We have all been feeling the crunch from the recession. Why is this recession so much worse than any other collapse in the markets? Why does it seem that people all over the United States are only being taken advantage of? Is this only happening in the US? Of course not. The rest of the world is feeling this as well. However this is a true story that I am writing about how this recession has affected my friends and family personally. I will be writing about events from the beginning of this recession up to this point. I am writing about the whole lot of it. The good the bad and the ugly. This will be released in a series of blogs that will show how things have changed and are changing. So be sure to follow me and share your stories. Together we can all take this nation back and put it in the people's hands.
Here is a little personal information about myself. I am 30 years old. I work as a server for The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. I was a very well trained HVAC technician before the recession hit. I was in my very early 20's, and I was on top of the world. I didn't drink alcohol. I did smoke a little pot in the evenings though. Never have done any hard drugs or pills. Nope just an average guy, that's all. I loved my job and was very good at it. I enjoyed hunting and fishing. I also did a lot of studio work as a musician. Like I said, I was on top of the world!!! So things where moving along great from 2001 to 2006. I had moved to Gatlinburg, TN. I was now working as a musician more full time than just as a studio musician, and I was working as a maintenance and housekeeping supervisor. I had accomplished all of this and was doing very well for myself by the ripe old age of 25. Then the recession hit and hit hard. Tourism all but stopped and companies started closing down. No one could afford to pay a band or even a single musician doing an acoustic gig. Then the inevitable happened. You guessed it, I lost my job due to the company I worked for closing down. This is where my story really begins.
I was living in a very nice studio apartment. My rent wasn't over the top. I was only paying $500 a month for rent. The electric bill was fairly low. I didn't really have any other bills. So I was on top with no debt. Living the dream. Well when I lost my job I wasn't to worried because I didn't really understand what was going on in this economy. I figured I would just go out and find another job. That is when I realized that this just got very hard to do. I showed up at my first job interview, which was another Chalet rental company. When I walked in there where at least 20 people there for the same job. I couldn't believe it. So I still wasn't discouraged to bad. I thought this must be a really great company to work for. It ended up they cut the interviews short and no one got hired that day. I knew something was up then. I went to apply for another job that was listed in the paper. There where even more people there. I started talking to people and finding out that a whole work force has been put on the unemployed list. That is when I realized that I was going to have to start looking for the types of jobs that I did when I was younger. So I finally found a job with a private electrician. It was only part time and it was strictly for roughing in houses that where few and far between. So I went back into bartending at night. I just so happened to find a bartending job at a little hole in the wall bar that only served beer and whiskey. Usually a bunch of dudes that where not thrilled to see a guy behind the bar. I made it work for the time being though. It didn't last long though. I then went to serving. I got on at the Texas Road House. Now I am making less money than I have ever made and am very behind in my bills. I would say about 3 month's behind in rent and final notice on all my other bills. Well with tourism being down and server's only make $2.13 an hour. People can't really afford to tip and the average bill at a Texas Road house is around $30.00. That is for 2 people. So you might get a $1.00 tip. No matter how well you served them. Imagine the frustration.
I ended up loosing my apartment." Shocker". I had no where to go and no money to get there. I had 1 week to get out of my apartment. I also only had 3 shifts that week. They where not even week end shifts! So I made about $80.00 that next 3 days and I found a rental unit to store my things as I knew I could not afford to rent another place. It costs me $50 to rent it. Now I was down to $30 to get a place to stay and to buy food. So I got my stuff moved in the storage unit and had to look at making some very tough living decisions. I had no clue what I was going to do or where I was going to do it. I had a small tent in the storage unit, so I grabbed that and went to a campground under the Douglas Lake Damn. This was my new residence. It was only $8 a night for me to put my tent up and use their bathroom facilities. On the bright side I was next to a river that I could catch some food out of until I got to work again. That was 4 more days away. I got a fishing rod I had kept up with since I was a boy, and started fishing. It was in the end of summer so it was still warm and bearable. I caught enough fish to feed myself for those 4 day's. I went back to work for my shift and made about $50. I was a little relieved. I could afford to stay another week. I could also afford to eat something other than fish cooked over an open flame. I worked the next 3 shifts and made about $120. That was such a relief. I didn't have to worry about getting evicted from the camp grounds. It is amazing what you can come to appreciate. Life had changed for me in a really rough way. After about 3 weeks at the campgrounds it was turning colder and I had managed to save about 100 bucks. I was making about $100 a week. Not enough to even afford a cheap weekly rental hotel. So the sobering reality of having to face the elements of winter had become a reality that I was not ready to handle. I questioned a lot of things about myself. I blamed myself for being in this situation. I could not believe that I had fallen so far so fast. It was getting colder and that is when it is the slowest at the restaurant. For the second time in my life I really did not know what to do. I was scared and alone. For someone who once had a ton of friends that called on him all the time, I couldn't call on any of them. I learned another lesson at that point. Friends seem to be there as long as the money is there and when it's gone so are they for the most part. That is when a new department in my life opened up called ACQUAINTANCES. This category is where the new people in my life go before we ever even think about using the friend word. Back to the story. I was in the ending of fall and it was cold now. People where looking at me like I was crazy for staying there in a tent. I was clean shaved and I showered everyday. I didn't look like Grizzly Adams. I still had nice clothes and presented myself well. I think that is what made people wonder. I looked and dressed like the people in the nice motor homes, but lived in a tent, and as much as I tried to hide it looking back everyone that come through could see that was my residence. I had a 1982 yellow and rust colored. Mostly rust. I used to drive a four runner but had to trade it because I couldn't afford to run it. I traded it for that little yellow beast. I still think I came out on top of that trade though. Maybe not monetary value so much, but that truck and my living situation humbled me. I saw the not so good in life and still maintained a positive attitude. I had a lot of time to think, and every night I could here my grandmother say things don't stay the same forever. She was right. I will be writing the next part of this epic adventure over the next couple of day's. Thank you for reading and I hope that stick around for the next part of to many peoples realities.
