Russian Women Discussion

RWD Discussion Groups => Odds and Ends => Topic started by: ML on August 03, 2020, 02:45:40 PM

Title: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: ML on August 03, 2020, 02:45:40 PM
OK, so Moby wanted to know about those of you who were separated from partner during crisis.
Here, you can tell about you and the partner you are with during crisis.

= = = = = = = = = =

I have a UW wife.
I tested negative for Covid as was required for a follow up medical operation I had a few weeks back.
Wife took Covid test last week as was required for University students and employees.  Results not back yet.

We are quarantined together on our property in small town USA.
Not tired of each other . . . yet.

Having regular sex; but I feel somewhat guilty about this in view of the cases of several others here.

Keeping very busy with tons of outdoor projects.
Getting much more done than in a typical summer because wifey did not go to Ukraine for a month (or at all), as was the earlier practice.
We are watching another Great Courses lecture series on the History of Russia from Peter the Great to Gorbachev.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: krimster2 on August 03, 2020, 11:00:42 PM
I live with my wife and her two Russian girl friends and until the end of next month also with my two adult teen daughters, the oldest of whom is getting married in Moscow this October...

the women tend to cluster on different floors, my wife and her friends on the first floor and my daughters on the second, and me and my golden lab in the nice cool man cave basement...

every once in awhile, when I hear the wimmin raise their voices upstairs, then I know it’s time for me and my dog to head out the back door to the woods, afore one of em, comes downstairs to try and get me AND the dog to choose “sides”

me and the dog are WAY TOO smart for that

we just head out to the woods instead...

I pack a Glock 9mm model 17 in a nylon shoulder holster
the clip holds 16 rounds of 147 grain +P hollow points, plus one in the chamber

I take my dog over to the lower spots, where the ground is wetter and we can see animal tracks
the two of us work together, he keeps his nose to the ground smelling
and I keep my eyes peeled looking for tracks or fresh scat

since I have the piece...
I will let my dog decide what to do if we encounter whatever is makin tracks
as long as it ain’t over a 300 lb hog, I’ll let my dog get in one lick before I shoot that hog in the head
and he’ll be layin on the ground with his back legs kicking spasmodically

so, if my dog feels like he wants to make the play, I’ll let him “go for it”
I totally got his back and he knows it

well, anyway “thanks for listening” that’s what life is like now in southern Texas...

oh great!
now my wife came out into the forest lookin for me, probably to complain about something unimportant
now I gotta find a MUCH further away place for me and my dog to go, now that my wife found me here in this spot
sheeet man, this my favorite spot man...

 
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: CaptB on August 08, 2020, 02:04:07 AM
My wife and I are fine. We live in one of the lowest "zip codes" in Florida for Covid 199. My Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law tested positive (in Russia) about 1 1/2 months ago.......but are fine now.


Cant B
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: krimster2 on August 08, 2020, 12:34:34 PM
The devaluation of world currencies will cause the price of Bitcoin to rise 50x to 100x in the next five years.

As of this writing, the price of Bitcoin is approaching $11,800, having risen 6% in the last seven days

it’s risen about 270% since March 1

I made a stoopid amount of bitcoin in Russia over the last 3 yrs
first, with mining rigs in Moscow and then south of Irkutsk

then selling up to 6 rigs per month in our compound in siber
getting 10% monthly management and operating fee in bitcoin
ROI 6 months to customer
so in first year, customer gets 2X rig cost in bitcoin, gets 1X next year and so on

then after careful analysis by me and my crew
we leveraged some of our bitcoin
to start the very first anonymous edible cannabis distribution system in Moscva
that became known as the dark web

and all it REALLY was is a way to use drugs to convert dollars, euros, or ru-bley
into bitcoin and then suck up that bitcoin again...

