HI ALL

well,,,, it has been 5 years since my new birthday.  Not a day goes by that I don't look in the mirror and say "I did the right thing".  It has not been easy; but it has been worth it.  Although I don't know if I would do the Plastic Surgery again. well,,,, yes, I would I had to get rid of the extra skin. 
 Heath wise I'm great.  I feel great.  Just the current job situation, sucks. (no job for over a year) so the stress of that is upon me; and thank goodness I'm healthy enough to handle the stress.  I honestly believe that if I not had GB Surgery I would be on the other side of dirt. 

I know I have not been on here for a while.  I've been busy enjoying life.  But I'm more than willing to answer questions about any step of the process to the best of my ability.
thank goodness for this support group.  Everyone here has been a great help to me; and when I logged on today; I saw old friends still around here that are doing much better than I about  posting and being active. 

I'll strive to visit more frequently.

Congratulations on your successes.  It is good to see another winning perspective.  Thanks for stopping back in the LR.

Lou

Good to hear the good news  and as to the bad news (job)  oh well ..   

  What line of work are you in, btw?        Maybe someone on here might have some job leads for ya .. 

I've done computer tech support for 15 years.  Been a manager of technical teams.  Done Staffing/HR managment work.  I enjoy HR more than computer troubleshooting; however, what ever will pay the bills.  I used to commute over 4 hours each day.  Just don't want to continue that nightmare any more.   I am registered with almost every Staffing company with 40 miles of the house.  People in my area take one look at my former salary and run.  I Know salaries are much lower where I live compared to where I used to work.  I'm even willing to nearly cut my past pay rate in half  just to be in the target market.
  Things will work out.  I just have to wait for the Master of all to arrange the right time and place.

How mobile are you, as far as maybe moving?

  I have a very good budette .. her and her hubby (both VBGers, btw) who live in the San Antonio area and she does computer stuff ("Sr. Production Control Analyst") for one of the oldest national mutual funds cos. there   ..  They pay her an embarrassingly large salary (IMHO) for just an AS degree ..  but then she really knows her stuff and has former IT experience working for IBM and MBNA for many years up here in the Dallas area.  She got with some national headhunter co. and they got her the position when MBNA laid her off  ..  She did so well and the co. in S.A. liked her so much they bought out her contract with the headhunter co. and gave her even MORE pay and benefits .. 

  When I went to visit them last year in S.A. I was stunned at how much hiring was going on down there, in all sectors   ..  I saw "help wanted" signs up everywhere ..   Turns out S.A. is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the U.S. and is now even larger than the DFW metro area in population ..    I have friends from OR that worked for and got relocated by Toyota there when Toyota opened their new truck assembly plant near S.A. ..  Toyota even helped them get a new house and sell their old one in OR for them to relocate ..  (he does procurement of the raw materials for manufacture, or some such) ..  I also have an RNY nursing friend (a surgical assistant to an RNY surgeon, no less) who took a lucrative contract assignment recently to move down there from OK .. 

  So, you might want to consider a move to Texas ..  

I'll check into it.  I'm ready to get out of CA; but SWMBO (she who must be obeyed)  Says if you move your going alone...  I thing a move could be good for us.
thanks.

k Mark ..   Also, I had another thought:   one of my fellow Dr. A. patients owns one of the largest and oldest professional staffing agencies in Atlanta (again, if you can move) ..   I could forward your resume to him to see if he can match you up with something promising over there ...  If interested, please PM me and I'll give you my email address to email it to, and I'll forward it on to him from there .. 

Hey Mark,

Great to see you doing so well. 

"I honestly believe that if I not had GB Surgery I would be on the other side of dirt."  

Same here, brother!

Boner  
 

Do you get interviews. If they ask what you want can you say it's negotiable. If they ask for a salary history you need to preface it with well that was then this is now kind of thing.  Good Luck. IT is not a hot area right now.

yup get interviews.  one thing is that with the IT world everyone wants certifications. When I worked in IT last I was the manager and I spent my training budget on my staff getting certified not me. 
 As for the HR side; with being in a small company; and only being there 18 months; people say it isn't enough experience to be an HR manager; so they look at my long employement history and say 'he won't start at the bottom and not enough experience to handle everything"
Some company's understand the salary thing.  When we start the salary conversation; I often tell them there is more to a great job than dollars.  and the time at home vs. commuting is worth A LOT.
  I'm striving to keep positive.  Coming back here has been a great shot in the arm 
THANKS EVERYONE.