$5.73...

...that's how much cash I have in my pocket as of this writing. Sadly, that sum represents my total net worth.

As of today I have submitted over 400 separate applications on-line. I have received perhaps 12 replies in response to those 400+ applications. None of the interviews from those 12 responses resulted in a job - in fact, 9 of those 12 positions were filled between the call scheduling my interview and the interview itself.

The remaining 3 positions may or may not still be available - though I've called back at the appointed time after our interviews. I've left voicemails that so far go unanswered...

I have a brand spanking new LINK card, courtesy of the State of Illinois' DHS office in Skokie. For those of you unfamiliar with the LINK card, it's essentially a debit card issued by the State for the purchase of food products only. Being a single male under the age of 65 with no dependents I qualify for $162 in food stamps. Not a huge amount, but a figure I can live with.

The problem here is that I cannot activate my LINK card. Springfield is having computer problems. I've called three times (for a total of 18 cell phone minutes) to activate my card, answered all the computer prompted questions thru the phone and actually manage to both enter & confirm my preferred PIN only to be told by the computer that they are unable to complete my request at this time, please call back later...

Once I do manage to get my LINK card activated, it will be an additional two business days before it will be funded. At the moment I have, count 'em, four hot dogs in my cooler, 5 pounds of Bisquick & a 20 year old can of Salmon in my cabinet. A veritable feast for the Gods...

My rent is due in five days. I've already sold my mother's silver to raise August's rent. I'm at a loss as to what I can sell now in the time left that will raise the necessary cash...

The last time he took me to lunch, a good friend told me that if I "keep doing the same thing I shouldn't be surprised at getting the same results." A mantra I took to heart a number of years ago and would desperately love to put into effect today. I'm just damned if I can figure out a way to apply it to my current situation...

It seems the majority of today's employers will only accept job applications via the inter-web... There is no personal contact anymore;

It seems the majority of today's employers think nothing of having applicants come in to interview for positions that are no longer available;

It seems my lot is hopeless. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can turn things around? Please share them with me. I don't bite. I haven't quite yet reverted to being feral...

Despair seems to be the order of the day...

Pride - and the swallowing thereof

Like just about anybody I know, I don't fit in a single pigeon hole. There are too many disparate traits/qualities about me to make that even feasible.

A few of my better traits/qualities are that I'm loyal, dependable, reliable, reasonably intelligent & fairly quick on the uptake, friendly, hard working, have a sense of humor, honest - the list goes on.

Some of my lesser qualities include stubbornness, gluttony, impatience with stupidity in general, a disinclination to shave regularly, being a micro manager, a tongue that could cut glass, and I'll never be a diplomat - and again, the list goes on.

I make no bones about my current situation. I've not had a steady paycheck in very nearly five full months. My savings are gone and I've had to resort to pawning my mother's silver and other things to come up with the necessary cash to pay bills & buy food. And that's over & above the $0.60/pound I get for freshly harvested aluminum...

Last week I put in my application for Food Stamps at DHS. An interesting experience and one I was not in a hurry to enjoy. Unfortunately, when the cupboard gets close to bare wood, with no hope of replenishment, one does what one must to get by. Requesting assistance from DHS was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Pride, is why...

I've held a job of one kind or another for more than 30 years. They weren't all great jobs, but I managed to pay the bills & keep myself fed. Sadly, after almost five months of being unemployed, the "keeping myself fed" part became a bit too much for me to manage on the proceeds of my harvesting alone.

So I made the trip to DHS last Wednesday. I didn't know what time they opened in the morning, so I left the house at 7:00 am for the 18 mile drive into the Skokie branch office. I got there 30 minutes early, but already there was a line at the front door. I joined it.

Almost three hours later I'd worked my way to the counter, obtained an application, filled it in, turned it in and learned I'd have to come back a week later for an interview that would determine my eligibility for Food Stamps. Had I not requested emergency assistance, my interview would have been set for sometime in September...

Today I went back in for my interview. It was set for 9:15 this morning, so true to form, I arrived at DHS shortly after 8:00 AM, just as they were opening the doors. I gathered my documents & scurried inside and joined the queue at the counter.