so you play “all ends” in this game my friends
you “swap” your bitcoin for dollars for example
use that those dollars to buy an apartment on the first floor
you can convert into a shop

then someone takes that bitcoin and buys your edibles
so they just turn right around and give you that bitcoin right back
the “velocity” of bitcoin on my exchange is about an hour!
people are buying bitcoin from me to buy edible cannabis from me

and repaying me in real estate AND bitcoin

I only pay taxes if I sell, and I have no intention of selling
I’m building up a “rent portfolio” of properties to be shared by children and grandchildren some day



after careful review of all Russian financial disclosure laws
I found a useful loophole about property purchases based in cash

so...
if you get the seller to accept cash in whatever currency you’re trying to unload
and if he straight deposits this into the bank
then HE is the one who has to write the disclosure
and the origin of “his” money is from “sale of property”

this is how you clean cash in Russia, you buy property
if you’re smart, you buy property that earns you some kinda rent
and then you just keep buying more and more

should you ever want cash you can sell your property
but it’s ALWAYS better to hang on to it
and make improvements to it

 
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: DKMM on August 09, 2020, 06:32:42 AM
Mother in law from Ukraine came to visit us in the late winter and is still stuck with us now in August. Back when we didn't know how long this will last we upgraded her sleeping arrangements in our living room and prepared for the long haul. She was taught to plant food in turns of crisis and stock up on staples so we became preppers last April and started a Russian food themed garden. These people can easily handle times like this and are better prepared for crisis than Americans that is for sure.

She goes home next week. It's actually been great and we will all miss her. The kids especially.

The wife and I are doing well during quarantine and it has made us realize how lucky we are to have each other. She's not letting up on the home improvement projects though, it's like a never ending circle of work to keep us busy.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: krimster2 on August 09, 2020, 06:57:14 AM
same here!!

I have completed two home improvement projects to make our brick home in Texas more “fire-proof”

first was to replace the shingle roof, with a ceramic tile roof, underlaid with fireproof insulation
second, was to replace glass windows with armored shatter-proof windows, resistant to rocks, molotov cocktails, shotguns, etc

next up is rebuilding each door frame to have a steel to concrete connection
and then purchasing armored double doors

I also have 24/7 security monitoring with multiple video cameras

another month or so, and I’ll be ready....

couple of months ago when I was trying to drive to Houston
I got cut-off by a George Floyd protest, there was according to the media
a mob of several thousand people who were blocking roads including a freeway

I was less than 1/2 mile from them, and I saw a highly agitated group of people wearing masks
on the edge of the horizon in front of my car, that ran all the way from my left, all the way to my right

normally, my daughter uses siri to navigate for me
but how do you ask siri
“Siri, how do I drive around the riot”

so I said “screw it” called up my appointment and rescheduled

but now I KNOW....

for some reason I though I’d only have to deal with looters a couple at a time
based on what I saw, when the looters come
there will be thousands of em at once!

so how ya gonna save yourself from that, eh homeboy?

also, stay away from the food banks!
I went to one to check it out!

first, worse food ever!
second, hours of waiting
third, everybody's angry and tense
waiting for the right spark

life in Trump Land, "
"it'll all go away soon"
but...
apparently, "we the people" were the "it"


Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: DKMM on August 09, 2020, 07:24:24 AM
Funny, one of our projects is getting an iron door. These women love their steel doors... The stronger the better. And exterior cameras too. You can take them out of the FSU but...
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: BillyB on August 09, 2020, 09:00:19 AM

Good to see you're doing well DKMM. It's been awhile. My MIL actually has a green card so she's a legal permanent resident but she went to visit back home in Ukraine at the beginning of this pandemic and decided to stay there longer than planned. She doesn't feel a need to travel back anytime soon. If you ever decide to help your MIL get a green card, the fastest way is to do it while she's on a visit in the US.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: Jumper on August 19, 2020, 02:17:37 PM
Basically unaffected here, other than its made my work crazy busy.



Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: BillyB on August 19, 2020, 02:53:21 PM

Good to see you're doing well Jumper. I don't think one person on the forum said they are hurt a lot by COVID-19.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: msmob on August 20, 2020, 12:10:00 AM
May be they just do not post about it, BillyB?

