[ExI] hi lee!

[spike]

> ...On Behalf Of 
> Harvey Newstrom

> ...But we are shrinking bigtime, and we higher 
> > paid guys were a cherry red target I guess.
> 
> Bummer!  I'm sorry to hear that, Spike.  Luckily, I still 
> have my job, but my two brothers are currently between 
> contracts.  The unemployment rate in Florida is over 10% and 
> may beat record 14% soon, when Cape Canaveral starts 
> decommissioning the Shuttle programs.
> 
> Good luck finding new employement!
> 
> --
> Harvey Newstrom <www.HarveyNewstrom.com>


Thanks Harvey!  I am doing some soul searching.  Perhaps I will not go back
into the old 9 to 5 world, but it is a big step to leave that behind.  I
don't really feel like a legitimate retiree at 49.  After all those years of
chasing around like a wild man at work, suddenly having nothing to do just
feels so weird.  When I and my son are out messing around in the middle of
the day, it almost feels like I am doing something illegal.  {8^D  I'll get
over it.

2008 and 09 were my busiest ever, chasing across the country every other
week, sometimes more, so the contrast is striking.

There are some big engineering projects floating around that I would like to
get into, but I don't speak Mandarin or Japanese.  {8-|

Some observations you might find entertaining:  I was with my son at the
park last week, and there were three other parents there with their
preschoolers.  Not so remarkable except that all four parents were men.

My son is big for his age, 97 percentile in height, 94 %ile weight.  Many,
well most, of the population of our town are Asian.  Yellow haired kids are
very sparse here.  Some busybody commented that my son should be in school.
That thread ended suddenly when I pointed out that he had just turned three.

Unemployment rate in Florida: yes bad, but I have seen it worse in the north
end of Brevard county, back in 1970 and again in ~1978.  My folks took a
hell of a beating on real estate, and oh by the way, would your brothers
want to buy a house for a hell of a bargain in Titusville?  Hmmm, didn't
think so.  

spike