By 9:00 I was told to have a seat, my case worker would call me when she was ready. Miss Mond called me into her office at 9:40. We spent 30 minutes or so going over my documents & application before she had me sign some additional paperwork. Then she escorted me to the area where the LINK cards are prepared for issuance to the recipients.

She told me that when my name was called I should bring my ID in and be prepared to enter a four digit pin into their machine. My LINK card would then be handed to me and in two days, loaded up with my Food Stamp allotment - pro rated for the shortened month, of course.

Unfortunately, the State's computer system went down and I wound up sitting there waiting an additional 90 minutes, hoping they'd get it back on line soon. I was rewarded in that they were able to issue me a LINK card at the end of that 90 minutes, but I'd have to acivate it with a pin number over the phone with the Springfield office. The full system was not yet operable...

As many of you know, my land line has been shut off for non-payment. (There's a surprise, huh?) That being the case, I made a beeline for the nearest payphone I could find to register/activate my LINK card. I dialed in the toll-free number they gave me at DHS only to hear a computerized recording tell me: We're sorry, the toll-free number you have dialed is inaccessible to all pay telephones. Please try again from a non-pay telephone. I hung up, chanting odd fricatives under my voice as the recording began to repeat.

Now I have to find a non-pay telephone so I can get this LINK card activated. I'd use my cell phone, but I'm almost positive that toll-free number will connect me to a computerized phone answering system that's just dying to eat up the few minutes I have left on my cell phone....

Welcome to The Aluminum Harvest, where nothing is ever quite as simple as it should be...

The Hiring Process

Yep, that’s me in the picture at left. For the first time since 1973, I’m allowing my naked face to shamelessly hang out where anybody can see it. I shaved my beard off on the advice of several friends, as well as some Job Hunting Tips I found online.

I didn’t want to do it. I’m not at all comfortable being clean shaven, but apparently in this country having a full beard, no matter how neatly groomed, means you don’t get hired. Apparently job skills and experience are as nothing compared to your ability in applying a shaver to your face each morning...

Now, to get onto the meat of this post. First, let me say I’m old fashioned. I believe in work and in working. I actually enjoy having somewhere to be and something to do on a regular basis that actually, in some small way, matters. If it also pays the bills, so much the better.

I do not believe in freeloading or getting a “free ride.” At least not once you past your majority or have attained your educational goals, whatever they may be. Once you're an adult, have acquired whatever training you felt necessary, it's time you start taking charge and meet life's little challenges head on. That's what grown ups do.

I can’t remember a time, from 16 years of age on that I did not have job of some kind. Until I hit 19 they were all part time jobs because of school, but I was working. Once I hit 19 and had to leave University, I’ve consistently held a full-time job in one field or another.

Stockboy, cashier, retail salesman, night watchman, mover, bartender, laborer, clerk, typist, shipping & receiving, management, Office Manager, courier, photographer. I’ve filled store’s shelves, dug ditches, loaded trucks, supervised a busy Loop office, driven professionally, poured booze into drunks, painted fences, walked dogs and photographed the occasional wedding.

I am computer literate, proficient in the use of Word, Excel, Works, & Outlook. I’m a quick learner when it comes to almost any software package, and as a special bonus, I type at a very respectable 75 wpm.

I have had managerial experience which included scheduling personnel, apportioning assignments, maintaining office supply inventories and Customer Service. I have billed customers & logged in those customers’ payments, as well as prepared their monthly statements.

On the other end of the spectrum, my health is excellent. I don’t consider myself “too good” for blue collar work. Indeed, manual labor has made up a great deal of my working experience. I would welcome some today, as a matter of fact.

I’m a good photographer & competent Photoshop mechanic. With one notable exception, every image in this blog was taken by myself. I may not be the world’s best photographer, but I do have a good eye and a passion for the craft.

You may garner from the above that I’ve led a somewhat varied & interesting professional life. You’re right, I have. Primarily because I’ve never worried overmuch about what work I did, as long as it allowed me to pay my bills and live in dignity. I’ve never been overly concerned about status or appearances. All I’ve ever wanted or demanded was a fair & honest wage in return for a fair and honest day’s work.

