Craigslist, St. Patrick's Day, car problems, oh my

I figured this might be a good opportunity to provide links to economic information that I find online that may be able to help others. Or really anything else that I find interesting. So, let's start with that...

First off, here's an interesting article on CNN regarding the unemployed turning to Craigslist for help. I found this one to be particularly interesting, especially the fact that people are finding help.

Next off, Yahoo! Finance has an article for those of you still employed, and looking to keep your jobs.

And finally, in the spirit of St. Patrick's day (I am 1/4 Irish, after all), MSNBC has an article entitled The History of St. Patrick's Day.

Now, on to more personal business. I mentioned the Check Engine light on my car in yesterday's post in somewhat of a joking manner. I just wish that I could laugh about it. I'm not really one of those "God is out to get me!!!" types of people. Well, maybe somewhat, but I'm not too bad about it. But when my wife loses her job, and a couple of days later my car's Check Engine light turns on...well, I've gotta wonder if I spent a previous lifetime killing bunny rabbits or something. In all seriousness, it seems that at least for me, I go through periods in my life where bad news tends to pile up on top of itself until I feel like I'm drowning. This is definitely one of those times. I find myself wondering, rather fearfully, just what other bad things are going to happen right now. For example, how safe is my job?!?

This may sound like the ravings of a mad and/or depressed person, and while madness is never completely off the table, I think I tend to have a fairly reasonable outlook on life. In any event, if I am depressed now, rest assured that this too shall pass. It's just difficult to rise above the turmoil when you're neck-deep in it. I can imagine that most people, when they look back on their lives, wish that they hadn't made such a big deal out of so many little things. I sure wish I could be better about that. And I sure hope that when I look back on my life, this period does in fact turn out to be "no big deal".



I'll leave you with a song verse from one of my favorite bands. Unfortunately, it aptly describes my mood today:
She dances in a photograph
When it was good to joke and have a laugh
But that was yesterday, if only today

The verse is from Flogging Molly's song Factory Girls. If you haven't heard of them, and you don't mind music that can get heavy/fast, check them out. They have quite a few videos on Youtube. Since the sound is very Irish, today's the perfect chance to discover them!