The Suspense is Killing Me!

Image courtesy of JerryStocking.com

Quick update since my last post about losing my job. Things are starting to look better. The first few weeks, there were a few major road blocks in my path which required me to just sit and wait for time to pass. The annual Girls Camp with church just happened to be scheduled about one week after I was laid off. That meant four days of me at home with three of my darling toddlers while Wifey enjoyed a campout with our three oldest girls up in the pines. Yup, made me a bit envious to say the least.

There also just happened to be a pre-planned, pre-paid weekend trip to Disneyland the very weekend prior to campout.  For who? You guessed it, Wifey and the three older girls. Daddy Daycare was in full effect. Talk about getting stressed out. Knowing that you lost your job and having your hands bound with childcare while your better half was off having a whirlwind tour of Disneyland is NOT good for moral. But we endured, after my minor...okay, slightly major meltdown in the church parking lot when picking up from campout.

FINALLY, I could start SERIOUSLY looking for a job. I had spent time emailing, calling, LinkedIn-ing, and FaceBooking everyone I knew in my field. I attempted one phone interview with watching Team Bravo (my younger set of three girls). That just made me a wreck trying to corral them while focusing on whatever the interviewer was saying on the other end of the line.

I had about a week and a half before another roadblock was quickly approaching. Before losing my job, I had sensed a need to fortify my resume. I scheduled two heavy duty Board Exams back to back on consecutive weeks. I am currently studying for one now. My Abdominal Ultrasound Board Exam is tomorrow (Friday). I've been studying at the local library all week in a solitary study room. Next week, on Thursday, is my Computed Tomography Board Exam and I plan on studying Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in the same fashion (library). The two certifications were going to be crucial if I ever had to find a new job and sure enough, the timing was impeccable.

I couldn't re-schedule them to look for a job, I needed them to land a job. My prior employer didn't require them for employment. They were simply an extra credential to hang on the wall. Now, with the current healthcare situation (thanks Obama), everyone is requiring these certifications because as of 2014, imaging centers will not get reimbursed for examinations that were done by technologists unless the technologist is certified.

Nevertheless, by the grace of God (literally), I secured some good interviews. I currently have in the hopper:

1) an offer from an indian reservation for full time employment at a hourly rate HIGHER than I was making prior. However, this "group" is not family-friendly and expects me to work on their reservation while living in their government housing. They'll pay for the housing but I'll only see my family on the weekends. This is a 13 week temporary assignment. If both parties agree, it could go permanent. Not happy about the family situation but it was offered before I had any other options. I am still waiting for final approval as I counter offered at a higher rate of pay.

2) a beautiful little town three hours south of me has reported that I am one of two people they are considering for a management position. This would be a promotion! It also means moving the family but they would be with me, which is great. We would start over in a new town with new adventures. They said they will announce their selection in mid-June.

3) a smaller town three hours north of me has offered me an interview for management after I turned down an afternoon shift. After much deliberation, I decided working from 11:30am to 8pm Monday through Friday was miserable for family life. Regardless of what the indian reservation paragraph may have led you to believe, I am all about family. This position offered less pay, crummy hours but beautiful location for my family and me. Once I summoned the courage to politely decline the shift work based on the hours offered, the Director asked if I had ever considered management. Of course I have! So, sometime in the next few days, I should have an interview up north for a management position. That would be a promotion and move my family and me to a beautiful snowy town.

4) saving the best for last, if you have read my previous posts about our family farm in Oklahoma, you'll be excited to hear I am uber close to landing a job in a small town right next to my family farm. I passed a successful phone interview a few days ago with the boss. I can't afford to go back there for an interview because I've been there twice since December already (once to visit for Christmas, once for my Grandmother's funeral). Now, with limited funds, I simply can't drive or fly out there (same price). $450-500 either way I travel is not doable at this time. Potential boss is working on a Skype/Internet Video conference solution and waiting on his Human Resource department to approve his paperwork to hire me.

So, there's your update in a nutshell. I do not absolutely have a job yet but things are sure looking positive at the moment. Keep your fingers crossed. I know I am.

~OJD

The Axe has Fallen: I'm Laid Off

Corporate suck.

During the last month or so, my small town hospital has been teetering on bankruptcy. Our pay checks were constantly late and we had little choice in the matter. The latest we were ever paid was one full week. But I was loyal.

It had been five years since we opened and several of my coworkers had stayed together as a team from the prior hospital, dating back to 2004. It is amazing how well a department can function when you have a tight, cohesive team.  So well, in fact, that when our Radiology Director passed from cancer we worked without a Director for nine months.

I think we spoiled the hospital Administration. After a while, they must have figured "Why bother paying a Director? These guys are autonomous!" And on it went...for five years.

They did finally promote someone from within our department to Director. In retrospect, he my have gotten the short end of the stick out of all of us. But let's focus on the important stuff...ME. LoL.

Fast forward five years. ObamaCare kicks in. Recession is causing havoc across America. We've gone FIVE YEARS without a raise in our hospital but remained loyal.

Then the domino effect began. First was the missed payrolls. Uh oh. Speed bump. Carry on. Nothing to see here folks.

Then a last minute meeting was scheduled to tell us the original hospital was being closed. It was hemorrhaging too much debt and was taking both hospitals down the drain. We were told that with our Main campus closed, our little outlier, small town hospital would survive on winter visitors (and their MediCare).

I'll speed the timeline up.

Week One - Six: paychecks inconsistent.