That seems to be the impossible dream, however.

I have been searching for employment since April to no avail. I’ve been online with CareerBuilder, Monster, Yahoo’s HotJobs and a dozen other work sites. I’ve answered the classified ads in the newspaper by emailing my resume or applying in person, depending on the ad’s instruction.

Since April, I’ve scheduled more than 4 dozen interviews. All but five were pointless efforts, however. The positions had been filled before I arrived – on time – for my scheduled appointment. Of the five that actually did come to pass, I was told to call back within a set period of time at each to inquire as to their decision. Nobody ever bothered to accept or return my calls, which I suppose is a fair indication of their decision.

I’d like to additionally note that not one of the employers who filled the advertised position prior to my interview had the courtesy to call & cancel our appointment. Instead they informed myself & every other applicant on our arrival, thus allowing each of us to waste time & other resources we can ill afford. The price of gas today ain’t cheap folks, and this practice of allowing applicants to waste what precious resources they have left is nothing less than an exercise in applied arrogance.

One of the most infuriating aspects of this job hunt is Corporate America’s insistence that applications be made on-line only. Fine and dandy practice for them, but it amounts to little more than a shot in the dark for applicants. We have no way to confirm the application arrived, whether it was reviewed by a live person or if it got dumped into a “holding tank” for ‘x’ many days before being flushed to make room for the next batch.

Employers do not let the applicants know the application has been received. Nor do they post a contact name on the job advertisements to follow up with after a period of time. The applicant is literally left in limbo not knowing whether he’s making progress towards employment or simply spinning his digital wheels to no good purpose.

In the meantime, expenses continue. Rent, food, fuel, laundry… Savings run out, friends and family start to shun you, refusing to take or return your calls. Food becomes scarce, your home is in jeopardy, utilities are cut off. And still no hope on the horizon, no matter what you do or where you turn.

Welcome to The Aluminum Harvest, my friends…

Quarters Only?

So has anyone else run into this?

It's the middle of the night, you've got a tire with a slow leak and you don't have time to stop & put the spare on. So you pull into a filling station, spot the coin operated air hose, pull up nearby and reach into your pocket for 75 cents. Then, as you start sorting through the change in your pocket you notice the "Out of Order" sign.

On to the next filling station where you repeat the procedure. And the next. And the next after that. Finally you locate a filling station with a working air hose. Once again you start sorting through the change in your pocket. You find 75 cents, but it includes two dimes & a nickel. The machine only takes quarters.

Stepping inside to ask the cashier to swap you a quarter for your dimes & nickel sometimes works, but most times not. He's only allowed to open his cash drawer when ringing up a sale. So, you either purchase something or you wait for another customer to come along and purchase something. Or you go out & change the damn tire you didn't have time to change to begin with.

I was speaking with a filling station attendant about the frequency of the air hose being down at her place of business. You know what she told me? She told me that 9 out of 10 times the air hose is down because somebody tried feeding dimes & nickels to it. The "odd" sizes jam up the works, and requires a service tech to come out, open up the machine, pry the nickels & dimes loose, close it up and put it back into service. Then it works just like a champion until the next time somebody tries to feed it something other than quarters.

So the question before the board is, what possessed the vending world to start discriminating against the lesser valued coins? Once upon a time you could feed a coin operated anything any denomination coin you had handy - well not pennies - and as soon as you'd deposited the proper dollar amount for the item/service you wanted, the machine would spit it out. No longer...

Am I the only one who thinks the current preference for quarters only is both elitist & short sighted? I've got a pocket full of coins right now, but without looking I know the majority of the coins in my pocket are dimes & nickels. If I don't have the proper number of quarters, that vending machine just lost a sale. And if some stubborn sould decides to feed it dimes & nickels instead, then it loses a lot of sales until it's put back to rights.

Perhaps going back to the old-style coin mechanisms might not be a bad idea. More sales from folks who don't carry quarters only. Fewer jams from odd sized coins, so less down time which also translates to more sales. Am I wrong?

