Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that I will be posting some tiems in the calssified section in the next day or so. It looks like I am going to possibly lose my job of 18 years.

It is with a heavy heart that I am going to have to seel everything I have, Coosa included. Life just seems to keep getting tougher.

It was nice knowing you guys, I will miss everything.

God bless to all
Steve

Sorry to hear your stress Steve.

A long running job is a real blessing, but in spite of everything negative you hear about the job market today, there may be a better one waiting around the corner. When you have to trim life down to bare necessities, remember that having something that makes your heart smile is the only thing (besides family and friends ) that makes the "test" bearable.

I know.
I am in the process of "streamlining" my life after a heart attack and was really bummed about it for a while. I would still rather have things the way they were, but in fact, my yak and fishing are one of the only true joys that does no cost much at all. Since I have actually started eating fish quite often and only using artificials and bait that I catch, it is not a financial drain at all and if I did the math on the number of meals it makes as well as the stress it relieves, it is a real blessing.

You need to do whatever feels like your best move, just give yourself a chance before you you make any major moves that sadden you a lot. Seems like in times of extreme stress we tend to start thinking like teenagers again and can't see much light in the future. It truly is there and it'll shine on you sooner than you think.

Very Best of luck, Phill

Steve God doesn't shut doors on accident. That means He has something great in store for you. Keep your spirits up. Things are just that things. You can always buy more stuff. Prayers sent.

Good luck making it through your tough times. I hope it's short lived.

I'm surprised that you're selling your kayak. Like Carver mentioned, they are a very inexpensive way to fish, especially if you stay close to home like I usually do.

My own downsizing started when my wife was diagnosed with cancer. I was already a two year lung cancer survivor. We sold our house in Arlington and moved to a smaller place in Crowley that I was able to pay off once I got the Arlington house sold.

I've now been cancer free for 4 years, and my wife for two, so things are looking better, but I'm still looking at semi-retiring and living on less. My big boat was already paid for before the move, but I was concerned about being able to fish in it as often as I wanted to, once I started working less, so I added my kayak for a cheaper alternative.

I'm keeping it human powered and without a trailer. If you do that, and fish waters close to home, it really is a cheap way to fish. I mostly crappie fish, so like Carver, my trips put meat on the table.

Just some things to think about. Good luck and best wishes.

Don't give up. I worked for a place I thought I would retire at. Best thing to happen was lose that job. Now I work for the place I will retire at.
Like Carver said. If you're fishing gear is paid for then there is a way to put food on the table. I won't mention any names but there is a guy on hear that hasn't worked for more than a year and he feed his family all the time by kayak fishing. Fishing isn't always just for fun.

We'll keep you in our prayers.

I just got rid of my pond hopper and my pro angler because we are preparing to build the house that we will retire in someday. I have no plans to buy any kind of boat for at least a year. Proably longer. But I still have friends with boats and kayaks that have offered to take me fishing. And I can still catch fish from the bank with the best of them.
I realize that losing your job is a rough experience but I hope you can hang on to some of your hobby and keep fishing. If you ever want to go catch some catfish from the bank with me just hollar. It's poor boy fishin'. And it can be just as fun. Particularly when you got a friend with you.

Even if you have to sell all your rods I got plenty of rods if you ever want to go fish a bank with me. Standing offer. Just hollar at me.

Steve, after meeting you at Ray Hubbard, I was looking forward to fishing with you!!

What kind of work do you/ can you do? There might be someone right here on the TFF that can help you find a replacement. Its happened many many times in the past. I, too, lost my job at Lucent Technologies a few years ago. It took me about 2 weeks to figure out a way to replace that income. I started my own business. There are ways to work around the troubling times.

Sorry to hear that Steve. I just met you last Saturday at Lake Grapevine.

Let us know what you do and someone here might have some leads.

I got that guy beat! Haven't worked since being laid off in Sept 2009 and actually got my yak & canoe after the fact. Now I'm a stay-at-home dad and I go to night school part-time trying to get an A&P license. 2 more yrs or less and I'll be done then hopefully I can get a job in the aviation field. Don't think I'll ever sell my yak, maybe my canoe, but not my yak or fishing gear. If worse comes to worse, I'll quit school and go back to work in the IT field even if it means I have to start at the bottom of the totem pole.

Sorry to hear about your job TexasSteve.

