Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The Times are Tough

Woke up. Got dressed. Went into work. Boss came in and laid it on thick:

"We are needing to lay off 55 lawyers because of the rough times... The high tech industry is slowing down, and they aren't hiring foreign nationals or anyone like they used to. This is the first round, and we are expecting to do more in the future when it really get's bad."
(gulp)

Today, since I'm just the little one on the pole of lawyers, I joined the ranks of the unemployed. After recovering from the shock of it all, I have to be greatful. Greatful that I was able to pull off such a sweet deal for a short amount of time, and greatful that I'll be able to apply again when and if the economy get's back on it's feet.
And- most of all...greatful that I am not the breadwinner of my family and that I was doing it more out of enjoyment and experience. My heart goes out to families who really suffer from the breadwinner losing his/her job.


So, now the burst of the economy has hit home. More than ever, my hope is that our country can recover from this mess.

Riding the wave of life...

5 comments:

teuscher travels said...

Ugh that is Horrible! You are AMAZING to have such a positive outlook and they lost a great Lawyer! You deserve chocolate!

Kristina said...

Alie- I know how much you loved that job! I am so sorry to hear this news.

The Mostess said...

Oh no, Alie! Bummer on the job loss. I can only believe better things are around the corner for you..hang in there!

Hayley said...

grrr...i'm sure your man obama will have you back up and working in no time :) (i really do mean that...i'm not being sarcastic...for the record, i wasn't sad when he won).

i guess that just means more play time, right? hang in there. you're too fabulous for anyone to let you go jobless for too long.

Michael said...

No, you don't know me, I'm just some guy who reads a lot.

Saw your blog post on your lost job, and I thought I'd write and share a program I wrote that might help you a tiny bit with your job search. It lets you search craigslist in a quick and easy fashion.

http://www.bigattichouse.com/oneeyeopen.html - If you mention it on your blog, I'll send you a full license.

Also, as one free agent to another, if you're interested I've attached a bread recipe that has helped our family through some seriously rough spots. You can also roll out the dough for pizza, or mix cinnamon and sugar and butter all over and roll/cut for cinnamon rolls. It seems like it takes a long time, but its only about 5 or 10 minutes worth of work with a lot of waiting.

Mike Johnson
www.bigattichouse.com
father@bigattichouse.com

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Time: About 2 hours (Actual Work Time: about 15 minutes)
*****************************************************
BigAtticHouse dinner rolls: (one dozen)
4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups warm water ( Water should be warm, but not boiling. )
2 tablespoons yeast (or 2 packets)
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar (or 1-2 Tablespoons if you want fluffier rolls)
1-2 tablespoons cooking oil/olive oil/whatever

1. dissolve yeast and sugar in water in large mixing bowl.
2. mix yeast until dissolved.
3. add 1 cup of flour and mix
4. add salt
5. continue to add flour 1/2 cup at a time mixing.
6. flour will seem *VERY* wet, keep mixing. You can use a spatula to “fold” it.
7. If you feel like a little exercise, oil your hands and knead in the bowl.
8. The bread will "come together" after a few minutes, and feel "springy". It will be smooth, If it looks like biscuit batter- keep kneading. Once it is smooth, it means the gluten has developed.
9. Go ahead and knead the dough for a little while longer, you won't hurt anything.
10. Oil a glass or metal bowl. flop your dough into the bowl and flip over - so your dough is lightly covered in oil. Let sit 1 hour in a warm place. you may want to cover with seran-wrap to keep it moist/warm.

**** After One Hour Rising ****
11. Flour a surface.
12. Punch the dough. Yes, punch it... all the air bubbles should deflate it.
13. You can knead again if you want
14. Cut the dough into four pieces
15. Cut each piece into 3 pieces. This should give you 12 small balls of dough.
16. Oil a muffin/cupcake pan, crisco works best , place one dough ball in each cup
17. Place pan in a warm, draft-free place for 30-45 minutes.

**** After 30-45 minutes rising ****
**** Preheat oven to 425 ****
18. When the oven gets to 425, Bake for 15 minutes. Rolls should swell about 3-5 times the size of the dough balls. They will start to brown after about 10 minutes, check every two minutes to make sure they don't burn.
19. Pop them out onto a wire rack to cool, or the bottoms will get slimy.
20. Serve immediately with dinner, or as a snack. Careful they're HOT!

Note: Before putting in a bag, Let them cool completely (several hours at least) "stone cold". They keep for 3 or 4 days in a plastic bag. 15-20 seconds in the microwave makes for a great snack.
source: Mike Johnson of BigAtticHouse