Day 171 ~ Meeting Old Friends at the Unemployment Office

Kirk Gardner in mid-sentence and John McCourt looking surprised!

The Federal Government deemed that Hostess Brands was impacted by foreign trade so all of its former employees are entitled to benefits - Trade Adjustment Assistance . Last week, we went to a meeting so we could learn about re-training, income supplement, and other things. I ran into two friends from the Trenton Depot where I used to work. It was great to see them again.

See you tomorrow.

Day 94 ~ Starting School

From Star Career Academy

Last month, I decided that, since I am unemployed, I should retrain into a new career field. I decided that Medical Billing and Coding would be the best route to take. Other interesting fields I considered was Xray tech and, believe it or not, Funeral Director and mortuary affairs. But both of those required three years of training. I need to be working sooner than that.

One of the places I considered going was to the Star Academy but that would have required me driving for 20 minutes and sitting in a classroom for six hours a day, four days a week.  Instead, I am opting to take an online course. That would give me the flexibility I need right now. I, in fact, start today!

The Online School

One of the best things is that the Veterans Administration is paying for this training in a program called the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP).  Thank you, tax payers, for paying for this. With this course, I should be in the online classroom 20 hours per week and working offline for 20 hours. Sounds like a full time job to me!

See you tomorrow.

Day 42 ~ Hanging with Bobby G. at the Unemployment Office!

Bobby G , famous pod-caster of YOU GOT THAT RIGHT fame, getting out of his car.

I had some questions for about unemployment and so did Bobby G, my friend from Hostess Brands. Instead of sitting on the phone for hours, we decided to go down in person and get things sorted out.  We did. Both of us were impressed on how helpful and knowledgeable (and friendly) the workers at the Unemployment office were.  We didn't have to wait too long to speak to someone and, anyway, while we waited Bobby and I just talked.  Being unemployed is no fun but I am glad that the people at the UI office make it easier on us. 

Bobby G.'s special friends in the backseat!

Why in the world does Bobby G. have these friends buckled up in the backseat of his car? Is it so he can go on the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane on the Turnpike during rush hour? I don't think so. I think it's because he's nuts! :) And that's okay with me! It's one of the reason I like him.

a close up of his friends

Maybe he talks to them while he is driving just in case he gets lonely? :)

Menu of Poppy's Place! a great place to eat!

Bobby G. was telling me about a great little breakfast and dinner diner by the Toms River Post Office. It turns out, it was owned by John, who used to own Tina's diner in Trenton. Bobby used to deliver bread to Tina's.  He has been saying we need to go to Poppy's Place because, not only is the food inexpensive but it's delicious!

one of the many pictures that hang on the wall at Poppy's Place

I love the ambiance of this little diner. It has a nostalgic  1950's feel to it.  and lot's of great pictures hanging on the wall. It turns out that John, the owner, has been a collector for years so he got a chance to put his collection to good use!

the view from our table.

I highly recommend eating at Poppy's Place. I intend to tell my in-laws about this place because they are experienced Connoisseurs of eateries I hope to go back again soon.  I also hope I see Bobby G. again soon. 

Besides losing my income, the thing I hate most about being unemployed is not having great people like Bobby G to work with! He's tops!

See you tomorrow!

Day 37 ~ Papier-mâché Sculpture

The Women at the Well

Last week I was having trouble understanding somethings about Unemployment Insurance so I went to my friend, Norm's house so he could help me sort through all the paperwork.   Besides getting a wonderful cup of tea (and, thanks, Norm, for the tea bags you gave me to take home), I also came across this wonderful Sculpture sitting on their kitchen table. It was made by Norm's wife, Deana when she was in high school.

I love it! The fact that it has no clear facial features or even distinct digits on her hands and yet is obviously a women bending down as if at a well, gives this art work, an ethereal other worldly quality while still remaining fixed in this world. Almost, like a religious Icon. 

Good work, Deana - you should do more!

Scripture Reference Plague on the Sculpture

This piece of Art was inspired by an incident described in the Gospel of John where Jesus is tired and asks an outcast Samaritan women for a drink of water. She is surprised that a Jew is talking to her and then Jesus offers living water to this women.  Early Christian tradition says that the women's name was Photine and, after the death of Peter and Paul, she went on to Carthage to proclaim the Gospel. Giving out living water, if you will.  She was killed in the persecutions of Nero, the famous fiddler on the Roman Roof! 

Day 33 ~ My first Job Fair!

This is what I look like before I go to the Job Fair!

Here I am all dressed up, ready to go to my first Job Fair! I don't have a sports jacket but with my long sleeved shirt and tie, I look professional enough, I think!

