A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss or What we did the first 2 weeks JR was unemployed

The first week, JR made phone calls and organized all the data and pictures he would need to do his resume, CV and portfolio. He filed for unemployment and he procured himself a domain name http://www.jamesronczyaia.com/ and got rolling. This website should be up next week.

The second week, he made more phone calls, started a LinkedIn page, which took 2nd place to getting the resume and CV done so he could give it to a few people that had asked him for it. He quickly realized that the resume and CV were going to take longer than expected. He spent 3 days from around 4am to 6 or 7pm working on them. We are happy to say they are done and only need minor changes commiserate with the job posting.

We also had a friend from Houston here from Saturday to Monday and had a blast. We walked from our condo to Millennium Bridge and back; a total of more than 6 miles. We had coffee at Riverfront and enjoyed the 60 degrees, sunshine and camaraderie. We went to Rocky Mountain National Park and walked around and enjoyed the sun, cold air and more camaraderie. We had a blast. Thank goodness she came when she did; it really was great timing as it was very energizing.

I was able to get my website up and running http://www.g2solutionscompany.com/, a 1,000 piece mailer, a Google AdWords campaign (a pay per click that shows up when those in Denver google any of my keywords), and a Cherry Creek Chamber ad campaign. I'm working on a Chicago campaign, a real estate campaign and noodling about an independent living campaign. Whew, that's lots.

We also had a networking brown bag at our house which was quite cathartic. We all talked about how it sucked to be laid off, what we can do moving forward to find employment, how we can help each other, and how to find freebies and make the most of our quickly dwindling dollar. We are looking forward to the next one in February.

I went to a luncheon where the speaker discussed having a purpose driven life. Having a Vision of what you want your life to be as opposed to setting goals. A vision should pull you forward, but as so often happens, goals make you work so hard trying to reach it, you wonder why it was even a goal at all. A Vision should be a movie of your life. It was fascinating.

Stay tuned...

Got Job?

Well, the credit crisis hits home. JR got laid off on Monday. Thanks to all of you who have contacted us and let us feel the outporing of love you have for us. It does not go unnoticed.
It's both frustrating and liberating at the same time. I say frustrating b/c this household spends a lot of time being frugal for the most part, so there's not much fat to cut. Also, I've been the prophetess of doom once again by worrying like a lunatic that JR would be high on the list of those let go while others around me kept saying he's too valuable. So what happens, I'm right again. Not much vindication there. It's liberating as the world is our oyster as the possibilities of what to do next are endless. That the oyster has been sitting on the beach for 3 days, stinks and has no pearl, is beside the point; we had to eat the swine, so there's nothing to do with the pearl anyway.
As the bailout seems to have not made the banks let loose any funds, developers are not developing so there's no opportunity for Architects at this time. We have friends that were laid off in October, are still unemployed, and see no hope for a break anytime soon. So, that leads me back to liberating. If you weren't an Architect, what would you be seems to be the question of the moment. That a few of our friends assured JR he could get a job cooking for any restaurant in town, while reassuring, isn't exactly where we were headed as JR has already climbed the Bar and Restaurant ladder earlier in life, but you never know.
Fortunately for us - ok kids, here comes the optimism - we have many skills between us and should be able to adapt during this period.
For those of you wondering what's going on with the company I started, it's moving along, and I've been able to expand my service list to architectural services, so we'll see how that goes. My website is up and running - www.g2solutionscompany.com (altho it's a work in progress) and we sent out 1000 marketing pieces, so the hounds have been released and we'll see what they bring back.
JR and I enjoy each other's company, so it's not like we are in each others' way. BYG let him keep using the laptop for as long as he needed, so we each have our own workstations. (how ironical, I typed woristation instead of workstation...hmm). My challenge is trying not to anticipate and do things for him, my natural instinct, but to let him ask me for help if he needs it. He's perfectly capable of doing all things for himself, it's just me being me.
Well, time to have breakfast and get a task list together for today.

Maybe a Quarterly Post?

OK, so we didn't blog as much as we thought we would. In case you were wondering, here's a recap:

November:

Our sister-in-law Mary had knee surgery, so I went to Chicago to help out and flew back just in time to meet our girlfriend Susan at DIA who came up from Houston for Thanksgiving. Paden and Dawn joined us, unfortunately Anne was sick and so we brought her dinner, and we not only were thankful for our friends, family (ok only some of those) and our jobs, but Susan brought Champagne so we could help her burn her Mortgage Note as she had just made the last payment on her house. A good time was had by all.

December:

I went to Houston for my annual cookie weekend and had a blast seeing those I hadn't seen in a while, spending time with Kat,

and of course, making cookies with Patti.

The Holiday Party at JRs office was fun. We were both on the committee, who all made a dessert altho the rest of the event was catered. "Christmas at Grandma's" was the theme and we used games we had wrapped as centerpieces, a train that included pics of the partners, and a 'Desiroma' which featured the desserts.

At the last minute, we decided to go to Chicago, and by go I mean drive, for a quick Christmas celebration. We didn't tell anyone and showed up on Tom and Mary's doorstep on Christmas Eve. Scotty was a King in the Christmas Pageant and the Mass was interesting. The 5 of us went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant and just cracked each other up laughing and having a good time. Of note was the table next to us who although they had more people, did not appear to be having as much fun. JR made Scotty laugh doing different accents and taught Scotty how to talk like Marlon Brando in The Godfather. As you can imagine, Scotty "practiced" the whole time we were there. JR went and picked his Mom up Christmas morning and she was so thrilled to have him go to Mass with her. One of her friends asked who the young gentleman friend was and Jo said her son and the friend said in a very exaggerated tone and with a wink - suuuuuuuure he is. Got us all laughing...creeped out....but laughing. Scotty got a digital camera for Christmas so he set off making a cooking show with Uncle Jim and Daddy. Watch out for it on Youtube. JR and I drove back the 1000 miles on Sunday and declared ourselves very satisfied with the holiday.

January so far...

JR and I, as you know, don't stay awake very late, so on New Years Eve, we watched old Bob Newhart Show DVDs and CNN's coverage of the ball drop. We were safely tucked in our beds by 10:10pm. Kat called at 11, midnight Houston time, so we chatted with her.

We had a few people over on New Years Day and enjoyed Football, Hockey, Good Food, and of course, Good Company. It was a wonderful start to our New Year.

We have recommitted ourselves to healthy eating and exercise, so as I sit here writing to you, I can barely move :)

See you soon!!!!