While it super sucks right now there is a light at the end, I understand you don't see it that way. 4 years ago I lost my job the day before my daughter was born, #3 of 4 at the time. It was a job I loved and made really good money at. That all came crashing to a halt out of nowhere, no severance or anything. I was super frustrated, my wife was the sole provider with 3 kids, 3rd year into our house and and two less than a year old car payments. That was the test of my life as far as guts, sacrifice and marriage goes. The hardest sacrifice it seemed was, I can't just pick up and go fishing when I want now. Fishing is everything to me. I would rather fish than do anything. I looked into possibly doing the kayak guiding thing, that is what I really love, but with no money how am I going to justify to the wife I am going fishing for research. I have no money to buy fishing things, my wife thinks I have enough for a small country anyways. I don't even have a kayak. One day my sister called and had a friend that had two sinks with paddles they wanted to sell. I can't afford that right? 2 yaks paddles and jackets for $250. My wife new what it meant to me and let me do it. I never did get the guiding thing started, it gave me hope until my new profession came along. If you have as much fishing stuff as you appear to have, you can sell some. You will streamline your gear. I had to sell a lot of my gear, it was pretty much given away at garage sales trying to make a few bucks, that hurt, but I needed the money. I only got to fish on occasions, that was super tough, especially when your at home with kids all day everyday for almost a year. This is where I first started going to the Brazos. It has a special place in my heart because it was a temporary fix for me and left me in awe when I could go. I finally land a new job making less than half, sold those two kayaks and some more fishing stuff and upgraded to a ride 135 last year and things are well. My moral to the story is skewed, you would think not working you would get to fish more, not so! One piece of advise is to stay away from the fishing forum. Reading about everyone else's good times was painful. The New Coosas came out and were the rage and it was tough being the guy in a 10ft sink, but I caught fish! Hang in there, it's good for change to happen. This is natures way of making us appreciate other things in life that are right before our eyes.

Where r u working now?

Zombie, I would rather not say where i am at right now on the forum, but it is a large MRO company. I love what I am doing, but the writing is on the wall it seems. I have never been unemployed, so this scare the [censored] out of me. Not because what it will do to me, but what it will do to my wife and how I provide for her. My current role is to make sure the company I work for has enough staff to do the job needed. Ironic, but I do love my job. I have done everything from unload trucks to manage a branch of my own with 12 employees for 6 years before moving to Texas.

I am willing to do anything. It will just be very hard to lose half our income, when there isn't much to spare now.

Thank you, everyone, for all the kind words. I know it is usual for the best when change comes. But right now I can't seem to find that light. anywhere.

It is normal to not see the light at first. I was told one thing by someone I did not care for but he was right " everything will be ok, because it f'ing has to ".

Fishing can keep a man sane and put food on the table in trying times.... I say hang onto the gear unless it is actually costing money to store it etc.

Fishing is great therapy. Its when I do most of my thinking and soul searching. Its funny how my wife cant understand that. Good luck to you Steve. It will all work out in the end.

"I have never been unemployed, so this scare the [censored] out of me"

Yep, it did me and a whole lot others for the same reason, Steve. PLEASE don't do anything just for the sake of doing something. When will you find out for sure that you will be gone?

Hey Steve, I saw you out at Grapevine on Saturday but unfortunatly we didnt get a chance to meet. If you want to send me your current resume. My wife is a recruiter for a large company here in Dallas. She may not have a position for you but she knows a ton of people in the recruiting field. Cant hurt to try. PM me if you want my email. Good luck to you, Im sure it will work out.

Steve you are in my prayers and sure something great is around the corner. God Bless

I hesitate to recommend it to anyone, because you will be worked like a dog, but AT&T is almost always hiring Prem Techs. It takes a while to get on, but you just apply online at www.att.jobs and wait for them to call.

Steve, My family and I will be sure to include you into our prayers. We all hope for a great outcome. Great bunch of people here on the site will be pulling for you. Even though I have never met you or a lot of others here on this site. We can tell that they are fantastic and caring folks here. People caring for people.
God Bless and keep the faith.

Thanks Everyone. I am building my resume today to start sending out and to those that asked for it. I find out tomorrow morning (wednesday) the final outcome of my fate at my current company. But either way, I think it may be time to look.

steve, i just changed jobs after 11 years. thoght i had the right one, but knew in my heart that wasn't the case, and GOD opened up a door for me. start with Whole Foods Market TODAY!! I wouldn't sell your stuff off yet, cause it will be so expensive to replace. keep your head up, brother!!

Steve we were hiring supervisors recently and it looks like you have some management experience. I sent an email this morning to the Production manager to see if he is still taking resumes.
From what you said in your reply to Zombo it seems like you have HR experience. There are a lot of jobs out there for HR mangers in manufacturing, unfortunately it is because the turnover rate tends to be fairly high in that job but work is work...

Alright, You guys here on the forum are the best. Looks like things will turn out for the best. As I stated earlier, People caring for people. Go Steve!!!