Does anyone have cheerful news?

The world today is full bad news. I am looking for funny story to cheer up.

Not funny, but cheerful. This has made me and my family cut back on spending so we make stuff last longer and come up with different ways to use stuff. This has brought us toghther more with our children (5,3,1) to help them make stuff and has been a great time. I think this also has helped my children grow and learn the right way (Considering they didn't get grossed out and were wanting to learn when I butched the last of our turkeys this last weekend).

My big brother - an electrical engineer - got laid off earlier this year, but called last Friday to tell me that he finally got a new job with a very large medical technology company ... just miles from my house.

Its nice to see someone GET a job rather than lose one.

Looks like the twins are going to be two boys! Thats my news... not much but all that i'm looking forward to till April!

BigDaddy,
Is the IT sector in Austin that rough? I can tell you that in DFW area there are a lot of IT jobs (had an offer from there a few months back). A buddy of mine moved back to DFW and pretty much had his pick of jobs. Not to mention that housing is still a buyers market.

Has anyone ever heard the phrase "Buy Low, Sell High"? If you are a long term investor there are many bargains to be had right now. Opportunity isn't always pretty.

Agree!

I just got laid off at Halloween. However, I had seen the signs of trouble and started my job hunt early.

I was able to land a great job with a small solar energy startup within 5 days. I took the 8 weeks severance and bought a new truck (well, new to me).

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

If you live in the northern NJ area now's a good time to buy a new car. The ports are filled with new cars and they're having trouble storing them all, so they're willing to do some amazing deals just to move stuff off the lot.

My neighbor just traded in her car for a new Lexus ES350 with every option but navigation. It worked out to be almost an even trade.

Through saving and working a lot of extra hours, we were able to pay off the rest of the credit cards last month. By January 1, we will pay off two small car payments. The only payment we will have after the first of the year, outside of normal monthly utility bills, will be one car payment. It's been a difficult year as far as the hours are concerned, but I thought one of the best things in any crisis is to be debt free and it's a great feeling!

My holiday cheer comes from giving to foster kids. Every year there's a holiday tree in the lobby of the buildings at work, every year we grab tags with names and the one gift they want most of all, and we buy them. Last year I pulled maybe a dozen tags, this year its over 20 and counting. My #1 son was a foster kid, their role in life is pretty tough - the very least I can do is give alot of them a Christmas gift. They usually don't ask for much, maybe a Disney movie, hair accessories, a warm jacket or a race car. I broke down and cried reading the tag from a 7 year old who asked for 'something to hug.' Since I have more right now I've tried to focus on the older kids, they sometimes want something that costs extra - the 17 year old who wants an electric razor, the teens who want sleeping bags for camping. Grown ups too, an elderly person who wanted a gift certificate to buy candy for her candy dish, for her grandkids coming to visit. When its all said and done though, there will be more kids wanting gifts than people who can give them, some are gonna do without, that's a fact.

I guess in retrospect this isn't such a cheerful recession story, but really what is. I guess if there's a reason for cheer its to find some joy in giving, there are kids and people out there struggling to survive just like you, alot of them not as well prepared for the struggle. I encourage folks to look at the trees when you pass them, or if you don't see one near you talk to the local foster agencies, food banks, toy banks, everyone who's out looking for donations right now. If not money or gifts, give some of your time, now or anytime during the year. It gives back, that's all I know for sure. There's still alot of hurt out there no matter what we do.

I have to agree, this year I am able to be more giving than in the past. The wife and I are able to sponser a family for Christmas; this includes not only a meal and some presents, but paying all the bills for the month of December. It is a humbling and awesome blessing to be able to do this now, because there was a time when going to the store just to buy Christmas dinner for ourselves was not just a given. In addition, we bought a carful of toys for the Marines, and took a few more cards off the Salvation Army tree. All of this is paid out of an abundance, so it isn't like we are doing without anything this year to help others. We believe it is God's gift to us to let us feel the joy of helping others.

