Hey stranger, long time no see! But that's not your fault, it's mine. I still wind up my day by browsing Kos for the latest in breaking news and social commentary but I'm too pooped to contribute.
Working fifteen hours a day tends to have that effect on a fellow.
Like last week, this will be my one and only post until next Saturday.
Some of you may be wondering why, oh why, does Gegner have to work fifteen hours a day...and that would be a damn good question.
You could guess that I was going broke and you'd be guessing right!
Beggars can't be choosers; I had to take what I could get...as well as what it pays. I'm just one more example of what happens when rising costs meets a static paycheck.
Krugman said it, Bonddad said it, the builders are walking away from projects they've already gotten the green light for and for some bizarre reason, the media is still predicting a `soft' landing.
What does my new groove of having to work fifteen hours a day have to do with the economy?
Let's call it a sign of the times.
I didn't decide to get a second job because I wanted to double my income, I got second job because my first job wasn't cracking my nut.
What does this mean to you, good citizen?
There are as many answers to this question as there are readers of this post. Some of you are rowing the same leaky canoe I'm in while others are using different strategies to cope with rising prices.
Let's rephrase the question to the one that resides in the back of everyone's mind...
Where does it end?
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Does this story have a happy ending?
My own feelings on the matter is that the outcome depends, as always, on what we, as a society, do about the situation.
Yes good citizen. It's up to the collective `we'.
The `situation', on the other hand, means different things to different people.
To some it's the environment, to others it's the courts and to still others it's the war...
Yet a common thread, a corrupt government that does not respond to the people, ties all three situations together.
This situation is reminiscent of the original revolution, where's the representation?
That said, the patriots fought against a ruler who was up against a three thousand-mile long supply chain...
We, on the other hand, are up against those who dictate from our own backyard.
They enemy currently controls the military, the press and the ballot box.
How do we combat such a powerful foe?
It's a mistake to think that they are us. As far as they're concerned, we aren't even people. We are, at best, the hired help, the unwashed masses, the rabble.
Until something is done I'll continue to have to work fifteen hours a day. When that's no longer enough, I'll have to find something to do on the weekends as well...
But it won't come to that. By the time I need a third job there won't be any. Both my first and second jobs will have laid me off.
And I'm part-time at both so I can't collect.
Do you see where this is headed? Do you see what our failure to act is leading us to?
There is no light at the end of the tunnel, this story doesn't have a happy ending...unless we, as a society, can put an end to the tragedy that is unfolding and start over from scratch.
To the plus side, that's it for this week!
Flip that rock over and it's only a matter of time until it's you standing in my shoes. Will you be `lucky' enough to find a second job?
Should anyone have to be that `lucky'?
Thanks for letting me inside your head,
Gegner