If my life were a Greek Tradgedy......

[DMC3165]

It would go something like this........

Ever since I got 3165 back things have been going fairly well for me. Paid off some debts, had a second baby last year. Life's been good. During the winter I got offered a nice cush job, it wouldn't be available until mid summer but if I wanted it I had to submit my resume early otherwise I'd get shut out. So I decided I wanted it and began to liquidate my business assets. I'm an independent contractor for a larger company which means I own a truck and a support vehicle. I had some loans that needed to be paid and I was even up enough where if I sold everything I'd break even. Which was fine because things have been kind of slow work wise, livable but slow. So my family and I decided this new job is in everyone's best interest. So I spoke with the operations manager at the new place 2 weeks ago and he said i'm at the top of the list and should be getting called any day. That same day I finalized a deal to sell my truck which is the main bread and butter of my business and the last thing I needed to get rid of. I needed $58,000 to pay it of and got 60. But that's ok I made plenty of money with it while I had it. The very same day I got a phone call from my wife. She had appendicitis 2 weeks earlier. As it would turn out when they checked her appendix after it was removed she has cancer. She's 33.

Now fast forward to today. I've been renting a truck from the company I've been contracted to for the past ten years just to keep my medical going and keep money coming in while I wait for my new job to start. Except every time I call about the new job the only answer I get is any day now. My current job is up in arms about what i'm doing and yesterday they told me the truck i'm renting is not permanent, get yourself a truck soon or get lost. Wich means i'll lose my medical. So now i'm faced with going back into a business which was on the downside to begin with. Or risk losing my medical and putting my wife in greater jeopardy.

Having said that if I need to buy another truck I need cash and the only way to get it.......You guessed it. 3165 would have to go up for sale. Which for me would just compound everything truly making this one of the worst times in my life except for the time I originally sold 3165 back in 2001. I don't really know what i'm going to do just yet but I have extremely limited time to think about it. I'm not a religious person, but I could certainly use some divine intervention right about now.

Maybe we'll just get lucky again?

[Farrar]

Life's ups and downs can be really, really hard. The best we can do is to muster enough energy to muddle our way through it and remember that it will get better, given enough time.

Unsolicited advice: as difficult as it may be, try to get plenty of sleep. Stress may be a mental thing, but it has awful effects on the body, and the best way to recover is to make sure you get at least eight hours of sleep per night as often as you can. Also, during times of stress your body uses more B vitamins, so bear that in mind --and a lack of B12 can make you feel depressed, which can lead to a vicious circle of stress and more stress.

I wish you both the best and look forward to seeing you on the other side of your current difficulty... perhaps in Orlando 2012? Fingers crossed. :)

Farrar

[DeLorean]

Keep the car, what sort of truck are we talking here? You should be able to go down to your local auto auction and pick up an early 90's 2.3l or V6 ford ranger for sub $1000 if that's what you need to stay in business.

Or are we talking big trucks here?

[DMC3165]

Yes big trucks. Cheap ones are $25K so that's where the D comes into play.

Thanks for the advice Farrar, it is greatly appreciated. :)

[SamHill]

Put both the car and other assets of like value up for sale (if any,) and let fate decide. Those offering the job have over represented and have shown themselves unreliable at best. Either way it goes, you're giving something up.

[Teirae]

is this new job worth it? seems like they are pulling you along and thats not something you need. you need something stable so you dont have to worry about that and can focus on your family.
Hope things work out for you soon also hope your wife is alright.

sent via my vortex manipulator

[DMC3165]

is this new job worth it? seems like they are pulling you along and thats not something you need. you need something stable so you dont have to worry about that and can focus on your family.
Hope things work out for you soon also hope your wife is alright.

sent via my vortex manipulator

For me the new job was a carreer change. For the better part of the last 15 years i've been self employed. The new job was for a major oil company as a facility enginner. It's everything i don't have now (vacation pay, union position, paid medical, overtime pay etc etc and most importantly set hours!!!!) In my current business owner operators are a dying breed. it's become too exspensive to operate and maintain truck tractors based on the rising costs of fuel, parts, new emission controls on trucks not to mention the rising costs of purchasing my own health insurance. it's been getting harder and harder that's why the new job was so appealing.

But right now my main concern is my wife and just doing what's best for her if selling my car and buying another truck is what's best for her only so i can keep my current health coverage then that's what i'll do. So far things are looking good for her but we're still in the very early stages of testing. Hopefully we'll know more by next weekend.

The other job would've been nice though.

[08087]

For what it's worth, give the "New job" people a dead line, tell them you need to know by date XXX and that blowing in the wind is not the way you do business (dress it up a little though). If they are legit have them give you a formal offer and let them know what is at stake for you. (Do not make them aware of your family medical problems).

If they do not come through in a timely manner buy back your truck via whatever means you deem necessary (only you know your personal situation though and though).

Best of luck to you and the family!

[Roman Legion]

Life's ups and downs can be really, really hard. The best we can do is to muster enough energy to muddle our way through it and remember that it will get better, given enough time.

My entire life thus far, I have been waiting for an "up" to happen, very doubtful that will happen.. But I know what he means, if you recall my posting not long back about my medical issues, I had no insurance and was told that I had to pay $900 up front for my operation, being unemployed I had to leave that to fate. I read an article on the internet about alcohol fixing my problem and I did it.. I only assume it killed the bacteria and made the issue hunky dory.


is this new job worth it? seems like they are pulling you along and thats not something you need.

