similarminds.com

[Isra]

I went grocery shopping, and noticed that the amount of panhandlers in town had grown significantly. It's a relatively small town, and I had only seen one panhandler on a regular basis before, he would sit outside the Safeway and very quietly ask for change. Because I generally carry cash, I would give him whatever pocket change I had, and if it was less than a dollar, I'd throw in a dollar bill, too. On my last trip, though, I saw four people with signs on street corners, begging for change.

I sort of know a guy who works at Circuit City, which is of course going out of business.

The company I work for does business with several wealthy people, some of whom are retired and have lost quite a bit of their money in the stock market. One of our clients lost a full half of her net worth... she's still rich, but those kind of losses will make anyone worry. So, we've lost one, maybe two clients so far.

My husband's company is continually growing, and hasn't even cut back on paying overtime yet, so we're pretty safe there.

Most of my friends are in the military, or other recession-proof business, so I didn't really have to face any effects of the current economical climate until recently...

What changes have you noticed in these financial hard times? How has this recession affected you personally? Are those of you not in the U.S. being affected by a 'slumping' economy, or is it business as usual?
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(Fi)(Ne)ly tuned ISTP

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."
-Robert Frost

[lilithsansracine]

Despite living on my own for nearly two years now, I am probably naive as fuck about practical things.

I am not sure how the so-called recession has affected me or will affect me as of yet. But am I paranoid? Probably, but right now I have gone off too far into Lalaland to realize the extent.

I live mostly off of grant money from the government and a smaller loan portion (I am in university). All of that goes towards my residence and tuition fees and the rest is left for personal expenses, most of which comes from my work earnings.

This year I am trying to get a job in this stem cell/regenerative medicine research thing. If I end up getting the job, I am not even sure if I will be paid since it is a student position. Whatever earnings I will have will come from the professor's grant or the grant that the government gives to me (that is if I even get one). I don't really know how much the economy affects the amount of money available for research, but I guess the government wouldn't be too keen on funding stuff that doesn't have immediate applications when people are jobless and dying.

If all else fails, I'll get a second job at a store or something so I can actually sustain myself. For now though that reality is relatively far into the future (but really only in 3 months). I'd rather currently immerse myself in the learning of organic chemistry and differential equations. There is a sort of comfort in knowing I am able to master this sort of thing, especially when there seems to be so much uncertainty ahead.
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Lilith sans Racine
INTP, RCUEI, Enneagram 7/5, sx/sp/so, Facilitator

"I accept chaos. I don't know whether it accepts me." - Arthur Rimbaud, I'm Not There

[The Troll Emperor of Doom]

[Mescaline]

well,

my stocks have tanked. (And they were supposed to be "stable" stocks as well)

I know that my dad's superannuation has lost 20% of it's value. He has to work another 5 years to make it up.

I'm going to start withdrawing some of my money out of my bank accounts. I'm getting stuffall interest anyways.

[Zephr]

Well, in the world of pizza delivery, it seems to me that I'm going to nice big fancy houses more, and the kind of place that I would consider normal less.

It's kinda funny. I used to get really lousy tips at the nicer houses, but they've all gotten a little more generous lately. So I guess that works out.

In the realm of accounting, it seems like there are less new students in the last year or so than there have been in a long time. (Although that's just my general impression, which is hardly scientific. Still, I haven't seen anything that disagrees with it.) While the need for good accounting has certainly not decreased. So hopefully that's a good sign for my ability to get a job when I get out of school.
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r|C|UaI

[nonentropic]

October last year was bad...as it was for many people. when the money and credit supply gets tight people buy less, can afford less and some will actually lose all they have more often. in the sewing biz (which i'm part of), it is affected by how much money/credit is available but, it is also an area that more people get invovled in when times get tough. folks start fixing and making more of their own stuff rather than buying it new from others. imo, the next 3 years could be very tough for almost all globally. things could stay tough-very challenging for quite a while too ( a decade maybe??? i don't know). a very complicated mess (intentionally built monetary house of cards) is unravelling-falling apart around the world. things will be changing...seek to the best way/the best path/the best solution. surviving will likely become more important to most than prospering. being creative will likely be very beneficial. friends and family will likely become more important than ever. people will have to work together and help each other to overcome this most likely very bad period for humanity. regardless of it all, make the most of yourself and all things. success to the best humanity has to offer. do your part and try to make it weigh-in on the positive side of things.
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http://www.myspace.com/nonentropic

[Negative Creep]

wait.