In addition, I am back in Denver, which is a good thing for me, and my daughters are going to be with us for nearly 4 weeks over Christmas break. My job is going great, even with the bureaucracy I have to deal with. We are pushing the envelope of applying technology to publish all the project information in new ways. We are also pumping an awful lot of money back into the local economy for construction work (somewhere around $700 million over the next 3 years, combined with $450 million from the School District). It feels good to be part of something like that.

My only regret is that there's no way for me to practically distribute my good fortune further. If our budget will take it responsibly, we may offer to sponser another family as well, but I do believe in making the "Talents" I was given by the master produce as well.

It is all relative I suppose, for every down on your luck case out there, there always seems to be someone on the up and up to balance the equation. I've been on both sides of the window, so I guess most everyone will get their turn, to some degree anyways.

Cheerful, I don't know.

My job isn't going anywhere- so long as there are people on public assistance, I'm good.

My car is mine, even if it is a bit of a pain. Engine, transmission, body and tires are super solid. Suspension and breaks are good, even if they could stand a few hundred dollars of work. Heater keeps the windows clear, and that is the important part. I need to get a new fan belt tomorrow when I get the oil changed. *shrugs* Not bad for a 1999 w/ 145K on it.

My debts are getting beat down.

My health is good.

I've got a place to go if everything hits the fan. Even if I have to do it on foot, I have friends every 30 miles and a few days of supplies stashed at each one.

My only weakness is my housing situation. And that will hopefully change by the new year. Then I'll be able to stock supplies and bring my BoB over from my folks.

Not cheerful, perhaps, but I've got a job and I still wake up in the morning.

Well, not really funny, but very good news for me.

I was laid off on 10/24. By 11/17 I had found and started a new job that paid 33% more, was 23 miles closer to home, and has shorter hours. It is rather surreal, considering the state that the economy is in. But I am not complaining.

Yes.

I'm not in Mumbai and all my loved ones are alive and relatively healthy.

All the rest is just secondary.

Samhain, you remind me of my constant motto, er mantra, that I repeat almost daily, that being:

At least I am not in Baghdad anymore and no one is trying to shoot me or blow me up, which is always a good thing.

Living proof that no matter how careful one is, something funny always has unintended consequences.

Now, YoDuh . . . . SIT! (And stop splitting the lifeboat matches.)

This is pretty damn cheerful.
I'm pretty sure that won't happen here :p

Sure, there's lots of things.

First of all, Americans are learning exactly how much they make and how much they can really afford, instead of using houses and HELOC's (second mortgages) as an ATM and ignoring basic economics, the hard lesson of Living Within Your Means is underway. It will take a generation or more to undo the lessons of the insanely leveraged buy now pay never years, but it will be learned.

It will be to drawing attention to wage stagnation of the last 10 years. Many Americans are starting to question if what's good for corporate America is really good for them. Corporate personhood is rightly being questioned.

It will also force the millions of folks who bought a house as an "investment" instead of a "place to live and grow old" to face reality. They bought under the deluded notion, pushed by folks with nothing to lose and everything to gain that home prices never fall so they could flip and move on. Now they will be likely to stay put, "underwater" and frozen in place and as a result, we might see something like communities forming, because people can't leave and they are forced to learn how to rely on neighbors.

Food insecurity and fear of it is going to lead more people to trying to grow some food. Most will fail, some will have limited success and others will learn the power of being able to raise up at least some of your food.

Barter is increasing, and barter is the most ancient and wonderful form of commerce there is.

Best of all, as we enter the next phase of this Recession, a hyper-inflationary mega-mess (we're not even half way to the real crisis), we're not going to be able to afford oil with our devalued dollars, so we're not going to have a choice about rebuilding what was once one of the greatest rail networks on the planet. We're not going to be able to avoid rolling out new energy sources and technologies - because we will HAVE to do it.

Best of all, there's enough people alive today who have the drive and the willingness to lead, if we can only shut up with our bickering over the petty issues of the here and now and start looking at America 2020.

I think that a friend of mine said it best:

The American Economy is, like Americans, obese and out of shape. Under the layers of middle management fat, there's still some powerful muscle, but shedding the fat is the first job before we can tone up again.

The fat-shedding is happening now. If it doesn't kill us (and there's plenty of folks who hope it does, leaving 6 countries where America once stood), it will make us stronger.