I was glad to read ML is still having sex, though...







Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: Jumper on August 26, 2020, 07:32:36 AM

This is a state with few restrictions,relatively low population, few cases overall  and few per capita.
So the impact is minor in the overall picture here.
The neighboring states more stringent lock downs drove their residents to come here for recreation and shopping,and in many cases relocation. My home property value escalated quickly.,listings were already average of 3 days on the market, its basically 24 hrs currently. (Granted the home I sold here in 2014 was on the market 6 hours,and this one we purchased 2 hours after listing as I was on the street and the owner approached me about putting it up that afternoon )
Our child is attending school,in person, and things are normal other than being more busy than normal as mentioned.

The only effect this has had for our family is that I've often wanted to relocate to a more remote area,and this   overall ,along with social unrest,etc etc  ,likely more solidified that.
I'm a hermit at heart i suppose.

Obviuosly other regions, cities, and individuals were effected to a much higher degree.

Hope everyone is well and safe.




Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: ML on December 06, 2020, 03:08:24 PM
Would be good to hear from more of the gang on this topic . . . a good break from the political silliness that takes up 95% of the space here.

We are still doing OK and haven't divorced yet, despite no break from each other for close to a year.
Wife is keeping over-busy with math work related to her possible dissertation topic.
She is off into a relatively new math area called Dynamical Systems (which is not the same as engineering dynamic systems).  The concepts go back to Newton, but only with more recent powerful computers has serious work been accomplished.  It is becoming more of a hot topic because it has possible applications for medical problems including (as I understand it) mutations and spread of viruses, bacteria, etc.
She decided not to teach anything this Fall, and is making that same decision for Spring 2021.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamical_systems_theory
And, if you really want to get a queasy feeling in your stomach, try this:
http://math.berkeley.edu/~rezakhan/dyn-partII.pdf
Wife has typed up several pages of this stuff and asked me to proof read.  Obviously, I only proof read the sentences containing no math !!!

I have continued to be surprised at the interest shown by potential buyers of some of my R.E. parcels.
Excavators started working just this past week on a two acre heavily wooded parcel that we sold in September.
New owners want practically everything cleared except for some very large trees.  I wouldn't have done that.

Anyway, since the equipment was here, I talked to the head guy and we made a deal that his guys will clear just a house site for an adjoining parcel.  They will move the trees and brush over to the next parcel which will be safer for burning because cleared more.  One couple had already shown some interest there, and I wanted them to be able to get a better picture, if and when they return.

And just yesterday, one of nearby neighbor couples came over and asked what was available.  The woman's father had passed away last spring and the mother was wanting to  move closer to make it more convenient to spend time with her two grandchildren.  They were going to bring her by sometime this coming week for a look-see.

What's going on in your daily life ???
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: 2tallbill on December 06, 2020, 04:49:24 PM
I've been trying to spend less time on the political threads.
I've revived some oldies but goodies.

Minime is in Kindergarten, Smiley girl is married and has a baby. 
Angel Eyes garden finally froze up for the year so she is getting
ready for winter.

Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: Steamer on December 06, 2020, 05:09:11 PM
The wife has been remote teaching her math courses for the high school and for the community college. She works too much I think. I went back to work as a contractor for GM. It sucks but I get to keep my retirement and my Soc. Security.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: John Gaunt on December 06, 2020, 11:42:27 PM
I've been trying to spend less time on the political threads.
I've revived some oldies but goodies.

Minime is in Kindergarten, Smiley girl is married and has a baby.
Angel Eyes garden finally froze up for the year so she is getting
ready for winter.
How time has flown by.
It’s only been 6 or 7 years since they came to you, isn’t it?
So she married quite young?
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: BillyB on December 06, 2020, 11:58:33 PM
. . . a good break from the political silliness that takes up 95% of the space here.



You're missing out on history! My wife is busy studying 8+ hours a day. I'm busy with work and keeping up to date with politics.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: ML on March 05, 2021, 11:43:08 AM
Time for some more updates here since last posting was in early December 2020.

