Life just got really bad, really quick. I need some advice.

John Welsh said:

Toledo bar w/ alt rock bands in the late `80's.. Frankie's? 

Yep. I helped Rob out at the door occasionally. There or the Main Event down the street.  People don't realize the number of future famous people that came through there.  Trent was never there but Jack White played there a few times with Goober and the Peas out of Detroit.

Another fun fact, if you have kids that were into "silly bands" about 10 or 12 years ago, that was Rob that invented them.  I think he made about $15 million on them, spends most of his time in Vegas now I hear.

In reply to John Welsh :

Yes, the Winking Lizard, that was it. 

In reply to jgrewe :

Good for Rob.  I grew up in Toledo with my high school, St. Francis on one side of my neighborhood and The University of Toledo on the other side of my neighborhood.  I lived around the area till 2008 then moving to Sandusky.  I was at Frankies a lot in the early years when it was still Frankies Underground (in the basement.)  

If you were around back then you'll probably be interested in this recent news....89x Radio lasted 30 years but just 3 months ago they switched to a country format.  

In reply to John Welsh :

Dang, 89X was the only station I missed when I moved to Florida. I went to Whitmer, '85. The Underground days right after he convinced his mom to let him do it was pretty cool. You and I probably jammed to Tones on Tail together and didn't even know it,lol.

In 10 days we'll be packing up our uhaul trailer and in 12, starting our drive to Cleveland!  I'm pretty excited and a bit stressed, but I stress about everything. 
 

I've been applying to every entry-level IT job I can find and I've discovered an interesting way that COVID-19 has affected things. Most of the places I've applied for are fully remote. They're all working from home. Which means when you call a company to follow up on your resume, they almost never answer. If you're lucky enough to be able to leave a voicemail, they don't return it.  I've always been the kind of person to call and follow up on every job application I submit so not being able to do that is pretty stressful to me.  Instead the ball is totally in their court and I just have to wait on them to email me. Fortunately some have, and I have several phone interviews set up this week. Fingers crossed!

I know some will think I'm crazy for this, but I've been watching the weather up in Cleveland and I am so excited for snow!  We also realized my wife didn't own a heavy winter coat. We went to the local goodwill and lucked out - we found a nearly-knee-length thick wool coat for her, charcoal gray, classy, and her size, for $10. Score. 

In reply to infinitenexus :

It may sound cheesy, but I'm proud of you. You were in a tough situation and predicament and you created and executed an action item list to improve your situation and in short order. 

In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :

Thanks Captain, I really appreciate that. It's been a pretty hellacious two months - having my parents tell us they hate us out of nowhere, being briefly homeless before moving into a crackhouse, dropping $10 grand to fix and get rid of the Mustang. I'm pretty grateful I've been able to keep my head above water. 
 

We're both super excited to move and we can't wait. I'm still receiving unemployment as well as the GI bill and my disability so we're okay on money for now but I won't feel comfortable until I get my first paycheck from a solid IT job. It'll happen, just gotta keep at it!

infinitenexus said:

...and I am so excited for snow!...  

Quoted for posterity, haha.  Ohhhh to be young again :p  I'm obviously just making jokes, good luck on your drive and move.  Lots of people live in Cleveland.  It can't be all that bad...  The nicest uber driver I've ever had was in cleveland.  My 540i came from Cleveland (ish).  The sellers were also exceptionally nice and awesome.   

We got our heaviest snow of the year overnight. Windy too so we had some drifting too. I opened the garage to this. My wife's red Dodge Grand Caravan, my green Prius and black Montero. 

Small black dog in snow... 

Progressive Insurance is HQ'ed in the area and generally close to where you'll be.  Big company, likely lots of IT.  

I have two nephews in Columbus, OH who work IT for Nationwide Insurance which is HQ'ed in Columbus.  They both have had good careers there.  

Again, the hospitals, Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, are big deals in your area making them the #1 and #2 employer.  Start with something, any job under their roof and later move into something better, still under their roof.   

Root is also out of C-Bus, if analytics are of interest in addition to IT, they may be a fit. I was today years old when I learned that Ohio was such an insurance company hot bed. 