I am getting very tired of every f**king business doing this, even the majority of jobs now that only seem to pay minimum wage do this. Nobody can survive on that. I am seriously considering going the way of Gio Andollo and not having a job and living off $10 a week! Overall, I am just sick of these fascists treating people like sh*t. I have very little hope for the future and I become more apathetic about it each day. Never buy any trailers from Utility, having worked there, they are the biggest fascists I have ever worked for and I recieved the worst treatment imagineable!


I hope even if my problems don't work out, your's do; I hope your wife comes through alright and that much I have a feeling she will. You gotta do what you gotta do, but don't make a decision on the car until you have no other alternatives, just keep it as a last resort option, as it would be a shame to lose the car twice.

[Canon20DFan]

Don't lose the med coverage right now. Even if you get a new job, you'll have to be careful that the coverage will "grandfather" in your wife and will start soon enough to cover the costs.

I had a company offer me a job, send an offer letter and even have me take a drug test...but the contract that was to pay for me didn't come through. Had I resigned from an employer (I was self-employed at the time) I would've really been screwed. I called the out-of-state office and let them have it over the phone, but realistically there was little I could do legally.

Cars can be acquired and so can jobs. Take care of the fam.

[DMCMW Julee]

My heart goes out to you and your family as you try to navigate around so many difficult roadblocks. Your DeLorean "family" is supportive of you regardless of whether or not you are a current owner or not.

Being a small business owner myself, I understand the pressure to succeed not only for you and your family, but also for the families who make your business possible.

In the end, you will find Divine Guidance by leaning in and trusting that the needs of your family will be met as you make the tough decisions one day at a time. If that means you have to sell your DeLorean...sell. If that means you change careers...change. If that means you hang on to your business...hang on.

As hard as difficult times are, I have always looked back at the blessings that came my way by going through the storm instead of trying to go around it.

Hang in there and keep us posted on your wife's progress and your job situation so that we can continue to encourage you!

[DMC3165]

Thank you all very much for the comments and kind words. They are all very much appreciated right now.

We are cautiously optimistic while still waiting for all the testing to be completed. The next thing is a two step visit to the hospital which we hope to have done by the end of the week. I wish we had it done already but my insurance is slow with pre-authorizations. Based on the two recent visits with her oncologist, she has a very good chance of coming through this ok but as a precaution they will still remove some of her lymph nodes.

As for the job, the new one is in limbo. Several employees I know have all said to me recently "just sit tight your next" but I still can't get a straight answer out of the company. They say maybe by the end of the month but who knows at this point. As for my current job, they have been very supportive. Even going so far as to offer me assistance getting another truck which is not cheap proposition for either of us. (The average price for one now is about $135,000.) So unless something happens very soon I will most likely stay put. Stability is everything right now.

As for the car. I still haven't decided what to do just yet. No one want me to sell it including my wife who said there is no need to sell it just yet. Not to mention the fact since I sold everything else it is now my only car and I am relying on it daily. Which is actually working out quite well. In addition to being just a basic form of transportation. I find when I am involved with it mechanically it is a welcome distraction from everything else going on. I don't want to sound shallow but this is difficult for all of us here right now and I guess everyone deals with things differently.

I'll keep posting........

[DMCMW Julee]

Chris,

You are definitely not being shallow! For all the years that Dave was in the rat race of the corporate world, he used to come home and work on his DeLorean as a way to relax. It was a pleasure to define a project, do the work, and see the finished product. His daily grind often was like being on a hamster wheel with no beginning and end and I use to call the time he spent in the garage his therapy!

Do what feels right for your family! :)

[Roman Legion]

This song is for you, it helps me a lot..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pudOFG5X6uA

[DMC3165]

Thank you Julee, and everyone else for your compassion. Both my wife and I appreciate all the words of encouragement very much!

[DMC3165]

Just thought i'd follow up with this. As of now my wife's preliminary test results have come back ok. But the doctor wants to wait until she has her scans done next week before his final diagnosis.

The bad news is I was told today by my current employer I have until next Friday to come up with a truck or I'll be terminated. So far all my attempts to do so have cone up with nothing.

So if anyone is looking for a professional driver / mechanic and offers major medical I might be available on the 20th. There are no other words but "OY VEY!!!!"

[Farrar]

Still wishing you the best, Chris!

Farrar

[DMC3165]

Still wishing you the best, Chris!

Farrar

Thanks Farrar!

[crazycro]

Hey Chris, hope everything works out for the best bud!!

[DMCMW Julee]

Happy about the good preliminary news for your wife! Praying for clear scans next!
For you Chris - praying for some clarity, peace and maybe even a truck for next week!

[DMC3165]

Just wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We finally got some good news yesterday. According to all the scans and tests my wife had there is no further evidence of cancer. She will still have to have surgery to be sure but both the oncologist and the surgeon agree that it is just as a precaution. So everyone here is breathing a huge sigh of relief this morning. So thanks again everyone, the power of positive thinking really helps.......

Oh and I still have a job.
:smile:

[sean]

Outstanding, so very happy for you!

[crazycro]

Wonderful news bud!! I'm very happy for you and your family.

[Dangermouse]

That's great Chris !

[dvonk]

awesome, Chris! i know the relief you feel; my girlfriend had a massive kidney tumor (and kidney) removed a year ago... waiting for the pathology report was tense, but it turned out to be a benign oncocytoma.

so, no cancer = wonderful news! :thumbup:

[stevedmc]

Wow, I just read this thread. You certainly will be in my prayers. I hope things work out the best for you and your wife.

[DMC3165]

Thanks guys!

[TheDutchTexan]

+1 on your wife! +1 on still having a job!

I hope things stay good from here on out!

[Teirae]

Thats awsome!!

sent via my vortex manipulator

[DMCMW Julee]

Wonderful on both fronts! :)