Need some cheering up, can't seem to catch a break

[Disneydreamer5]

Ok so last year we were booked for free dinning for 9days at caribbean beach then 2 weeks before we were suppose to leave my DH crushed his arm in a fork lift, vacation canceled.
After much theraphy and many months of being out of work, he returned and all was good.
Ok so fast forward to a few months later and I started once again looking into this years vacation.
I was thrilled a few weeks ago to see that Disney had added a few weeks in Oct, Nov and Dec for free dinning and the plans were rolling along.

Then last week, business(Title Company) was a bit slow so I go in to see if there is anything I could do in the office as all my normal daily work was done.
The boss says actually can you sit a minute?
So I do and low and behold he tells me that he can no longer afford to keep me on.
Now once again no vacation for us.
I have been putting my resume out daily since the weekend after he told me and still nothing!
The bills are already starting to come in faster then we can pay them and the stress factor has reach an all time high.
I am so worried about everything, and I know vacation should be the last thing on my mind but I just feel so jaded.
We only started taking vacation in 2003, as the money was just never there and then it was. So we cruised in 03 and hit the world for the first and only time in 05. 07 was washed away and now 08 looks like a bust as well.
We work so hard and it just feels like we can never get back on track.
I am willing and able to do any work that would come my way but so far there is just nothing out there.
I just needed to share how I was felling with someone and I thought who better would understand this huge feeling of disappointment of not making it yet another year to Disney then you guys.
So thats my sad tale, thanks for listening.

 

[design_mom]

I am so sorry you were laid off and also for your string of bad luck regarding vacations. That is such a tough situation to be in.

I don't have any advice, except to say I hope you can find a way to treat yourself to *some* sort of vacation this year, even if it's not the Disney vacation you'd planned. You sound like you could really use a getaway. Even a couple days at a local state park (not too expensive) might help recharge you and make you feel ready to take on the world again.

Here's hoping that something comes up for you job-wise very soon -- and that Disney in 2009 brings a wonderful vacation with the Mouse.

 

[island cricket]

that is horrible! i got a story like that but it would take at least an hour over coffee and since your not in the area...i'll just keep you in our prayers. Stand firm, don't give up...you may just be at the verge of a breakthrough so keep pushing and look to all the good things... hubby is alive, kids are well, we have food in the cupboard and a roof over our head. I know it may sound trivial but trust me when i say...I was right there where you are and I had to keep reminding myself to praise in ALL things (which ain't ez when you keep slappin' your head in the door)

 

[retire2disney]

I am soooo sorry things are not working out for you. Don't give up!! I'm sending you some well deserved hugs. Best wishes for you and your family. Please keep us posted.

 

[Disneydreamer5]

Thank you so much for the support, I soooooooooooo need it right now.
I can't tell you what it means to have someone to say the things I really feel too. Ya know, you can only tell family & the DH so much as far as worry and disappointment go before everyone around you starts saying things like, oh there are worse things that could have happened!
Believe me I know how lucky I am in other ways and I thank God for all he has given us. It just would be nice to get the breaks I see others get.
Why them and not us? Ya know?
I forgot to mention in my last post that I was also laid for last Novemeber but we lucky enough to find work right away but this time is proving to not be so easy. Its just really hard to keep your chin up when everywhere I turn I am being punched back down.
Anyways,Thank you for the encouragment and I will surely keep you all in the loop.

 

[thegrimdwarf]

Well, that all just stinks!!! I'm sorry you're having such a bad run - I've BTDT, and some days I just wanted to lie in bed and cry and wonder when I was going to get some good stuff. I hope you find a great job, and things start to improve!

 

[J'aime Paris]

I'm sorry to hear about your vacation Everyone deserves a good vacation, we all work so hard these days. I hope life brightens up for you and you're able to make it to WDW soon!

 

[Tricia819]

Sadly, this sounds all too familiar.

 

[ajh88]

I'm sorry things are looking so bleak right now. I'm living it every day - I just keep telling myself we'll get some relief when we move next year, but then there's the stress of trying to sell our house.

