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I didn’t have enough milk this morning to make coffee, and I wanted one, so I decided to stop at Atomic Coffee before work. I believe that will be the last time I stop there. First off, they charged me about $5.17 for a damn 16oz white chocolate mocha. I think he charged me for a shot of white chocolate syrup, and they don’t usually do that. It is a WHITE CHOCOLATE mocha after all. Secondly, it didn’t even come close to tasting as good as the ones I make do. I make a sauce of white chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract. I mix in a little of the white chocolate syrup that I bought at Moxie Java (doing so makes both the sauce and the syrup last longer). I also started using regular flavored coffee beans (vanilla hazelnut) rather than espresso beans. I think it tastes better. And it sure the hell is cheaper.

Needless to say, I stopped at the grocery store on my way home from work to get some milk.

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Holy shit. Gas went up about 19¢ since this morning. I swear it was still $3.25/gal (maybe $3.29/gal) when I left for work this morning. When I came home, it was $3.44/gal. I’m assuming this jump is because of the shit going on in Libya. I just wonder how high it will get (regardless of the Libya stuff). I’ve heard rumors of it getting up to $4 or $5 per gallon this summer. God I hope not. I’d start taking the bus to work, but I don’t think any of the metro buses cross the river. If you know of any routes that do, please let me know.

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Prices keep going up while products keep getting smaller. Since Easter is the next holiday, Reese’s peanut butter eggs have hit the stores. And I am such a sucker for those things. I can’t get enough (or the pb trees at Christmas or the pb hearts at Valentine’s or the pb pumpkins at Halloween …). I gave in and bought a bag of the mini ones at the grocery store. They were $3.28, which I think is around the price they were last year. But the damn eggs got frickin’ smaller. They’re tiny now … practically bite size. They are mini eggs, but they weren’t this mini last year. Same price, fewer product. Gotta love our economy. </sarcasm>

My biggest question is this: What about those people who, like me, lost their jobs due to the shitty economy? Why can’t WE be ‘bailed out’?

I worked for a company that sells automotive accessories online … things like truck bed covers, bed rails, nerf bars, floor mats, etc. It’s no secret that truck sales have been down, due to the high gas prices earlier this year as well as the crappy economy, so sales of the accessories were down. I don’t know if I was the only person laid off or if others were as well. But it doesn’t really matter. I used to think that up here [in North Dakota], the economy wasn’t as bad off as in other parts of the country. Boy was I wrong.

Over the past few weeks, the news has been reporting that companies around the region have been laying off workers. Bobcat is suspending operations for 6 weeks, beginning on Dec. 15th [source]. And now they are asking more individuals to take early retirement [source]. Lund boats in New York Mills, MN laid off 140 people earlier this month [source]. And just today, it was reported that 30 people were laid off at JLG Industries in Oakes [source]. I’m sure there are others around the region, but those are some that have been in the news lately. And you know that this situation is happening all over the country.

Luckily, in my case, I’m the only one affected. I live alone and don’t have any kids. But what about those families where a parent got laid off. They have kids to feed and clothe and mortgages to pay and medical bills to worry about.

Yes, there are unemployment benefits. I don’t know what it’s like in other states, but I can say that in North Dakota, unemployment benefits have gone down hill. And I can say that because this isn’t my first walk around the block. I was unemployed almost 5 years ago. I was unemployed for about 7 months, but that is because I was in a career transition. Back then, there were orientation meetings and appointments with a case worker and classes that could be taken. Now there is absolutely nothing like that. I filed my claim online. I certify my weeks online. You only call the Bismarck office if you have a problem or questions (and we have an office here in Fargo). I know that this is all because of budget cuts that the department has faced. But it really hurts those that the department is supposed to help.

In my case, I’m not even getting unemployment benefits anymore. You have to make 2 job contacts a week, which seems simple enough. But my chosen career path isn’t exactly ‘mainstream’, so there aren’t many open positions around here. A couple of my opportunities involve waiting until the company starts interviewing. And I’m not gonna apply for jobs that I would never take just to get unemployment. So I’m basically screwed. Thank goodness I have savings.

There may be people out there who aren’t even eligible for unemployment benefits, for whatever reason. And even those people who DO get unemployment benefits, it’s not enough to live on while you’re looking for a new job. And in this economy, depending on what sort of work you are looking for, finding a new job is no picnic.

So, why should the banks and financial institutions and auto industry be getting bailed out when we are the ones who are really suffering. Why isn’t the government doing something for those people who have lost their jobs due to the economy. I’m not saying give us $700 billion dollars. But give us something to supplement unemployment benefits. And those people not eligible for unemployment, give us something too. Something to make our lives a little less stressful while we’re looking for a new job. We need to eat. We need to take care of our kids. We need to take care of OURSELVES!!!

I say we start a movement to get the government to bail US out. What do you say?

Well, I doubt it would do any good. But I do wish we could get the government to take a look at the job service agencies around the country and fix the unemployment benefits system. Pump some money into that system so that there can be orientation meetings and appointments with a case worker and classes again. And the number of job contacts would be affected by the individual situations. That would go a long way to helping out lots of people.

To those people who are in the same situation as I am … keep the faith. Times can get tough, but they won’t stay that way forever. I have a tough time remembering that at times, but it really is true. Eventually the economy will recover. I have no idea how long it will take, but it will happen some day. So keep your chin up … things will get better.