One year

** This post was started on the 1 year anniversary of my unemployment **
Friday July 22, 2011 I left my office for the last time. After over 30 years of working at, running, managing and owning an Apple Dealership, I had to walk away. Through a gradual series of circumstances the business had gotten to a point where it could no longer support the 2 people left. I hung in for months past that point in hopes that things would change, they did not. So, after 7 months of work in 2011 with only half of my salary paid (with no hope of recovering the other half, not to mention the partially unpaid salary from 2010 totaling over $18,000 for the two years) I walked away leaving my Apple Authorization with the company owner. Within 3 days he gave up and folded the business. Presumably this is due to the fact that in the 8+ years of being in business together, he never bothered to learn the administration end of the business. I spent my days, doing 95% of the paperwork, interacting with the bookkeeper, interacting with the customers, overseeing training/classes, managing the social media & email campaigns, running payroll, answering phones, repairing computers, ordering products, receiving products, stocking products, managing inventory, maintaining training and authorizations to do business. That is what I walked away from.
After that I spent 5 months doing odd jobs and applying for many jobs/positions, attending a truck driving school (which I borrowed money to attend). Assuming that I would be employed soon, I did not apply for unemployment for several months. In December I passed my California Class A driving test and began applying for truck driving jobs. December 27, 2011 I left my family and started training with a national trucking company for an over the road (OTR) trucking job. One morning, after 5 weeks in a big-rig with a trainer who was as pleasant to live with as a rabid porcupine, I woke up at a truck stop in New Jersey (New York City on my left and Jersey City on my right) and decided that having to spend that much time away from my family was not going to work. I came home.
February 2012, I began the job hunt again. I was able to get very sparse hours with the school district as a substitute bus attendant while waiting to complete my bus driving training. I spent many more hours walking the streets of town looking for work and many hours online applying for jobs/positions. In late April I got a call from a friend who is a contractor offering my a few weeks work on a remodel job. The few weeks has turned into 6 months so far. The time has been fun, educational and a big blessing- however it does not cover our financial needs. We have been running 4 - 6 weeks behind on our financial obligations, and are approaching the time of year when the annual bills stack up. Car registration, smogs, auto insurance, property taxes and others that are forgotten until they appear in the mailbox.
So, here I am a little over a year later still looking for a permanent, full-time job. Lately I have been following up on a few job leads that have come up and renewing my fervor & diligence in looking for a job that will meet the social, emotional, financial and spiritual needs of my family. What I have to offer is: over 30 years of all aspects of retail, over 30 years of Apple/Macintosh dealership experience, 3+ years of Macintosh based I.T. department work, several years of photography, videography and video editing experience, several months of construction experience, a California Commercial Class A drivers license (with Haz-mat, tank & doubles/triples endorsement and a passenger permit) with 2 months worth of driving experience and a desire to be a long term contributor to a dynamic & growing company/organization.