I just have a short story - we've been pretty strapped financially the past few months - just one thing after another. I've been praying on it and just trying to stay positive - trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel. I worked today (I'm per diem at a hospital - I haven't worked in about 3 weeks until today) - in the stairwell, I saw a fortune on the floor (from a fortune cookie). It says "You will overcome difficult times." I know it is silly and probably more superstitious than I really am, but it lifted my spirits today. So, I'll share my fortune cookie fortune with you too - and hope that you overcome the difficult times as well.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

I'm sorry!

 

[Disneydreamer5]

This is why I am so sad that things have been going so bad lately. Most of you can relate I am sure so please read the below and enjoy

When I was in the sixth grade, I got to go to Disneyland with my grandmother. It was my first vacation ever. Although I was supposed to be enjoying myself, I was not. Back at home, my parents, my brother, and my three sisters were left with nothing to do for the summer. I felt guilty, because I knew if my parents had the money, we would all be going to Disneyland. When I was fifteen, it finally happened, only we didn’t go to Disneyland. Even better, we went to Disney World!
The best part of this trip for me was seeing my father’s reaction. It was funny to see that he had the same reaction as my sisters and my brother, because he too had never been on vacation before. Seeing his reaction, made the vacation that much more exciting for me. It definitely proves that it really does not matter how old one is, the experience is just as meaningful.
When we got to Disney World we brought all of our luggage to our resort, and we got everything situated. Afterward we went to Epcot. My mother had made reservations at a restaurant called “Coral Reef.” When we got inside the restaurant, we were all astonished. The whole one side of the restaurant was an aquarium. We saw were sharks, tropical fish, and a huge sea turtle swimming right next to us, while we ate our dinner. The best part for me occured when the waitress brought out my dinner. I ordered lobster tail, and it was probably the biggest lobster tail I had ever seen.
The next day, we made our way over to The Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom is basically just like Disneyland, so my mother and I knew what to expect. We were so excited going into the park that we skipped in. My family and I made sure we got on all the rides. After we finished the top rides we wanted to go on, we got on the monorail that brought us over to the Contemporary Resort. There, we had dinner at a restaurant called “Chef Mickey’s.” This restaurant was a blast! There were characters walking around while we ate our dinner. The best occured when all of the characters came out and put on a little show. During the show, the audience had to get involved and swing our napkins over our heads. We had so much fun.
The following morning, we went to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, also known as MGM. My mother wanted to go on a ride called “The Great Movie Ride.” While we were standing in line, I heard someone say that the ride was scary. I am not a fan of scary rides. As soon as I heard this, I was almost having a panic attack. When we got on the ride, I made my mom sit next to me. First, we went through a smoky room, I was still freaking out. The next thing I know I hear singing. I looked up, and all around us were little singing munchkins from The Wizard of Oz. We were in munchkin land! I felt so silly.
Afterward, we went to 3D Muppet Show. My family and I had never been to a 3D show before, so we did not know what to expect. When we walked in, everyone was just standing around holding their 3D glasses. T hen, the two little TV screens in front of us lit up, so we put on our glasses. The character on the screen moved from the one TV, to the other. We thought that was the coolest thing ever. When the TV turned off, we were so confused; my mother turned to us and said, “That’s it? It’s over?” Then the giant door in front of us opened, and we were led out to a huge theater. We could not stop laughing at ourselves; we thought the little screens were in 3D, and that was the show!
The entire trip was such a great experience for me, as well as my family. We were so new at the whole vacation thing, which made it that much more fun. Everything that we did was new and exciting for us. Now, my family absolutely adores Disney World, more than ever before, and we cannot wait to get back there, hopefully sometime soon for another wonderful experience!

 

[ammeador2]

Hang in there! I've been there and things always seem to work out in the end. In one way or another. I lost my job right before our vacation. I was worried since it was too close to our departure date. But that worked itself out as well.

Good luck to you!

 

[Disneydreamer5]

Hi all, Just wanted to let everyone know that my hunt continues.
Everyday I am at home going on every website I can find and sending my resume to anything and everything that sounds promising.
So far though nothing has come my way.
Most days I don't think about it but there are moments when the stress reaches an all time high and it takes everything I have not to cry in front of the kids or DH. He is working like 65 hours a week to try to make up with my lost job and he is just so exhausted but never says a word. The man truly is my hero. I would be lost without him. Even the kids. When the younger one askes for something the ollders will say hey, mommy lost her job do you really need that? My oldest is the best, she doesn't make a lot of money at all but whenever she can she will take the little one for an ice cream just to give me some relief.
I hate feeling like such a waste to my family. I think that is the hardest part in all this. I am there cooking and cleaning but I know we need me to work but its just not happening and with the world in the state it is I am not feeling very hopeful.

