getting fired, id feel better knowing that everything i had landed on me, but the reason i think this way is because i know i would never do such a thing. Its hard thinking that the reason i got laid off was because of how many years i had been a part of a union, or how many years that i had been in my newly promoted position for. Don’t base it on my work performance, or my attendance or anything of value, just my union tenure. Fact of the matter is the only person who is whining and bitching about that shit is me. The new company does not give a damn; at the end of the day I’m just a paycheck they do not have to fulfill. I was raised with the standards of always taking pride in what i do, in every sense of the meaning. But this situation has taught me something, not about me, not about who i am, but about life. You ready? It goes on, whether you are ready to accept it or not. Ive been telling myself for years about how good i had it. Damn near straight out of high school I had a job making very good money. Always in the back of my head i kept telling myself that my kick in the ass was coming. That point in time when you get thrown into a situation you have no control over that completely changes your life. Ive never been put into that situation, thus giving my reasoning for thinking that i had it “good”. Im not going to lie, losing your job is a very scary thing, I don’t wish it on anyone. I sit here as i type this thinking “damn i was looking at buying a house 6 months ago, imagine if i had a mortgage to pay”. What if i had children, who were counting on me, what would i do? You get your jobless ass up and keep fighting. You do what you have to do, whatever that may be. Things crossed my mind such as selling my bike, or selling my car. When brought up to a fellow bike enthusiast at my work his initial response was “You cant sell your bike!” to which i responded with, “i will if i have to live”. Luckily it hasn’t came to that, and i don’t think it will. So i did what i had to and took unemployment, which not only is nowhere near what i made, but it made me feel belittled as a man. I should be out working. I am a well bodied, smart individual who can do something better then sit and accept a check from the Employment Development Department. And by no means am i degrading anyone who does, i am just describing how i view the situation.

Ive learned a few things looking for work. I need a degree, in a field i want a career in. As i type this i sit and think why do i need a degree, Ted turner doesn’t have a degree, Bill Gates doesn’t have a degree, but yet these two people are some of the most productive, successful people of our generation. What I’ve come to realize is, i am not either of these people, not saying i don’t have the ability to be, but i am intelligent enough to understand that there is always something more to learn. If im going to learn something why not do if the from the indivuals who have done it before me and perfected it. My argument against degrees is that there are so many talented people in this world who have no formal education, but get overlooked because they do not have a piece of paper that tells the world of their accomplishments. Sitting in a classroom does not supercede somebody who has a vast amount of experience in a field of their choice. But degrees teach you common knowledge skills that somebody else would have to work so hard to accomplish without higher education. Degrees teach you discipline. Face it you can sit your ass on a seat for hours and listen to a professor, and then survive your class and pass, then you have shown discipline. This is higher learnings ultimate lesson. It is easy for a student to miss a class without the teacher even noticing. But when you work, chances are that no one will be there to punch you in. Your boss will notice and you will get the boot. You will always be a marketable person. Having a degree is becoming incresingly more important in the job market. Consequently having a degree now will open doors in the future. i will gain future opportunities in ways i may not be considering now, Persuing a graduate degree is much easier when you have a undergraduate one. I might be able to better weather certain situations in the future such as getting laid off. I will have a strong sense of pride and accomplishment. Attending 2 friends graduations recently and watching another achieve a masters degree, has shown me what hard work looks like, and how it effects people. Working your ass off for something and accomplishing it is no easy task, but i feel that earning a degree will teach me more about hard work then previous opportunities have.

Im finding out the hard way that the world is not going to give you a damn thing. You need to fight for everything you have. You must obtain as much knowledge as humanly possible about everything that interests you. You have to surround yourself with supportive people. I just counted on my hand 8 people total with whom i can trust my life with, and i know that their opinions, although maybe not what i want to hear, will always be in my best interest. They will support me until the day i die, without question. I am striving to become a better person, to make best of the negative situation that has been presented to me. Life isn’t about what you do when you’re at your best, its about what you do when you’re at your worst.