Tag Archives: unemployment

Betwixt, Bothered, and Be-whining

9 Aug

OK, so my title is a little skewed, though it does give a quasi nod to Rogers and Hart and their musical production, Pal Joey.  Now let’s break it down…

BETWIXT =       For me it means between jobs.  Between life’s.  Between something.  Just plain old, BETWEEN.  I’m not between a rock and a hard place because I am only in a hard place, there is no differentiating of rocks.  And in this place the who and the what branches out to become the when, the how, and the for how long?!  (Is utilizing two different punctuation marks breaking a cardinal grammatical rule?  No matter, it is my Bent to break the rules–or stretch them out very thin.)  The betwixt of life is result of the foundational shift which occurred over one year ago due to the brain tumor of my son.  At that time I was a full time student (mother and wife).  Returned to school for…something?!  Regardless of how much I love to learn and thoroughly enjoy academia, I had the most difficult time landing on a major because they all are so fascinating…as if I’m 18 years old again and have the world awaiting my attack.  Not so true as a forty year old with a family.  But hey, don’t tell my mind about my age…it hasn’t figured it out yet!  So with the world as my oyster I pursued finishing my undergrad certification.  So does that make me a student?  I have a student ID card.  I have some unused books still scattered about my room.  Are those ear marks sufficient to give me the title?  I don’t know, I haven’t been back to class since my son’s diagnosis; hence betwixt.

BOTHERED =     Annoyed by my own indecision.  The questions, “Am I a student?  Do I want to return to school?  Do I want a full time job with benefits?  Do I want to pursue writing for remuneration?  Do I want to become a flight attendant (as if that job is still an option–remember, my brain has yet to catch up to my number)?  Am I content being the caretaker to my son?  Will he require my services full time for much longer?  Will my husband gain the notoriety and compensation he is being promised?  Do we hang on to the promise still?  Do we let go?  …and so on!

BE-WHINING =    It seems to me, the previous two categories also cover this one.  My first choice was to put “belittled”, but my self-esteem is naturally too high to ever get “belittled,” thus I felt “be-whining” a more appropriate fit.  The reason for my angst is that the United States Postal Service delivered some dreaded, though not unexpected, news today.  The claim form for my husband’s final unemployment payment showed itself in our mailbox this morning.  We knew it was coming for we know how to read, and though much of the gobbledygook that is somehow referred to as English was undecipherable, we comprehended enough to dread this moment.  Now in advance of today’s mail, I had perused the internet for job vacancies.  However, I still have two “incompletes” on my academic record from the spring of 2011 that I need to remedy this fall (because the teacher advanced me a good grade on the promise she would see me in class this month).  So entertaining taking on a full time position, maintaining the mountain of paperwork which has attached itself to my military-connected son, and fulfilling my oath to an endeared teacher are in much conflict.  Not to mention I am still a wife and mother.  AH-HAH!  And there you have it…Betwixt, Bothered, and Be-whining.  Makes sense now that I put it to pen.

Now for the tough part, living by the faith I profess to have.  I am, living under the nurturing wing of the great, I AM.  I know this.  I know this, I know this.  …I know this (nod to Neruda).  For example, today when I was walking from the strip-mall drug store over to the beauty supply (I’m going back on the bottle tonight–the black dye bottle that is), I felt the increasing pressure of a panic attack.  Too much, too soon, too abstract.  And I began having trouble catching my breath.  At first I grasped to utilize my own inner resources–they were on a sabbatical.  What else could I do?  I suppose I could have screamed.  I could have cried.  I could have passed out.  I could have called my husband and yelled at him (why not?  except the thought police scrambled his phone number).  But what I did do was cry out to G-d.  It went something like this, “Jesus, YOU are going to have to help me!!!!”  And you know what?  He did.  I didn’t notice right away.  It wasn’t until I got into my car after finishing my beautification purchase that I noticed I was full (filled) of peace.  And with the peace I was able to breathe.  I am thankful for that moment, that reminder that I am not walking this life alone.  And wouldn’t you know it, the open market art dealer just called and told my husband his art was well received and there are two commissions for paintings awaiting him.  She said, “Don’t quit your day job (haha–it just quit us), but the reception was better than I expected.”

