I need some cheering up :(

[Lindacooks]

I've posted this before, but the short version is that my husband was fired from his Director position of a women's crisis center in June because (no, I'm not kidding) he objected to the state cutting child abuse prevention grants (This is Minnesota - Pawlenty Pig). Really - Repukes objected to it, and his Repuke board fired him, after defaming him, of course.

So now, a job we really thought he would get fell through. We are both committed volunteers - I always work with the Community Action Center in our town, he has chaired an HIV support group, besides his job - and this job was for people he's volunteered for for SEVEN YEARS.

I mean, what do you have to do? We are very discouraged, on the verge of losing everything, and I'm so angry I just don't know what to do with it.

:(

[Kamika]

1. well

Always remember you have it better then about 900 millions of others


(sorry i suck at cheering up

If you want a laugh go here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=348516

Its a thread i did that sank like a rock.

(bump it!!!

[alwynsw]

9. I kicked it for ya!

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. I just don't know what to tell you

I am sad FOR you.

I am indeed sorry to hear this. It's getting harder just to be a human being in the face of the ignorance of so many.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

3. Tell him to...

Get in touch with the Easter Seals organisation. With his credentials, and their constant need for people, he could find work with them. I am sure his skills are portable to their mission.

[SOteric]

4. Wow, that's really awful.

I wish there were anything I could say that would help you instead of just sympathise with you.

But if cheering up is what you want, maybe this will make you laugh.

http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~atman/ic/lutefisk.html

It is my wont when travelling to forgo the touristic in favor of the real, to pesuade my kind hosts, whoever they may be, that an evening in the local, imbibing pints of whatever the natives use as intoxicants, would be more interesting than another espresso in another place called Cafe Opera. Chiefest among my interests is the Favorite Dish: the plate, cup, or bowl of whatever stuff my hosts consider most representative of the regions virtues. As I just finished a week's work in Oslo, this dish was of course lutefisk.

(snd f/x: organ music in minor key - cresc. and out.)

The Norwegians are remarkably single-minded in their attachment to the stuff. Every one of them would launch themselves into a hydrophobic frenzy of praise on the mere mention of the word. Though these panegyrics were as varied as they were fulsome, they shared one element in common. Every testimonial to the recondite deliciousness of cod soaked in lye ended with the phrase "...but I only eat it once a year."

more...

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. Lutefisk:

"The Piece of Cod that passes all understanding"-L.N. Bolch

Perhaps the only foodstuff, save Twinkies, that cannot be improved by Hot Peppers.

[liberalmuse]

6. Things seem bad right now...

but believe me, they WILL get better. It takes time--think of yourself one year or two from now, looking back and saying, 'Wow, I can't believe we got through those tough times.' I've been there myself more times than I can count. 'This too, shall pass'. Sometimes change sucks, but sometimes it can be the best thing for us in the long run.

[Rowdyboy]

7. Be as supportive as you can...

I worked for the state job service here for 25 years and I know what he's going through. Losing a job is losing identity, particularly for men because we are BRED to see ourselves as the breadwinners. Losing your possessions doesn't really matter in the long run. I've shed mine once or twice. The main thing is being with someone you love. Two can weather the storm much more easily than one.

God bless...Steve

[Syncronaut Seven]

8. Consider your options

1. Bankruptcy, prefferably chapter 7, the thought used to be abhorrent to me. I got over it.

2. Legal action, It sounds like the RePigs were sloppy, Pigs often are. It sounds like you may have a case.

3. Quiet resignation to your fate is just wrong, don't do it. Be creative (within the law of course ;) ) make it unpleasant for them.
File lawsuits, drag them to unemployment hearings. Expose the budget cuts by getting letters published. Run for office & fire the fucks.

It's a war folks, Wake up! Progressives of all walks are being targeted. You are not alone YOU MUST FIGHT!

Harrad.

[Bertha Venation]

10. Linda, I'm sorry.

I wish I had some great words of comfort or could pull a fabulous solution out of my hat.

Consider, for maybe a chuckle, my recurring nightmare: I'm in a rowboat, and I have to get to Target to buy sour cream.

The rowboat is in the middle of a residential street in Long Beach, CA. There is no water. The boat isn't a flat-bottom, so it's tipped to one side. I'm rowing and can hear & feel the oars scraping on the pavement.

I know I could get out an walk to Target but I can't. I'm stopped from doing so. (Dream rules, y'know. Like it's a rule that when you scream you make no sound.) But I have to get there. :shrug:

If that didn't work, how about picturing this little bit I used to have on a lapel pin:

laughing fish are eating my furniture

:shrug: :shrug:

My thoughts and best wishes are with you. I'll tell Kathy about you too; double the good vibes coming your way from So. Maryland. Please keep us all posted.

[roguevalley]

11. Sweetie, HUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are there other things to do? Other places nearby that need someone WITH A HEART!?!

Honestly, I can't understand it but I'm hugging you both.

[Swede]

12. I don't know what I can post to cheer you up. Just keep fighting the good

fight. I know that that is so trite,just stay in touch.

[Corgigal]

13. I don't know what your obligations are

however if I were you and IF we didn't have any kids or even pets., now would be a great time to pack your belongings into a storage shed and join the Peace Corp. Go see something, change of country and people who really need help. Get out of there.

[Kimber Scott]

14. Keep your head up...

My husband's been laid-off for three months. He just took a temporary job on Monday - hopefully it will go permanent. I've been afraid of losing everything, too, but as I watch the people in California whose homes have been turned to ashes, I realize things can always be worse. Both of you, take a day, or two, or three, to relax, get your thoughts together then get to work finding work and fighting the fight.

Times like these are really good times to figure out what you REALLY want out of life. Make the most of it.

:hug:

[Lindacooks]

15. Thanks, everybody

for all the good advice.

Believe me, I know things could be worse - Doug had cancer when he was 25, then we found out his mom had Huntington's disease (the worst genetic disease possible, 50% chance he's got it) which stopped us from having kids, then a nervous breakdown or two.

We've considered bankruptcy, but unfortunately, with the fundraising jobs he's going after, Employers check your credit; and you've got to be impeccable.

And we are suing the repigs - have the best employment lawyer in the state on our side. Just now, it's draining money, though - and the repigs are fighting.

[UrbScotty]

16. Hang in there!

Hope for the best!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

17. Good vibes from another Minnesotan

:hug:

If you're near the Twin Cities, check out the thread in the Meeting Room in which we're talking about setting up a periodic meeting at some coffee shop or other.

You'll get plenty of support there!