As I told elsewhere, I fell from ladder and broke several ribs on right side both front and back.
Back breaks most serious.
And also broke right side clavicle.
Yesterday went in for session with Anesthesiologist who injected me in two spots in back ribs.
Doesn't seem to have helped much yet; but we will see.
Scheduled to have operation to fix clavicle a week from today.
Got the two injections of Pfizer vaccine.
I am still limiting my interactions with the public and wearing face mask at all those times.

Wife is still keeping very busy on a couple of math research projects that hopefully will lead to published articles in scholarly journals and to a completed PhD dissertation.
She had doubted her ability to do original research in mathematics, but she has done it and professors tell her that she is quite capable.
She still is thinking she will want to get job mainly as teacher of math at university, but the professors are telling her that she really can make it as researcher at a major university.

She has not gotten Covid vaccine yet, as her age is not yet eligible in our state.
She has wanted to wait a bit longer anyway as it is uncertain how long the vaccines provide protection and she wants to go to Ukraine in summer.
Worried about her family in Ukraine with respect to Covid and they only have vaccines from China and India at this point.

Interest starting to pick up again from potential buyers for some of our one and two acre parcels for sale.

We have had a couple of fairly serious spats during this Covid lockdown . . . but are still together.

Somewhat interesting that we can just act normal a couple of days later.
A bad sign perhaps in that it may indicate that we just really don't care and are willing to slog on.
Could also suggest we are suppressing things that should not be suppressed
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: 2tallbill on March 05, 2021, 01:10:22 PM
So she married quite young?

Yes she did. She didn't come up to me and ask
Beeel, do you theenk I should get married and have
a baby??

Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: Shadow on March 06, 2021, 02:52:04 AM
Perhaps a good topic to update on my past year.
Last year from December I suffered bad vision, such that I did not want to drive when it was getting dark. This slowly got worse, until the beginning of February driving at all was becoming a tedious task. February 13 I went to the local eye clinic, they requested met to go to MaastrichtThere they told me I would be operated the next day.My right eye has been bad for years, and sigh in the left eye was down to 5%. Emergency surgery was needed to save it.The next day surgery went well, the eye lens that was 25 years old was replaced, a 360 degree laser correction done and the retina ear that had caused the problem was fixed.
What followed was a recovery process with slowly improving eyesight, and as sight was unstable prescription glasses were not possible. Which meant the COVID crisis was a blessing as I could not have left home (apart from local shopping) anyway.
From October the recovery was finished, I am back to about 90% which means I am alowed to drive legally.

During this time I have reorganised my work in such way that I work from home. If a meeting is needed I have an account with Regus to use their business lounges, but rule is I do not travel more than 30 minutes from home. Since October I added one day a week for full  travel, which is a three hour drive one way.
This means that for about a year I am mostly at home with MrsShadow and the Jrs. Our family has been extended with 2 Belgian Sheperds that cause us to have regular excersize.Rearranging my work has actually been positive towards my income, and on the days I travel there are 5 eagerly waiting my return.
Currently the country is still in lockdown. Only essential shops are opened. We miss our Russian supermarket as crossing the border with Germany is advised against, and frequently travelers are checked. Other shops are now open on appointment for a maximum of 10 minuets, and situation is not expected to change until the end of March. Luckily schools for the Jrs have re-opened since February.

Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: ML on March 06, 2021, 09:49:34 AM
Shadow, thanks for your interesting update.

Sorry to hear about your eye problems; but good to hear things seem to be improving.

I had cataract surgery on both eyes a few years back, and now have 20/20 in both eyes.
Need glasses to read.

One of my younger brothers (now deceased) had a lot of serious eye problems which substantially negatively  affected his life since childhood.  Not fun.

Hope the best for you and your family there in your large country.