Oh, and I'm not just picking on the coin operated air hose at your corner filliing station. No, no. I'd like to see this change instituted across the entire plenum of coin operated machines. Parking meters, gumball machines, washers, dryers, pay phones (if you can find one, that is) cold drink machines, vibrating motel beds, food machines, etc.

Any coin operated machine that only accepts a single denomination coin just cannot be a good idea any way you look at it. I'm old enough to remember when you could get a shot of air for free from the local filling station, and while I don't like paying for air, I've grown accustomed to the demand.

So I guess my question is, what genius decided that only quarters were usable coins when it comes to vending machine purchases? Can someone answer me that?

Okay, rant's over now...

Bright Spots

First, let me say I am not living on the streets today as I had feared I would be. My landlord's Five Day Notice expired yesterday, but thanks to some unexpected assistance from friends old and new, I managed to come up with my rent before close of business. So, a quick note of thanks is in order.

First, I want to thank an old buddy from High School that came up with a sizable donation Sunday afternoon that put me within "spittin' distance" of making August's rent. Thank you, Rein - you've no idea how much I appreciate your timely assistance.

Second, to my very good friend, Carole in Washington state, who quite unexpectedly gifted my cell phone with additional minutes via the internet. I wasn’t even aware that was possible, let alone that she planned to do so. Carole’s gift will be invaluable in contacting potential employers, and as such, very much appreciated. Thank you, Carole.

Third to my good friend Jim, who bought me lunch yesterday and provided me the final bit of “necessary” to make the rent. Jim also took the opportunity to give me some "straight from the hip" advice, that while not pleasant, was still appreciated. Believe it or not, Jim, I did listen to everything you said yesterday and am as gratified for your candor as I am for the lunch and the cash. From the heart, I thank you.

And finally, a note of thanks to another good friend who contacted me with a “freshly picked” contribution to include in my ongoing harvest, and the promise of additional donations each week. Rachel, I thank you as well - you're still my hero!

Ladies and gentlemen, while my current existence is not necessarily a pleasant one, it does have it’s moments. Moments such as those described above. The realization that while life may majorly suck, as long as you have friends who care, it's still worth living.

The collage attached to this post is another moment, albeit in another entire category. What you’re seeing is (I think - I'm no ornithologist) a Heron. I spotted it perched on a stump in a small cove in Busse Woods Forest Preserve. It was just after 6:00 AM, and there was still plenty of fog rising from the water. In another few minutes the sun would rise over the tree line and begin burning the fog away. I put my harvesting aside for a few moments, grabbed my camera and did my level best to capture the moment.

If not for my current situation, I'd have not been in Busse Woods at that hour of the morning and certainly would not have witnessed this Heron taking flight, let alone capture the moment. Given my druther's, I'd have preferred being home getting ready for work, but that's not currently an option. Getting a "private showing" of Nature's Glory ain't necessarily a bad thing. It certainly made my grim existence a bit more palatable for a short time...

More soon, friends...

Help With The Harvest?

Today's post is a quiet request for assistance from some of my readers, specifically those who work or live near the O'Hare area.

I'm not asking for a cash donation - unless you just happen to have a shitpot of money you've absolutely no other use for, that is. ::chuckle::

No, what I'd like to request is that instead of throwing away any aluminum cans you may have or come across in your daily travels, that you think of me instead. Put them aside for me to include in my own harvest.

Ideally, they should be crushed flat and stored in a garbage bag, but I'll take them in any way shape or form I can get 'em.

If you're both able & willing to assist me in this fashion, please email me at hal.eskew@gmail.com and let me know when & where I can meet you to take them off your hands.

I thank you for your support...

Welcome to The Aluminum Harvest

My name is Hal. Until the first week of April, 2008 I was gainfully employed. I worked as a self-employed Independent Contractor within the Courier Industry serving the six county Chicago metropolitan area. I have been so employed since April of 1994.

Once upon a time it was a fabulous job. It allowed me to care for my ailing mother, pay my bills, and generally live a fairly comfortable lifestyle on my own terms. It wasn't a great job, but given the other issues in my life when I began, it was about as good an arrangement as i was going to find. And strangely enough, as time went on, I came to enjoy the work, and was quite good at it, if I do say so myself.