Week Seven: Main hospital closes. 400 people out of a job within days. Smaller hospital employees told they will keep their jobs. All is well. (I was one of the small hospital employees).

Week Eight: Announcement: Large Corporation buys our small hospital. Meeting Monday morning with Corp Admin tells us "Everyone guaranteed to keep their jobs."

Week Nine & Ten: every other day, you have a job, we're not sure you will have a job, it is guaranteed...until we interview you, you salary will NOT change...unless you salary is above or below our established range, then it will be adjusted accordingly.

Week Eleven: you have a job and have great qualifications.

Week Twelve: there's a list coming out in one week that will state who has a job and who is terminated. In the meantime, fill out all this new hire paperwork, get TB shots, MMR titers, physicals, mask fittings, etc etc. Welcome aboard.

Week Thirteen: I am in Oklahoma for my Grandmother's funeral. Corporate's Human Resources calls me to say "Our offer to employ you have been rescinded." No explanation. Just a bunch of corporate double-speak.

So, without notice, on a Friday afternoon, while out of state, grieving for my Grandmother...I lose my job...over the phone. How's that for classy?

Thank you Banner Health Corp.


So, I am currently seeking a full time job in Radiology if anyone has availability during this recession. I am trained in XRay, CT Scanning, Ultrasound, MRI and Interventional Radiology.

I am a walking Radiology Department.

The Oklahoma Request (first response)

I hadn't been on a horse in 20+ years.

I recently blogged an idea I had to relocate and homestead on our family farm in Oklahoma. I decided to write to an uncle and ask what he thought of the whole idea. I really had no idea what to expect from my email. 

Here is his reponse:

"Hi Ron,    

  You're right, the world is headed in the wrong direction, the break down of family, children need a mother and father, not gay parents who adopt, men getting women pregnant and not accepting responsibility, women getting pregnant to receive more govenment hand outs, people not accepting responsibility for their lives and wanting the government to take care of them, and the worst of all is trying to remove God from our lives and our government.

  America is getting worse and it's hard to believe many other countries such as Holland are way worse and liberal.  People want laws that tell them it's ok to lead any life stlye they choose no matter how immoral it is. It's time for the good Christian men and women to quit turning the other cheek and stand up for what's right and turn this country back around to the priciple it was founded on.. Hopefully a strong leader will come forward and all the sheep will rise up and support him or her.

  Ok enough of my views on the country, I think mine are probably very similar to yours.  I will get with mom for you tomorrow when I take her to the doctor.  I think she will be fine with your idea as well as my brothers and sister. I was 21 when I lived there and worked for the county and really enjoyed it and enjoyed helping my dad farm the 4 or 5 years he was able to. I will get with everyone and let you know but I don't forsee any problem with you living there, after all someday a part of it would be yours anyway.

God Bless,  good to hear from you, and I'll get back with you soon

Uncle R."
 
Wow! Completely unexpected and made my heart SWELL with excitement!  Can you imagine being allowed to live on a land where an entire existing farm sits awaiting it's next caretaker? Completely fenced and cross-fenced. Water, sewer, electricity, small farm house, huge barn. I don't know the years it was farmed by my grandparents but I do remember several fields of wheat, numerous cattle and horses.

I think the most exciting thing about this possibility is that this old family farm could be brought back to life and provide not only for my immediate family but the ENTIRE family. How cool what that be if I could provide the beef for my extended family? One of the homesteading families I follow is the Lewis' at Rural Revolution. Patrice's blog post on the butchering of a steer estimated the exact breakdown of the beef price per pound. After hiring a professional butcher (Potlach Pack), her cost was $269.06 for 300 pounds of "home-grown, grass fed, organic beef." That's $0.90 per pound!

"We get a combination of steaks, roasts, and ground beef, with a few bits of things like stew meat and cube steak thrown in for good measure. The nice part about butchering a steer is you get the super-dooper expensive cuts like filet mignon and rib eye along with the common cuts, all for the same price," Patrice says. Of course, there's the cost of acquiring the animal if it wasn't born on your land (plus feed and medicine).

So, with all these thoughts rushing through my brain, I need to focus. What would my plan be IF this idea comes to fruition? I think first and foremost (besides the helpful comments made by Anonymous here) would be to ask Grandma to share her working knowledge of the farm. Some initial questions:

Operation Ask Grandma:

1) What grows best and where?
2) What was difficult to grow or didn't grow at all...and where?
3) What were the predators and how did you deal with them? (snakes and coyotes for sure)
4) What was the rotation schedule of gardening that worked for you?
5) Was the local/county government helpful? Sheriff? Assessor? Farm Assoc?
6) Do you have any heirloom seed saved (long shot, I know)?
7) When the pond was healthy, what fed it? Can it be brought back?
8) What did you do for tornado shelter?
9) What did you do for a root cellar?
10) Was the water ever tested? How is the well? How many wells?
11) Do you remember a problem with any particular area of fencing?
12) Any troubled area of timber?
13) What was the largest herd of cattle the farm maintained?
14) What was your favorite thing to do on the farm? Least favorite?
15) Did you notice a weather pattern? (annual freeze so cover plants, summer heat, etc)
16) How did you deal with pests? (mosquitos are horrid, if I remember right)
17) Where there any plans that you and Grandpa had that you didn't get to fullfil on the farm?

18) CrustyRusty adds: if the soil had been tested by the local extension and if they had any records of it?

If you were taking over a farm from family (or non-family) and could ask the previous owner questions, what would YOU ask?

~OJD