Living Car Free - The Simple Life: Your Tips Please

I can't determine whether you meant getting fired or getting fed up and walking out in a huff. :D For me it would definitely be the latter. :o

If you are lucky, you get to choose the timing of your career's end. Actually, I think very few people leave there jobs for the simple life. HOWEVER, many people I know who become unemployed take a moment to reflect on where their life is going and often do spend some time exploring the simple life. Many people give up so much of their lives for the companies they work for and then get let go for no fault of their own. It is a sobering event, something like finding out that the spouse you dedicated yourself to never loved you back.

It is important for all employees to realize that when you miss important personal events in your life for work, keep in mind that companies are not loyal to employees, no matter how loyal the employees are to the company. I have seen very dedicted, hard working employees give up birthday parties, cancel vacations, miss their children growing up and then suddenly get tossed out of their jobs because of some noobie MBA executive's decision or a re-org or merger, or downsize or whatever. It happens every day in every corner of America. I suggest that we all take the time to enjoy the things we are working for NOW because you don't get them back.

For a lot of people I know, getting let go is a positive thing in the long run, if for no other reason than to make them more grounded and to help them get their priorities straight. As strange as it seems, I am happy that I was forced to get off the non-stop train. My life improved greatly - my hair is even starting to grow back (true!). Now I own my own company and am finally making money at it.

So, if you ever get the pink slip, do take the opportunity to make the most of it. Don't panic or mope around. Let it be a zen moment.

For a lot of people I know, getting let go is a positive thing in the long run, if for no other reason than to make them more grounded and to help them get their priorities straight. As strange as it seems, I am happy that I was forced to get off the non-stop train. My life improved greatly - my hair is even starting to grow back (true!). Now I own my own company and am finally making money at it.

One of the best things that happened to me was getting laid off a few years ago! I was a lab rat (photo lab tech), and my boss sold the business. The new owners had no interest in keeping a colour printing lab for a small business, in fact they just wanted the contracts - the facility was ripped out and sold for parts. Chemical photography was on its way out, few places in Ottawa had full colour darkrooms, and I was way over-qualified to work at a mini-lab. So I went back to the shooting side of things and now work for myself. I now know many self-employed people, and we all find the lifestyle it allows is far, far better.

Contrast this to a close friend of mine. He works ten hour days (plus a 45 min. commute each way) and often works 6 or 7 days/week. Sure he makes good money, but he is never home with his partner, and friends get to see him once every other month or so. He's tired, stressed, and has abandoned his hobbies. He's joked that he would have a better life flipping burgers for minimum wage... he still doesn't realise that I am serious when I say, "so why don't you?"

The Simple life... BUM LIFE baby!
So you wanna be a wino.
Well, it ain’t as easy as you might think. I mean, you can’t just wake up and find yourself homeless, living in an alley and stinking of cheap wine! You gotta work at it. But first lets delve into the many advantages of being a wino.
No rent! The world is your bed and breakfast! Except you don’t actually get a bed and you can forget about the breakfast part. Otherwise, they’re pretty much the same!
No bills! Last I checked, you can’t mail a bill to a guy who doesn’t have a mail box. Sure we’re crazy. Crazy like a fox with a lot of mental problems!
No girl trouble! Believe it or not, most ladies are not drawn to winos. I know, I know, why wouldn’t a woman be drawn to a rugged, self-reliant outdoorsy type who isn’t afraid of squirrels? (More about that later!)
You always know where all your stuff is! So long as you keep your shopping cart close. And believe me, you’re going to want to. There are a lot of thieves out there who would kill to get their hands on your prized twist-tie collection.
You’re your own boss! If you want to lay in a Dumpster until 3pm (and who doesn’t?), you can! You can lay there all day if you like. And if you lay in the right one, they’ll bring the food right to you! It’s like breakfast in bed and you never know what you’ll get! Also, since you are the boss, make sure you give yourself a lot of breaks. And, if you feel like it, a long, long vacation.
You never settle into a rut! Man, you can wake up anywhere.
Society doesn’t expect much out of you! No one expects you to do nothing! When people start looking for answers to the big questions, like world peace, crime rates and the national deficit, they are very unlikely to hassle you for the answers.
Plenty of wine drinking time! You write your own schedule, man. No one can come up to you and say, “Hey, Cincinnati Slim, you sure 7am is a good time to be drinking wine?” Because it just so happens 7am is an excellent time to drink some wine!
You can act as crazy as you want! Go ahead, man! Get goofy! People expect it out of you. Don’t let ‘em down!
Signs the Wino Lifestyle Might Be For You
1.) You have gazed upon a shopping cart and thought, “I wonder how much of my stuff I could fit in there?”
2.) You find it painfully difficult to walk past a Dumpster without taking a gander inside.
3.) You prefer the sort of wine that comes with the easy screw-top cap.
4.) You really, really like camping out.
5.) You can hear someone dropping change from three blocks away.
6.) You consider squirrels to be your mortal enemies. (More about that later!)

The Five Prime Wino Qualities
.) Laziness
2.) Craziness
2.) Hoochiness
4.) Moochiness
5.) Disdain for the institutionalized belief in Metzger's classic Work=Reward=Security=Comfort paradigm