Thanks for listening all.

 

[poohguys]

Hi Disney Dreamer5. Just wanted to send a your way and say hang in there. Don't know how close you are to a mall, but when I was at our local mall there were a lot of signs up for seasonal help. Just thinking that maybe you could due that until a full time job comes through. Good luck.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Good luck with your job hunt. I've been in the same boat for 9 months now.

Please let me offer you this advice - if you qualify for unemployment benefits - please apply for them! I didn't do this right away, thinking that I always could walk right into another job. I was too proud to actually file.

After two months, someone finally slapped me upside the head and told me to take the benefits I had already been paying for with my taxes. It took them telling me that my money would go to someone else, if I didn't just up and file for it, so why shouldn't I take advantage of my own money!

I know it's not much, but it was some of the best advice I had gotten after being laid off. Don't let pride get in the way. I'm still actually considering doing some seasonal work at the mall, if anything for the social aspect. Being off work for this long has been great for time with my kids, but somewhat depressing considering I had a high-paying corporate position with a lot of social/professional contact.

Almost forgot - one other piece of advice - make some social networking calls out to some of the places you applied or that you want to apply. See if you can get a networking appointment with the manager to discuss the company in general. Don't use it as a "I want a job" opportunity. Use it as a "I'm interested in this line of work/Here I am" opportunity. When we were laid off, one of the severance perks they gave us was 3 months with a career advisor firm. This is apparently a big strategy these days.

Good luck!!!

 

[Disney1976]

Hi all, Just wanted to let everyone know that my hunt continues.
Everyday I am at home going on every website I can find and sending my resume to anything and everything that sounds promising.
So far though nothing has come my way.
Most days I don't think about it but there are moments when the stress reaches an all time high and it takes everything I have not to cry in front of the kids or DH. He is working like 65 hours a week to try to make up with my lost job and he is just so exhausted but never says a word. The man truly is my hero. I would be lost without him. Even the kids. When the younger one askes for something the ollders will say hey, mommy lost her job do you really need that? My oldest is the best, she doesn't make a lot of money at all but whenever she can she will take the little one for an ice cream just to give me some relief.
I hate feeling like such a waste to my family. I think that is the hardest part in all this. I am there cooking and cleaning but I know we need me to work but its just not happening and with the world in the state it is I am not feeling very hopeful.

Thanks for listening all.

Hi, just wanted to tell you to hang in there, even though I know it's tough! I know that there's a great job waiting for you out there, and soon, it will be yours! I was there last last year/early this year -the partnership I had formed with a friend had gone under, and it took me, a licensed attorney, 4 months to find work! But I've got a terrific job with a wonderful firm now, and I'm very happy! And, oddly enough, the day I accepted this job, I got calls for 3 more interviews, wouldn't you know it? So, don't fret...sometimes the best things in life are worth waiting for

 

[Disneydreamer5]

Thanks for the hugs and good thoughts. I need it so badly right now.
Just a little back ground. I was working for a real estate attorney last year at this time and he too was falling on slow times and laid me off. I got 2 jobs almost immeditly. One was at a title company that we did business with and the other was for a larger law firm that needed a receptionist 2 days a week.
So I am still at the law firm but I lost the title company. Ofcourse as luck would have it that was 3 days a week and where I was making the bulk of my money. Now I get unemployment benefits that subtracted what I am getting from the law firm which equals less then half of what I was making.
I went from 350 every week at the title company to 109 from unemployment.
Its really bad. I think its so unfair that they subtract what I make at the other job cause there no way to mantain our lifestyle like this, not that we live this high class life. I just mean that is my money and I can't even have all of it until somthing comes my way. I am out there working, its not that I am sitting around collecting and I am being penalized for working, ya know?
I will continue to search and I thank you all for the advice.
Today was just one of those days when I didn't want to get out of bed.
Feeling alittle sorry for myself but reading all your kind words really does help and makes me realize I am not alone in this.
Thank you all for much for the support. It means a lot right now and I know it will be ok, somedays I just need a reminder of that fact.