I am thankful.  I am walking in faith, though with a touch of vertigo.  I am hopeful.  And, I am still betwixt, bothered, and be-whining.

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Power Balance LLC

14 Jan

It is very sad, to me, the debunking of a good company.  In all honesty I wanted to write, “defunking”, not debunking.  Because the company, Power Balance, which as of this past Tuesday laid off my husband and almost the entire originating team of people, is not debunked, it is defunked.  Though according to Webster and other word enthusiasts “defunk” is not a word.  Shall I move out of my circle of nonsense and give it to you straight?  …I’ll give it my best shot, though this is one of those posts that might just be written for me and nobody else.  Which is why defunked will stay in.

The take down:  AUSTRALIA

There is a “watch-dog” organization in Australia that dissected the advertisement campaign of the Power Balance company to find it had broken an Australian advertising rule.  This group of dogs decided it was their mission to take down the company instead of correct its error.  Granted, the legal department back here in the states was to blame for the oversight, though the take down hardly seems a fitting judgement for the crime.  And right now I have forgotten the written verbiage that sunk the ship, but I do remember reading it (before Cole had surgery last March), and thinking to myself, “really, this is the hullabaloo?”.  Well regardless of my opinion or that of others, the Australians (or the leering canines) had deemed the infraction severe enough to engage a class action law suit against Power Balance.  And the result has been catastrophic.  The legal fees alone were enough to cause the powers that be to file chapter 11, bankruptcy.  The court date was back in November, and though at the onset the outcome seemed to please the original owners, what has followed has changed their beloved company to an unrecognizable state.

Removing of the Funk:  LAYING OFF

The company was a group of individuals who were enthusiastic about who they worked for and what they did.  It was a family–of sorts.  As a family we (yes, the “extended’s” of the employees were considered part of the fold) worked together for charitable and philanthropic causes, played together at picnics, and partied together at celebrations.  Of course work was always the main focus, but when you’re having a good time and enjoying what you do, it is an indistinguishable line–that of work and play.  And sadly, most of the individuals who began the journey together, have been let go together as well.  Thus the company has been defunked.

I won’t say Power Balance has been debunked, because I have come the long road to being a believer in the effectiveness of its product.  Was I grateful Brian was employed by a company?  Yes.  Did that appreciation depend on my belief in the product? No.  Though I remember almost 10years back when Troy and his brother Josh (friends of ours) came out of the water from surfing and showed Esther and I their amazing little hologram sticker.  At that time it hadn’t yet found its home in a wrist band, so they were merely demonstrating their new found technology as a single, round, holographic sticker.  Esther and I laughed at their presentation, and they graciously took our jeers.

As Brian became one of the integral players on the Power Balance team, I continued to take my time to defend the product and its claims.  Even as I was witness to dramatic improvement in the balance of several close friends and family, I still remained a skeptic and felt the little wrist band couldn’t be of any use to me personally.  Well lo and behold, I eventually crossed over to the group of believers as Esther showed me that the band improved my agility.  It is true, it did.  It is also true that when I wear my Power Balance bracelet while exercising I don’t experience pain in my knees or hip.  And when I forget to put it on, and go out for a nice long hike, midway through my excursion I start to feel a tightness in either of those areas.  So here I am sold on the product (for I was sold on the owners long ago), yet now the company is no longer a part of our family.

When I think of the spiraling devastation which came in the name of “keeping a watchful eye out for the general public”, I can’t help but feel there was a gross oversight on the part of the Aussie-dogs (no connection to the footwear company).  For there are many a “general public” here in the states who are now filling out the dreaded unemployment application, who know through first hand experience and second hand testimonials that the company they worked for and its product was definitely in the interest of the people…all people.

The product remains (though now I will have to purchase my bracelet instead of bother my husband to pick one up for me at the office), though the balance of powers has shifted.  “Pero asi es”, or “c’est la vie”, or “such is life”, and on to the next adventure!

Brian meeting Clay Matthews

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