Sunday, February 26, 2012

Birthday thoughts 2012

Today is my 49th birthday. I have a simple day planned spending it with a friend and then an evening with my wife.

As I sit here and think about my upcoming 50th birthday which I have to say freaks me out just a bit. It will become harder and harder to think of myself as a young boy. But something I thought about is where I was in my life at each turn of a decade.

In 1973 I was living in Salinas California and turned 10. Probably had a traditional birthday party with cake and presents. I might have a picture of me somewhere.

In 1983 at 20 I was living off campus in Spokane Washington at Whitworth College. I probably spent the day in classes.

In 1993 my wife Chris threw me a 30th birthday bash in the back room of Patty's bar and Grill.

In 2003 for my 40th I was in London with my wife and little brother and his girlfriend at the time. They had bought me a cake and blew up some balloons and decorated the flat.

So for 2013 who knows what I will be doing or where.



Monday, February 20, 2012

Unemployed again


Chris was let go from her job back at the end of August. I got laid off mid December. We still haven't found jobs yet. This is the first time in our 28 year marriage that we've both been out of work at the same time. It has been an interesting winter getting used to being around each other 24/7 and learning to cut expenses where we can.

It is an odd feeling as you approach 50 to be out of work with no clear career goals and not much to show for the past quarter century of employment. Next week is my 49th birthday. My skillset is very outdated and there are no jobs out there for that skill anymore. Time to retrain or find a new career. Neither I thought I'd be doing at my age.