Were you born and raised in an English speaking country . . . or just somehow acquired excellent English skills ?
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: Shadow on March 06, 2021, 10:48:50 AM
I am born and raised Dutch, but even in school somehow English was even easier than my native language. For my work I used it as well, and of course MrsShadow has good English skills.Which meant that the children are near fluent in 3 languages.

The talent hey have is not strange, I am reasonably fluent in 4 languages and know a dozen more from being able to follow the conversation to being able to buy groceries and read.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: ML on March 06, 2021, 10:53:30 AM
I am born and raised Dutch, but even in school somehow English was even easier than my native language. For my work I used it as well, and of course MrsShadow has good English skills.Which meant that the children are near fluent in 3 languages.

The talent hey have is not strange, I am reasonably fluent in 4 languages and know a dozen more from being able to follow the conversation to being able to buy groceries and read.

Quite amazing . . . at least to me.

One Ukrainian teacher here in our group is fluent in 4 languages.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: Shadow on March 06, 2021, 10:59:47 AM
Quite amazing . . . at least to me.

One Ukrainian teacher here in our group is fluent in 4 languages.
One of the things I had to learn during my life is that most people find what I do with ease quite difficult. Which is not always a blessing.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: ML on March 06, 2021, 12:47:05 PM
A lot of things (used) to come to me easily also; and not just academic type things.

e.g. Mechanical things, handy man things, etc.

As result . . . I (used) to get extremely frustrated when I could not quickly do or learn to do something.

Chess I can do, but card games still are a puzzle to me; I would lose my shirt if I were a gambling man at cards.

So I understand what you say about mixed blessing.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: Shadow on March 06, 2021, 01:55:01 PM
A lot of things (used) to come to me easily also; and not just academic type things.

e.g. Mechanical things, handy man things, etc.

As result . . . I (used) to get extremely frustrated when I could not quickly do or learn to do something.

Chess I can do, but card games still are a puzzle to me; I would lose my shirt if I were a gambling man at cards.

So I understand what you say about mixed blessing.
I understand you as well, though I always stayed far from mechanical things. I ten to either break things with my unexpected power or not understand how it works.My main weakness is however lack of drive to win. At chess I was school champion for 5 years, without every really studying it to high level. I just came and won, playing against my chess computer for a few days before to ensure not to make careless mistakes.In life it is similar I do things I like and not necessarily which give me the best amount of money. If I try or not, using my brains I beat most people at their own skill.
Over the past year MrsShadow and me have raised our first own dogs. With our uninformed training we got results that are on the level of a third group obedience training before getting stuck and adding some professional input. We blame the dogs being extremely smart.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: GQBlues on March 26, 2021, 01:46:39 PM
I can still remember the overall sentiment people had during New Year's eve last year! They couldn't wait to see 2020 in their rear view mirrors. There's an obviously very valid reason for that. Including us. 2020 was likely the worst year for most, if not all, Americans. I won't be surprised if this feeling was global either.


Politics aside, COVID-19 put a lot of hurting in all of us. I've never laid witness to how our society came to a grinding halt. Everything we took for granted, to the simplest things in our daily routine, were all of the sudden gone or forbidden. Miracle of all, was how our freeway systems were literally ghostly abandoned. It seemed so at times anyway.


Strangely though, and I really do firmly believe this, that someone 'up there' had always been looking out for me and my wife.


Wifey, as a CPA, suffered the same fate untold numbers of sr. managers/managers did from all of the big accounting firms in the nation. Wholesale furloughs in these firms was a result of the grinding halt businesses were subjected to. Tens of thousands of accountants were jobless, and networking and internet searches flooded the want ads and classifieds in an instant. Mrs. GQ was slated to compete for a position of hire, that more likely didn't exist at the time, against thousands. Wifey took this experience hard. The manner in which this was handled was brutal. I remember getting a recorded audio of the call her supervisor made on that proverbial 'cost-cutting' call. I remember hearing the last few seconds of the recording when the call was finished, and just before she cut the recording, how wifey broke out in tears and cries.