So, yeah, it sucks to tone up. The results will be worth it.

Amen.

And you're not a security guard at a Walmart on Black Friday....

I want to slap some of my coworkers that are incessantly whining and complaining about everything.

That was my biggest frustration during hurricane Gustav (unit without main power/ac for several days)I put a "NO WHINING" sign in the nurses station.

I've told some of the young ones around me (ad nauseum) that I've zipped enough people into body bags that inclement weather, traffic, unpleasant fast food wage slaves, etc doesn't bother me.

I'm going to enjoy it all while I got it.

Having said that, it doesn't eliminate stress completely (given the killer stress headache I'm enjoying at the moment compliments of my job), just puts it in perspective.

I'm off to hug my wife and child and go to bed....

Depends on who'd cooking it.

Great post Martin.

I am happy to say that I have been directly responsible for infusing about $40 million (not my money, but hey) into the economy in the last couple of weeks.

Lot's of folks were thankful for it.

I neglected to mention that Bill_G and Chris Kavanaugh will be getting some aloha.

A bunch of you have helped Doug and the ETS Foundation.

That's cheerful to me.

If we look for negative stuff, I guarantee negative stuff will be found. Same is true for positive stuff, but usually people don't look too hard for that.

But then again, I am pretty simple. Seeing a drop of rain dangling on a thorn in the middle of a rain storm cheers me up.

Digging up a little gold from the mine of dated posts.

As a home builder, I have built everything from a 3 bed 2 bath 2 car in 1900 square feet, to one that just finished that was almost 32,000 square feet + 7 car garage, motor coach storage and 2 horse barns. Throughout all of the homes, everyone wants it to have an amazing kitchen.

You would be shocked at all the service calls I have had in the last six to ten months for strange smells in ovens. Some of these homes had been occupied for almost a year remember. The cause?

New ovens have a very thin protectant on the steel and dust that is inside. In ten months time they hadn't cooked. Times get hard and out comes the Betty Crocker cook book. Thank goodness these folks don't live close enough to me to hear me laughing at them now.

The news industry peddles gloom-disaster-doom. Many bloggers, too.

Turn off the Evening Bad News with Katie Couric-Brian Williams-Charlie Gibson now and then and you'll feel better.

I have a certified therapy dog and we visit pediatric oncology. Amidst their struggle with cancer, these children and their families take time out to smile and laugh when my big tail-wagging furball (a Samoyed) saunters into their hospital room and jumps up on the bed. The world's problems fall away at those times.

Seeing them find such joy in a visiting dog has given me perspective in my comparatively trivial problems and is a poignant reminder to be happy for every day, every loved one, every friend, my neighbors (most of them) and to stop defining success and happiness by possessions and resume.

Good news: despite yesterday's dismal employment number (500,000 jobs lost in November),over 93% of the workforce is still working. While the news industry harps on that job loss number being the highest since 1974 and compares other figures to the deep early 1980s recession, few articles mention that the size of the American workforce has increased 50% since 1982.

Good news: The vast majority of Americans -- 90% -- either own their homes outright or are making their mortgages. And homes are becoming affordable again for those who sat out the housing insanity and saved money for a 10-20% down payment.

2009 is going to be tough for many. Businesses are anticipating that and getting leaner. People are hunkering down, building their savings. As they should. As they always should have. The economy will always have periods of recessions -- sometimes deep ones. Housing markets will rise again, and they will fall again. Gas prices will go down, up, and down again. They always have, they will for the next 100 years.

Good news: a couple generations is learning these facts and won't soon forget them.

Good news: unlike the Depression years, we go into this down economy with a safety net -- such as unemployment insurance for workers and FDIC for bank deposits. THAT IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE FROM THE GREAT DEPRESSION. The government is not standing by in 2008 to wait for banks to fail en masse -- as happened in the early 1930s.

Good news: despite the election results, we are unlikely to resort to the extremely self-destructive 1930 tactic of retreating into protectionism and shutting our nation's doors to trade. Research Smoot-Hawley, we won't go there again.