Oh, there were ups and downs over the years, good times and bad, as with any other endeavor, but overall I had no major complaints. Until the price of gas started rising, that is. As it began it's long climb to today's record levels, my profit margin slowly began to shrink. And then not so slowly shrink. Until finally, in April of 2008, fully 3/4 of each week's earnings were being funneled directly into my gas tank so that I could continue working the following week. Needless to say, this didn't leave a lot left over for the "little" things in life like food, rent, electric...

It didn't help that the amount of available work had been declining the past several years as well, falling at approximately the same rate that fuel costs were rising. An untenable situation that I attempted to meet by economizing, hoping against hope that gas prices would eventually level off & that the available work volume would increase. Neither eventuality came to pass...

I economized by cutting back on "luxuries." Cable TV was the first to go. I started buying more chicken instead of beef at the grocery and then when the price of chicken went up I bought more beans (protein) than meat. I began purchasing "house brands" instead of name brands when grocery shopping. I pretty much gave up buying beer for home all together.

That wasn't enough. I had to start wearing my work clothes longer, patching rather than replacing when they got torn or worn. Work boots? Not time yet, there's another 2000 miles in those heels, yet...

Finally, though I had to put a cap on how much fuel I could purchase per workday: $30/day was about right, given the number of deliveries I was running on average. Unfortunately, the deliveries never seemed to line up properly. I'd pick up an envelope in Elk Grove Village going to the Loop and be sent on my way. Half way to the Loop I'd be notified of a package in Skokie also going to the Loop, could I turn around? Once empty in the Loop, I'd sit - or actually, I'd slowly cruise the streets looking for a place I could sit, all the while burning fuel to no purpose...

Eventually the day came when I'd made that trip to the Loop with a single envelope and got assigned several Loop pickups over the next several hours. Each of those pickups cancelled as I approached the pickup location. But there was always another pickup for me - usually called in at roughly the same time & that I had to pass on my way to the cancellation - that in turn cancelled as I pulled near. I was constantly criss-crossing the Loop for several hours, never once able to get a single pickup on board before the order cancelled. A most excellent method of draining a gas tank...

When my tank hit the 1/4 full mark I called in to let dispatch know it was time to send me home. Dispatch's response was to read me the riot act. If I was planning to call it a day at 2:30 in the afternoon I should have told him that morning in the office. I don't suffer fools gladly, and I answered each of his accusations fully & in great detail over the radio. Then I went home & thought about it long and hard.

At this point, I was effectively spending $3 in fuel for every $4 I earned making deliveries. To be accused of malfeasance, incompetence and a general all around bad attitude when I'd burned up that day's fuel allotment chasing that constant string of cancellations dispatch assigned me was just too much. I turned in my equipment the next morning & never looked back.

Today, 4-1/2 months later I remain unemployed. Despite constantly submitting applications via the web, scheduling & attending interviews, answering ads in the paper and virtually begging for work - I remain unemployed. Even a minimum wage job stocking shelves at the local five & dime or grocery is inexplicably unobtainable...

I managed to stretch my meager savings into May. Since then, I've largely been dependent on the generousity of friends and family. As of today, my rent is 15 days late and I have three days left on the Landlord's Five Day Notice. August's rent is due Monday morning or I face eviction from my home of 24 years...

My savings are gone. Friends and family have assisted me financially to the point of pain, but none of them are wealthy individuals. They can offer no more, and I, in all honesty to myself, can no longer ask and have no right to expect further assistance. When the well dries up, you have to face facts: There Ain't No More Water! Deal with it.

Barring a miracle this weekend, I expect to join the ever growing number of homeless in Illinois. For the past few weeks, I've left my home between 4:30 & 5:00 AM so I can get to the parks, the Forest Preserves, assorted parking lots early & beat the other Harvesters to the day's bounty.

Aluminum Cans are currently being bought by the scrap metal dealers for $0.60/pound.

Welcome to the Aluminum Harvest....