Diego getting out of his truck in the Church parking lot.

My Friend, Diego who I know "in the route sales business" and from my church told me about the Job Fair. We decided to drive together. We met at the church parking lot and drove up in my VW bug all the way to Edison, NJ where the Fair was being held from 5pm to 7pm.

Diego, looking all professional

We arrived very early which is what you should do when you are looking for a job so we had time to sit around and talk. My brother Ray once got hired for a job just because he arrived one hour early for the job interview.  The boss was so impressed by his enthusiasm that he hired him on the spot!

Dennis, better dressed than me but I didn't hold it against him!

My friend, Dennis, who was also a Hostess Brands route salesman met me at the Job Fair. Even if I didn't make any contacts with employers at the fair, it was worth going to Edison just to see Dennis again!  He makes me laugh. I am going to miss working with him.

People walking around begging for work!

The whole evening was beneficial in that it gave me hope that there are jobs out there. I just need to find the right one for me. Thankfully, with unemployment insurance, I can afford, for a while, to be a bit picky. Last night, of the eleven companies who made presentations, I talked to four representatives. I got further information from them and will weigh my options.I know, sooner or later, I will get a job!

See you tomorrow!

Day 32 ~ I gotta read a book!

Walking out of the library with the book

On thanksgiving, I had a really great conversation with Mike, my niece's boyfriend and he gave me lots of advice on searching for a job.  One of the things he told me was to take my time to set up a profile on Linkenin, which I did and you can link to my profile on the right of this blog.  He also recommended a book that, he said, I could get really cheap on Amazon. "The 2-hour Job Search"" by Steve Dalton. I did one better. I put a hold on it at the Library and will borrow it for free! Free is good when you are unemployed!
So, I got to start reading today!

my Linkedin profile photo

Here's my picture I posted on Linkedin, a "professional" look, as advised by Mike.  My wife took the camera to church and we went against a partition to give it that "office cubicle" look. We really didn't like any of the the pics my wife took so my friend Don stepped in with his Iphone and this is the result. I posted the pic on Facebook and got a  lot of rude comments from my friends. DO I REALLY LOOK LIKE A SUBSTITUTE SCIENCE TEACHER, STALKER KILLER GUY? Actually, it was a lot of fun to read the funny comments. My fiends keep me laughing!

See you tomorrow!

Day 25 ~ I Lost my Car...and found it again!

my car, lonely and waiting for me at the Mall!

Okay, I am  officially losing it! I went to the Mall yesterday to the Verizon Wireless store so I could see about reducing some of our phone bill by cutting minutes or something and after that I went out to the parking lot to get my car.

 BUT I COULDN'T FIND IT!

It took me fifteen minutes but I finally found my little Volkswagen Bug! It was so great to see it! As I got in my car, I realized that being unemployed is a bit of a transition for me and that perhaps the stress of looking for a new job is something I have to adjust to.

I am proud of myself because usually when I do stupid things like that I totally lose it! But this time I only lost it a little bit :) Maybe, that's why it only took me 15 minutes to find my car instead of a half  hour.

Note to Self: Make sure you pay extra special attention to where I park!

See you tomorrow!

Day 22 ~ Good Bye, Twinkies! Good Bye, Job!

a stack of Twinkies

Here is a picture of a stack of Twinkies that will never make it to the supermarkets.  We heard today that Hostess Brands, baker and distributor of many products like Hostess Cake, Drakes Cakes, Wonder bread and a lot others, is ceasing operations as of Saturday.  So these Twinkies are just sitting there. They will probably be grabbed by the employees who show up today to get an Information Packet which the company has put together. Basically, that packet explains in "Question and Answer" Format (much like a catechism), what happened to the company, what the next step should be for former employees, ect. 

The depot is an hour away from my house and I don't think I am going to make the drive to pick it up.  I am going to ask the mechanic to pick my packet up and I can meet him at his house. He lives closer to me than the depot plus he is gong there today anyway.

deep in thought

My job was to sell cake. I was a route jumper which meant I had to cover vacations and sick calls but when no one in the cake department was out, I would occasionally run a Wonder Bread route. That's what I did yesterday. My last stop in my route jumping career was at the Pick it Deli  in Old Bridge, where I sold my last piece of Hostess Brands, product.  They received 27 Classic White breads, 8 stone ground wheat bread and 5 whole grain white breads.  Their last order. So if you like wonder bread, run up to the Pick it Deli and get it while you can!  The above picture was taken while driving back to the depot with an empty truck; Empty forever!

Rest in Peace, Hostess Brands!