Tough as it was, and as I always default to, believed there's a reason why things happen in our lives. Besides, I thought, It's also good in a way for wifey to experience something like this. Since she arrived to the US, all the way to this moment, she seemed to be riding in the belief she's *indispensable*. Sometimes a little lesson in humility can actually make a person 'better' prepared for times like this.


Well, that 'sad', concerned feeling lasted a week. Wifey filed unemployment, and because of Trump's action, she found out she'll be entitled to receive $1,050.00/week. Net. She's facing a summer of empty freeways, closed shops, restricted beaches and money without anything to spend or travel on. To me, it's kind of funny in a way. Ironies like this always humor me.


A week after the 'juiced' compensatory programs she was riding on stopped, she received a call from a huge private global company in search of a sr. manager in their tax department. Since she specializes in FI/provisions, etc...she hung on the idea she'll be a great fit. But se didn't want to be too giddy about it and did her best to give out a good impression. She thinks her ex-boss gave the reference. Long story short, she interviewed twice with 4 different people from the company. Got hired, and she's been with them since August/September. It's actually crazy too because since the hiring, she's only gone to the office one time, and that was to get her photo taken and get a badge since the company building is in the shutdown mode and everyone was working from home. To this day, she's been working from home.


Wifey received a whopping $XX more than her last wage, 401K, self-discretionary PTOs, etc...She just received a $20K bonus from the company for their year-end closeout reports. She sent me a snapshot of the company's stock from the time of her hiring to recent. It's gone double.


Crazy, I say.


Me...well. Summer last year was more or less like any other. SOFI Stadium was for the most part, over. I also had a project that involved building a venue that included a theater. That almost stopped because of it. So for the most part, I was sailing along unconcerned about the challenges brought about by COVID. Our tenants, that we can't do anything about anyway, were surprisingly able to make payments. At times partially, which is OK under the circumstances.


Then an offer came. Discussions ensued. Negotiations, phone calls, meetings and finally - an agreement. I left my firm and partnered with 4 other guys and started our own construction company. Late last year, all the way to the start of this year, was brutally busy.


It seemed the moment my wife got over her anguish and anxious circumstances, I elected to start mine.


Considering this, in as much as I still think 2020 was a 'bad' year - in hindsight - its' been a wonderful time for me and Mrs. GQBlues.


How about you? How did 2020 treated you and yours?
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: ML on March 26, 2021, 04:41:11 PM
Hi GQ, very nice write-up.  Thanks for sharing.
However, before others start to chime in . . . would you consider moving your write up to a previous thread that was started on similar theme.
Thanks

http://www.russianwomendiscussion.com/index.php?topic=24507.0
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: Gator on March 26, 2021, 05:26:08 PM
Congratulations GQ!

Two magnificent career events for wifey and you.   :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

Your post reminds me of starting my consulting partnership eons ago.    In ten years we grew from 3 to 3,000 employees, working mostly for manufacturing clients.  Most of our growth resulted from geographic expansion by finding startup partners around the US and then internationally. 

I wish you the same joy of success!  

BTW,  it was not all joy along the way, such as having to use home equity to make payroll......a very sobering time, especially with a wee one crawling around the house.     
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: tfcrew on March 26, 2021, 07:18:19 PM
Wifey filed unemployment, and because of Trump's action, she found out she'll be entitled to receive $1,050.00/week. Net. She's facing a summer of empty freeways, closed shops, restricted beaches and money without anything to spend or travel on. To me, it's kind of funny in a way. Ironies like this always humor me.
$1050 a week---Basically $4515 a month ...how did that happen? West coast prices?
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: GQBlues on March 26, 2021, 10:47:30 PM
ML-

I wouldn’t mind the merge. I actually started the post in Anything Goes section, and also didn’t realize the thread in your link existed.

Gator- the stadium project was a great venture for everyone involved. My partners are actually from the company that hired us as their subcontractor. That blossomed into what we’ve become today. A lot of growing pains. Despite being in the industry for so many years, the fact is, a brand new company still faces the reality of developing and earning the trust from these developers. So we’re not getting the meatier projects at this time. Well get one or two before this year is over. We have a targeted sum for this year, and our first quarter report already gave the guys reason to be more than optimistic. We’re a bit ahead of schedule with a very promising summer.