The Social Buy Spot
The Social Buy Spot
The Social Buy Spot
Here is a little personal information about myself. I am 30 years old. I work as a server for The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. I was a very well trained HVAC technician before the recession hit. I was in my very early 20's, and I was on top of the world. I didn't drink alcohol. I did smoke a little pot in the evenings though. Never have done any hard drugs or pills. Nope just an average guy, that's all. I loved my job and was very good at it. I enjoyed hunting and fishing. I also did a lot of studio work as a musician. Like I said, I was on top of the world!!! So things where moving along great from 2001 to 2006. I had moved to Gatlinburg, TN. I was now working as a musician more full time than just as a studio musician, and I was working as a maintenance and housekeeping supervisor. I had accomplished all of this and was doing very well for myself by the ripe old age of 25. Then the recession hit and hit hard. Tourism all but stopped and companies started closing down. No one could afford to pay a band or even a single musician doing an acoustic gig. Then the inevitable happened. You guessed it, I lost my job due to the company I worked for closing down. This is where my story really begins.
I was living in a very nice studio apartment. My rent wasn't over the top. I was only paying $500 a month for rent. The electric bill was fairly low. I didn't really have any other bills. So I was on top with no debt. Living the dream. Well when I lost my job I wasn't to worried because I didn't really understand what was going on in this economy. I figured I would just go out and find another job. That is when I realized that this just got very hard to do. I showed up at my first job interview, which was another Chalet rental company. When I walked in there where at least 20 people there for the same job. I couldn't believe it. So I still wasn't discouraged to bad. I thought this must be a really great company to work for. It ended up they cut the interviews short and no one got hired that day. I knew something was up then. I went to apply for another job that was listed in the paper. There where even more people there. I started talking to people and finding out that a whole work force has been put on the unemployed list. That is when I realized that I was going to have to start looking for the types of jobs that I did when I was younger. So I finally found a job with a private electrician. It was only part time and it was strictly for roughing in houses that where few and far between. So I went back into bartending at night. I just so happened to find a bartending job at a little hole in the wall bar that only served beer and whiskey. Usually a bunch of dudes that where not thrilled to see a guy behind the bar. I made it work for the time being though. It didn't last long though. I then went to serving. I got on at the Texas Road House. Now I am making less money than I have ever made and am very behind in my bills. I would say about 3 month's behind in rent and final notice on all my other bills. Well with tourism being down and server's only make $2.13 an hour. People can't really afford to tip and the average bill at a Texas Road house is around $30.00. That is for 2 people. So you might get a $1.00 tip. No matter how well you served them. Imagine the frustration.
I ended up loosing my apartment." Shocker". I had no where to go and no money to get there. I had 1 week to get out of my apartment. I also only had 3 shifts that week. They where not even week end shifts! So I made about $80.00 that next 3 days and I found a rental unit to store my things as I knew I could not afford to rent another place. It costs me $50 to rent it. Now I was down to $30 to get a place to stay and to buy food. So I got my stuff moved in the storage unit and had to look at making some very tough living decisions. I had no clue what I was going to do or where I was going to do it. I had a small tent in the storage unit, so I grabbed that and went to a campground under the Douglas Lake Damn. This was my new residence. It was only $8 a night for me to put my tent up and use their bathroom facilities. On the bright side I was next to a river that I could catch some food out of until I got to work again. That was 4 more days away. I got a fishing rod I had kept up with since I was a boy, and started fishing. It was in the end of summer so it was still warm and bearable. I caught enough fish to feed myself for those 4 day's. I went back to work for my shift and made about $50. I was a little relieved. I could afford to stay another week. I could also afford to eat something other than fish cooked over an open flame. I worked the next 3 shifts and made about $120. That was such a relief. I didn't have to worry about getting evicted from the camp grounds. It is amazing what you can come to appreciate. Life had changed for me in a really rough way. After about 3 weeks at the campgrounds it was turning colder and I had managed to save about 100 bucks. I was making about $100 a week. Not enough to even afford a cheap weekly rental hotel. So the sobering reality of having to face the elements of winter had become a reality that I was not ready to handle. I questioned a lot of things about myself. I blamed myself for being in this situation. I could not believe that I had fallen so far so fast. It was getting colder and that is when it is the slowest at the restaurant. For the second time in my life I really did not know what to do. I was scared and alone. For someone who once had a ton of friends that called on him all the time, I couldn't call on any of them. I learned another lesson at that point. Friends seem to be there as long as the money is there and when it's gone so are they for the most part. That is when a new department in my life opened up called ACQUAINTANCES. This category is where the new people in my life go before we ever even think about using the friend word. Back to the story. I was in the ending of fall and it was cold now. People where looking at me like I was crazy for staying there in a tent. I was clean shaved and I showered everyday. I didn't look like Grizzly Adams. I still had nice clothes and presented myself well. I think that is what made people wonder. I looked and dressed like the people in the nice motor homes, but lived in a tent, and as much as I tried to hide it looking back everyone that come through could see that was my residence. I had a 1982 yellow and rust colored. Mostly rust. I used to drive a four runner but had to trade it because I couldn't afford to run it. I traded it for that little yellow beast. I still think I came out on top of that trade though. Maybe not monetary value so much, but that truck and my living situation humbled me. I saw the not so good in life and still maintained a positive attitude. I had a lot of time to think, and every night I could here my grandmother say things don't stay the same forever. She was right. I will be writing the next part of this epic adventure over the next couple of day's. Thank you for reading and I hope that stick around for the next part of to many peoples realities.
The Social Buy Spot
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