In reply to John Welsh :

What I've been doing is looking for jobs on sites like LinkedIn and indeed and then going directly to the employer's website to apply. Hopefully that's a good tactic. I applied for some IT jobs at the Cleveland clinic but didn't meet the minimum requirements (many IT jobs are a bit notorious for ridiculous requirements for entry level jobs) but I have a phone interview with them tomorrow for their program for veterans, so hopefully that can help me get my foot in the door. I'll check out the university websites as well, thanks. 
 

Also I love those snow photos and can't wait! My love for snow seems to go against all logic. Born and raised in Florida, full of arthritis and back pain and I can't wait to shovel snow. 

In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :

I'm learning new things about Cleveland every day. Sherwin-Williams is also HQed there and apparently a fantastic company to work for 

In reply to infinitenexus :

That's because it's Ohio and watching paint dry is considered an exciting hobby. It's why Sherwin-Williams even encourages people to inquire about it. 

https://careers.uhhospitals.org/professional-administrative/

Yes, Sherwin-Williams too.  Key Bank is a big deal right down town Cleveland.  

There is also a large VA Hospital in your area.  Being a vet, also dig into GovJobs

Cleveland also has a Federal Reserve Bank downtown.  Might be a place that being able to get military style clearance is an asset.  
https://www.clevelandfed.org/en/careers/search-jobs.aspx
If you don't know what a Fed is, it's generally the bank of banks.   Here is some from their website:  ...provides payment services to financial institutions and the US government, and supervises banking and other financial institutions.  Contrary to a common misperception, the Cleveland Fed’s employees are not government employees, and the Federal Reserve does not receive funding through the congressional budgetary process. The Federal Reserve is an independent entity within government. It is not owned by anyone and is not a private, profit-making institution.

Eaton Corp is HQ'ed in Beachwood, OH so close to you.  https://www.eaton.com/us/en-us/company/careers.html

20+ years ago I helped my friend land an IT job at Progressive.  He's still working for them.  Let me know if you'd like me to put you guys together.

infinitenexus said:

Also I love those snow photos and can't wait! My love for snow seems to go against all logic. Born and raised in Florida, full of arthritis and back pain and I can't wait to shovel snow. 

Given the current forcast, this may still be here when you get here.  Low of -2f tonight.  Let me know if you want to come do some shoveling when you get here!

Driveway next to the camaro was cleared around 1am this morning.  Thankfully the neighbor cleared the main drive with his tractor this morning.  

Bonus about living in the Midwest is that your car gets drift mods overnight!

In reply to Dead_Sled :

Next time I come up there I need to come check out your compound.  Any man with a hearse is worth having as a friend.

In reply to John Welsh :

Thank you, John.  You have been nothing but helpful and I am grateful for it.  I'm checking each of those links for job postings.  Working for the Fed would be interesting, to put it mildly.  That would look fantastic on a resume though!  Ultimately, my goal is over the next 3-5 years build up a solid career in IT that will make me a valuable enough employee that moving to Canada and finding employment there will be easy.  Lofty goals but that's why I'm shooting for 3-5 years now.  I'm trying to be realistic.

In reply to docwyte :

I'll hit you up.  Thanks!

In reply to Dead_Sled :

Honestly I can't wait!  

I think I'll start a new thread in a few minutes.  I'd like to have a positive one of The Wife and me starting our new lives, not one that starts with a lot of negativity and bad memories.  I still need to post some pictures of the crackhouse as well haha.

Stampie (FS) said:

In reply to Dead_Sled :

Next time I come up there I need to come check out your compound.  Any man with a hearse is worth having as a friend.

The biggest advantage of having a hearse is that when you haul a body around in the back of it the authorities don't automatically assume that you're a person of interest. 

Ambulances are better though, you can proclaim that you found them like this and you were attempting to save them. 

QuasiMofo (John Brown) Forum Supporter said:

Bonus about living in the Midwest is that your car gets drift mods overnight!

Is there a way within your budget that you can raise the spoiler another three to four inches? It's pulling air effectively off of the rear windshield but you're not yet getting it off of the top of the roof to maximize available downforce. Either raising it up or extending it back further will improve its effectiveness. If you extend it back further then you may need to run a splitter or canards on the front as your steering may start to get lighter.