As you're checking on your seasonal preps, don't forget to update or start backing up imporant papers and photos. Even if you never have to bug out, copies are good to have in the event of fire, flood, or other disaster.

*If you've made changes in acquiring id's, make a photocopy, front and back. You may want to store one set of photocopies some place safe away from your house. I keep a photocopy of my driver license in my office BOB. There might be a time where you lose/can't get your original, and the photocopy may let you return to your neighborhood if it has been blocked off.

Should your credit cards ever get stolen, you can refer to your photocopy and immediately call the companies to report the loss. Don't forget to file a police report, too.

If you haven't digitalized old photos or old letters, this is a good project. Store at least one CD in a safe place away from your home.

If you are doing hard to replace genealogy work, seriously consider making a copy of your research (or add to GEDCOM file) and send it to the LDS Library in Salt Lake.

Not everything needs to be backed-up, but my rule-of-thumb: if you can't easily replace it, make a copy.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

Answers

Brooks -- part of this post is directed at you, re a concern you raised on another board about what preps to make if you might have anything to return to.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

might not have . . . I need more iced coffee.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

Meemur, thanks for the reminder. I need to copy a lot of papers and yes I have extensive family history that needs put on a CD and pictures too. Those I am going to distribute to the kids, so one copy should survive :)

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

Meemur, yes I have been thinking about that. The nostalgic stuff is taken care of, at least.

Had a bit of a heart stopper yesterday. Someone walked into my office (someone in my department at my level but much newer) to tell me that she would probably be laid off soon. There was a moment I thought she was talking about me. Usually they tell you the day you are released. So, I better start printing out stuff on my work computer, like my resume, just in case.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

Brooks,

Here is hoping that it is just a rumor about the girl. I would hope that you don't have anything to worry about! Keep us posted.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

In these times, Brooks, it's not a bad idea to have a dozen copies of one's resume and at least two "generic" cover letter templates. by generic, I mean all the writer has to do is fill in the salutation. I have a one-pager and a two-pager, depending on the position. I try to update these about every three months, but I must admit that I haven't updated my resume this year. All in good time . . . Canning and drying is more important right now.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

Apoc -- hang in there! I hope you're okay this week.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

Meemur, I have quite a collection of "not a bad ideas", but this one may have been bumped up a ways. Meanwhile, today a bunch of support staff are being let go, and my secretary has reason to believe she is a candidate. The two of us are kind of in the situation where we probably deserve to be let go, based on less than stellar effort this past year, but I'm willing to let it be just a wake up call! I'd much rather work at keeping this job than looking for a new one.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

I hear ya, Brooks. Good luck!

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

Aw hell. You know I know how you feel. I'm just waiting for Sweetie's new firm to call and say it's all off after all. The stress is a bitch. Out of all the resumes Sweetie sent out in Colorado, not one company responded asking for an interview. Some headhunter called the other day to see if he would be interested in a contract job in Winston-Salem, that's it. But if he didn't have this job in Charleston, he would probably have taken the W-S job.

American Airlines announced today they're laying off 8,000.

What amazes me, though, is the amount of new construction in and around Charleston and they're still selling building lots. Is it all coming from those folks who ripped off their shareholders or what? I know they're building a beautiful new bridge down there and also a new container terminal, maybe builders are counting on the jobs and tourists brought by those two things.

Anyway, hope you've got a nice cushion and that if you DO get laid off, you apply for unemployment compensation. We all paid taxes to fund it so take advantage of it. Just be prepared to pay extortionate sums for COBRA if your firm won't carry you on its books. Might be able to do a bit of negotiating on that if worst comes to bloody awful.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

I don't believe I'm currently on the block (I'm not "support staff" in the sense I meant above), but as of last week I thought my department was untouchable because we were doing better than most. The other paralegal at risk has had almost no work recently, and part of me is wondering whether she is being intentionally sacrificed to make sure the rest of us had the hours to still look good. Or maybe departmental management just blew this one.

Thanks to my y2k mentality, I have a very nice cushion, although I would prefer to be building up than drawing down retirement savings.

Besides, aren't all layoffs supposed to happen at the BEGINNING of gardening season?? I think so. I think I'm safe until at least next spring.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

Ack! And here I am quitting my job ...

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

Helen, that wasn't a job, that was a jail sentence!

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2002

Perhaps you've heard that the USPS is going thru a transformation?

Yeah, the congressional committee said no to what the USPS wanted, but, just like the board of governors saying no to the rate hike, the USPS isn't listening.

These days folks are really upset about the crap that upper management [in our facility, I mean] is trying to do. Most all of us actual working people feel that they should start cleaning out upstairs, if you know what I mean.

-- Anonymous, August 14, 2002

Damn, just read IBM's layoffs will total 15,600. They employ around 15 thou in the RTP office--bound to be a good number laid off from there.

I don't understand it. Houston used home sales are selling in record numbers, although the new 500k homes aren't doing so hot, and I hear consumer sales in general are still holding up. I guess people think it won't happen to them or, if they're like us, buy the house anyway, gambling on the (new) job to hold up. What choice do we have? No landlord is going to rent to us with all these cats anyway! I certainly wouldn't.

-- Anonymous, August 14, 2002

Good to see you, too, Beckie!

Yep. Unemployment has been rising among lower and mid-management telcom types. I keep harping about getting out of debt and operating on a cash-only basis, but it falls on deaf ears.

-- Anonymous, August 14, 2002

Around here (Greater Boston), new housing is doing better than old housing, because folks are afraid to upgrade and so not so many older homes are put on the market.

-- Anonymous, August 14, 2002