Ouchy!

Well, wow... first off I'll admit that it has been some time since my last post. Just recently it dawned on me that I still had this website. Which in some sense is a good way of express myself for everyone to see and/or understand me and what I am going though.

The economy is tough. Unfortunately, it affected my career and lead to my termination from Hallmark Cards, Inc. as a section manager on third shift in production. Too much has happened since January 22, 2007 for me even to recap, but we'll just say it all culminates with me being laid-off. The greeting card industry is hurting and it's a fact of life. I was the first manager to be laid-off and I am not going to be the last. Times are tough. I'm working through it.

If this means anything to anyone out there... I am very much a work oriented individual. I need to work. Looking for work is my new work. Since the official end of my responsibilities date I've been spending on average five to ten hours a day online, calling, and networking. I am a hard worker and I am not finished until my task is complete... finding a job. I am surprised that I am even updating this site, but if I am going to be placing this link onto the linkedin.com network there are a few modifications that I need to make. After this I am going to back to modify yet another version of my resume.

The only thing that is keeping me going is my family. I could say this has been an emotional roller coaster but I can't even begin to grasp it. On some sense Hallmark seemed to me like a dead end career. Don't get me wrong, I love my work and I loved what I did. My experiences their and the skills that I have learned from them I will keep forever. I just didn't see any chance for a promotion or any opportunities to move to fist shift. Opportunities like that seem reserved only for engineers, not business majors.

It's frustrating. I have a two year old son Noah. My wife Sarah and I are expecting our second child in mid Sept. Sarah's been having some complications with the pregnancy. It's been a crazy few weeks.

My Goal: To be employed or have employment secured in two months. I'm looking at Omaha, NE. Lincoln, NE. Sioux City, IA. Sioux Falls, SD. and Council Bluffs, IA.

Pray for me and my family, and please wish us the best during this difficult time. I'll do what I can to continue updating this page.