Deeker's Message of the Week

Simply put, this holiday season has not exactly been jolly or bright. On December 1 I found out that I would be out of a job on December 10, due to "budget cuts". Whatever the reason is, I'm out of a job now and I will have to squeak by on unemployment until I am hired on at one of the many companies I have contacted. I won't go into the sordid details behind my former employer's laying people off, but the writing on the wall had been there for awhile and I knew this would be coming sooner or later. Thanks to this, I am unable to buy gifts for family and friends.

Just to smear more salt into the wounds, I have had to deal with problems with things that I cannot afford to fix, but at the same time cannot do without. Last week the power supply to my computer went out. I picked up a new one for $45. That may not seem like a lot, but when one is unemployed, every penny counts. You might wonder why I consider the computer to be essential. As it is my primary tool for job hunting, I need to have access to the Internet and would rather not rely on using someone else's system.

That, however, is minor compared to what I have had to go through this weekend. My car's starter went out on me, which left me stranded for two hours Friday afternoon and made it so that I could not help my grandpa with some things he needed me to help him with on Saturday. Fortunately I have a friend who works on cars, so I called on him to help me out. The only time he could help me, though, was on Sunday morning, which is why the update for today is so late. I was not about to explain to him why Sunday morning is not a good time, but I had no choice. We went to the auto parts store and picked up a new starter. A couple hours later he had the new starter in and I was good to go. I know I saved a lot on labor, so that's some consolation, at least. I know most of you out there will be understanding of this, and I appreciate your concerns, as indicated by the several emails I have received. I hope that by next week's MOTW I can report better news on the job. For now I am happy to say that at least I have a car that will start again.