I'm worried about the near future, but optimistic.

And my dog is clamoring for a belly rub, so I must go.

Cheers!

A more traditional good news story (full story at the link below):

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20081206/Secret.Santa/


Secret Santas in 3 states spread cheer, $100 bills

ST. LOUIS — At a suburban Goodwill store on Friday, Theresa Settles selected a large, black comforter to warm her family until she can raise the money to turn the gas heat back on. A petite woman approached, her face obscured by dark sunglasses and a wrapped winter scarf, and handed Settles two $100 bills stamped with the words "secret Santa." "The only condition," she said, "is that you do something nice for someone. Pass it on."

"I will," Settles said, the only words she could get out of her mouth.

The secret Santa was a protege of Kansas City's undercover gift giver, Larry Stewart, who died of cancer nearly two years ago. Stewart roamed city streets each December doling out $100 bills to anyone who looked like they might need a lift.
[/b]


SOCIETY OF SECRET SANTAS:

http://secretsantaworld.net/

The Society of Secret Santas is an anonymous group of individuals throughout the world, performing random acts of kindness to those less fortunate.

Using their own financial resources and without a tax deduction, these leaders share their wealth with those in need. They give from their hearts remaining forever anonymous.

Every Christmas, Secret Santa "sleigh rides" light up a community with love, joy and faith in mankind.

Those touched often include the homeless or the working poor with barely enough resources for daily life. From laundromats and thrift stores to street corners and bus depots, Secret Santas and their loyal Elves find and give to those least expecting.

Today, in an unsettled world the Society of Secret Santas serves as an example that random acts of kindness bridge all social and economic barriers.

I tuned in partway through this radio segment on NPR over the weekend so I'm not sure what I missed, but what I heard still put a smile on my face and restored some of my faith in "business" amidst all this bad news of millions being laid off.

A family-owned ball bearing factory near Chicago has about 200 employees. Apparently they are all like a big family. Then, one day, the employees hear the news that the company has been sold. They're shocked. "Oh, no...are we all getting laid off?" There's a big meeting where the acquisition is announced. A Swedish company bought them out, and has agreed to keep all of them! And not only that, every person also got an envelope (sounds like being a guest on Oprah). Inside, was a check for a very large amount of money, which varies with your salary and length of service with the company. One guy on the segment said he's getting $100,000--and still keeps his job! Another woman says that this check is helping her get her home out of foreclosure.

The owners are giving 20% of what they made on the sale back to their employees, which comes out to $6.6 million. Wow, that's really great. Anonymous, hands off investors and shareholders don't make great companies, great management and great employees make great companies, so it's nice to hear about employees getting something, too.

I haven't gone back and listened to the whole thing, but I think the show I heard is here.

Smoke Alarms . . . . Don't even go there.
Every homeowner gets a "walk-thru" that contains what I call Homeowner 101. One of the biggest items are the smokies. You know, don't paint 'em and change the 9v back-up battery when you change the clocks. About 70% of the new owners call me within a year of move in complaining of an odd beeping sound. Folks just don't listen!

Problem for me isn't "what's that beeping". It's "Which one is beeping" at a frequency that I can hear well but can't tell direction. It's a similar frequency to the one they use for hearing tests. I could tell they if I heard it but not which ear.

Feel good...oh yeah. (warning, a little long)
On the weekend before Thanksgiving, my Scouts and adult leaders helped pack 600 care packages for soldiers stationed overseas during the holidays this year. We have been doing this for the past 3 years about every 3 months, in conjunction with Cape Cod Cares For The Troops. The packages are just now starting to arrive in Iraq and Afghanistan. We know because we've started to get letters and emails back from this batch of packages. Here are some examples of notes that we've received over the past year, I think this makes the boys, and the adults feel pretty good:

"I would like to thank you on behalf of the 332 Expeditionary Fuels Management Flight. We received your package today, and we are very grateful for your support and kindness. It’s always good to get a little piece of home while over here. You folks are the ones making the real difference back home, helping out in the community and supporting us over here. I wish all of you the best of luck and thank you again."
----
"I was on a tour in Kuwait last year that went from September through January 08. Needless to say, I missed all the holidays here at home. But where I was stationed, we received a lot of packages from all over the country. But one really hit home when the package(s) from your troop arrived.
So I took it upon myself to have a US flag flown over Iraq and additionally have a certificate that I wanted to present your troop to thank all of them for their wonderful support of our troops overseas.
Unfortunately I will not be here, so I am asking that TSgt (XXXXXXXXXX) present it on my behalf. BTW he is also an Eagle Scout and was also deployed the same time I was. He was in Iraq
I hope that you will accept this small token of my (our) appreciation for your support."
----
"I am extending a heartfelt thank you to you and your troops for bringing us the Christmas spirit so many miles away from home. My Soldiers and I appreciate what you and Troop 53 have done to show your appreciation to us for doing what we do to keep America safe.
You all can go to sleep and be assured that we are watching over your safety. We are Detachment 1, A CO 22D Chemical Battalion based at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland and pride ourselves on the fact that there are still people back home who will always care. The Soldiers of the detachment, and I, are grateful for what you sent us. Presently we have as much as we need and are asking for nothing more than to keep us in your prayers until we return home in the spring of next year. Again we thank you and wish you and your families a Happy Holiday. There is no need to worry because we are standing guard."
----
"Thank you so much. My name is XXXXXXXXX. I am a Lance Corporal in the United States Marine Corps. I'm from Hyannis, and I've been in the Marine Corps since February 2006. I left out of San Diego on a Navy ship and sailed around for two months before getting to Iraq. I can't say exactly where, but I am 'over there.' I just figured I would give you a little information on myself to open this letter. I got a package today from all of you. I want to say it was the best suprise I could have asked for. I haven't gotten any mail in a while (not because nobody loves me or anything, i just tell mom and dad not to send any because otherwise they would send a million), and this package truly brightened up my day. I work from midnight to noon 7 days a week, and I came in from a hard 12 hours work to see this package waiting for me. My face lit up as I picked through all of the goodies. A lot of my friends and fellow Marines around me got to share in the feast you gave me. We will snack happy for days! The hygiene gear and snacks were great, but the best part were the letters. I got little notes from many people I didn't know existed, and it really means so much! All we see on the news is how much everyone hates the war. We usually think they means they are against us, also, but you have proven us wrong. It is because of great American citizens like you that we win this war. Sure I am here doing the work, but if I didn't have the reassurance of the cause from people like you it would mean nothing. Our hearts wouldn't be in it, and the outcome would not be the same. So truly, I thank all of you for you love, support, and prayers. Keep doing what you are doing, and we promise to keep you safe.
Semper Fidelis
----

When we get letters like these, it reminds me how much better it feels to give than receive. This is a time of the year to work at that. We watched a classic on TV the other night... and I still love the part when Linus goes up to Charlie Brown after reciting a passage from Luke and says: "That's what Christmas is about Charlie Brown"

Keep in mind that if your smoke detectors are powered primarily on AC with 9V back-up, they are probably wired together. One "beeps" and they all "beep", just not at the same time. If one battery is on the "BEEP", chances are they all will be in the next few days. Replace them all so you only chase them once.

Don't take the battery out and forget it cause it stopped "beeping" either. I am certain at least one of the fire/rescue guys on this board has had to carry the body bag of the person who removed the battery from the "smokie" and forgot to replace it.

UTAlumnus how well did you enjoy your time in AUSTIN during college?? Ha Ha

ONly one of mine ata time beeps, one of them started right after I moved in. One more is up so high I don't have a ladder tall enough to reach it. I was thinking about hardwiring a UPS to that circuit anyway, they are on a dedicated circuit.

I believe the International Building Code requires them to be wired together. Of course, I don't know how old your home is, so that code may not have been in effect at the time of construction. YMMV Good Luck

Great post, very feel-good. Your Scouts are fortunate to have adults like you and the other adult leaders to help them develop traits like charity and compassion. And those service people receiving the care packages probably appreciate them more than us folks back home will ever truly know. Keep up the good work!

Here ya go...

http://patriotroom.com/fred-thompson-at-his-snarkiest-best/