Nonner fucking SEWS?



That is awesome.
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[Mayflow]

[The Troll Emperor of Doom]

There is nothing wrong with that- everyone in the military is required to know how to do it- demolition man knitted.

I've been interested in tailoring for a long while, want to do my own jackets- making a book isn't too different from tailoring- you have to buy the equipment, know your trade production wise, and know where to buy the materials for actual construction of the suit- I am not all that knowledgeable on where to buy them, but have a few fabric types I seen on good suits I want to buy rolls of for future self use and experimentation. I've looked into the various garment unions and small tie manufactures and seen a training video- I'm planning on making it a hobby someday- it would be good for someone to ask me who my suit is made by and answer myself.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYKzIMyXzpU&feature=related
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8161212442641245440&ei=J_1GSejUDIaYrQLb47XhDA&q=dune&hl=en

[Romana]

[nonentropic]

fact of the matter is i repair machines. many here should already be aware of this. the one who started this tangent is an ass.
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http://www.myspace.com/nonentropic

[Romana]

The idea of people (re)learning basic skills like sewing is a legitimate topic. If the ongoing economic troubles cause more people to sew, cook, build, adapt, and repair more things for themselves rather than buying new or pre-made all the time, this might be a valuable silver lining.
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Romana
INTJ

“The awareness of our own weaknesses allows us to view the weaknesses of others with immense compassion and to appreciate the value of their offerings.” ~ Logospilgrim

[Stuckasfook]

well then let us forget the assish one, and only take heed to the assishly induced tangent.


is sewing hard?

[Zephr]

Sewing isn't hard at all. I can do some basic little repairs myself. Most of the people I knew in the army couldn't sew at all, but I did my own patches and that kind of stuff.

Of course it took me forever. Sewing isn't really hard, but making the end product look decent is.
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r|C|UaI

[The Troll Emperor of Doom]

In the infantry, at least the airborne varient- you are required to have a sewing kit as part of your equipment- it's always been that way from my understanding- at least a needle to maintain a uniform. We use the shops for when S-3 would drop a shitstorm of new regs for battalion of division stitching and everyone had to be in uniformity fast- like all your hats, rucks, assult packs, and duffle bags ASAP.... and this is apparently all S-3 does in the rear, cause it seemed that was all I was ever doing was rearranging the stiching. We also did it for our useless dress uniform.

However, anything from sewing new lamination tape to repair of clothing or new rank on a PC is a field requirement, and we do that on our own. We had to provide time for the new guys who thought they couldn't afford a sewing shop time to do it on their own. I purposely didn't care, and so did the worst sewing job in the history of the world on my stuff and wouldn't care what the CSM would say- wanted fancy ornamentation, should of bought a Christmas tree.

THat is why the army went to annoying velcro- the infantry was tired of always sewing new stuff- but out HQ tents use velcro too on their flaps- so there is all this lost rank and ranger/airborne tabs stuck up there on the entrance- I caught a SF tab there once, was funny when I presented it to the old triple stack Lt.

Yeah, since roman times, there was sewing going on in the infantry- it's a ancient tradition we refuse to master- as all our predecessors have refused but been forced to do so anyway. Watch the Sharp series with Sean Bean, you see the guys sewing all the time.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYKzIMyXzpU&feature=related
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8161212442641245440&ei=J_1GSejUDIaYrQLb47XhDA&q=dune&hl=en