The decision to do this at my age right now, for the most part, isn’t so much for me but for my wife security. My bigger capital in the company is both my business connections and the industry knowledge. I’m hopeful that with whatever years I have left to grind, I can make additional hay for her future and security.

Carl, California’s unemployment maxes out at $900.00 bi-weekly. Last year’s federal bump was for $2,400.00/mo ($600.00/wk). This actually created some problems for a lot of small business owners. There was a brief moment last summer when we had a momentary relief and eased out some of the lockdowns, and establishments were allowed to reopen. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get workers back because they were getting more money staying unemployed than going back to work. That was nuts!!

Now wife tells me that the feds are not considering the unemployment sum as taxable income for tax year 2020.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us. Healthcare
Post by: GQBlues on March 27, 2021, 10:38:54 AM
I wanted to add the healthcare segment as this subject was a point of discussion with the board in more than a few occasion in the past. I imagine this is typical for an average American household with a working couple. Maybe in various level or degree.
Accounting firms is one of the few national industry that provide top notch healthcare coverage for their employees. Hence, since we got married, and wifey started working as an accountant, we had always opted to get our coverage through her employment. For my part, I would be compensated by my employer with tax-free cash payment every week for not having to provide me & wifey healthcare. In essence, whatever deduction for healthcare her employer is taking out of my wife’s periodic pay, the extra tax-free money I get helps defray most of the cost they take from her. FWIW, our healthcare premium is literally non-existent.

This had worked out marvelously throughout the years for us. Then, the event of last year happened. LMAO! Wifey was told that we will be covered, via COBRA, for the rest of the month (10 days left in that month), plus 30-days. This was also a huge part of her freaking out. I keep trying to assure her to relax and everything will be fine, but I guess the Russian worry nature in her crept up and started to overwhelm my American ambivalence. The myth of uninsured Americans, and all the sensationalized nightmares behind it all was starting to come to life in her mind. LMAO. So I knew to do something ASAP to show her how we’ll be alright so she can stop wigging out.

2 days after her tribulation, I went to lunch with the owner and controller from work and I brought the subject of my wife getting furloughed and losing our coverage. Owner tells our controller to find out from our insurance agent what coverage they can offer that would best match what we had with my wife’s program. Controller also instructed me to get the statement of coverage from our policy in addition to the cost of the COBRA at the same time.

LSS, Comparable coverage from my employer is employee-portion cost of $1900.00/mo. This is in addition to whatever cost the company is carrying. COBRA, OTOH, if we elect to continue the coverage we had with them, costs $1,600.00/mo., on a month-to-month basis. No brainer. They upped their cash compensation to me for the cost of COBRA coverage, PLUS the annual deductible for both of us – came out to $2,000.00/mo. $24K/yr – tax-free. A very humbling gesture from my employer.

If that was hard to believe, what came after is even more humbling. When my wife got her job, her employer provided nearly the same type of coverage, albeit a little less ‘expensive’. The difference wasn’t really much, $100.00/yr. deductible for both of us. Same dental, eye care, prescription, etc…

Cancelled the COBRA, and advised my employer the date (COBRA cancellation) and when her coverage kicks in so they can stop the compensation. I get an email response advising me the ownership decided to keep the compensation in my pay intact indefinitely.

I didn’t have the strength to argue.

This is what my wife and I love about this country. Things always have a way of working itself out, and at times, for the better.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: BillyB on March 28, 2021, 10:07:09 AM
Then an offer came. Discussions ensued. Negotiations, phone calls, meetings and finally - an agreement. I left my firm and partnered with 4 other guys and started our own construction company. Late last year, all the way to the start of this year, was brutally busy.



Good luck on your new endeavor. Make sure your partners and employees are doing a good job. I've seen guys from big general contracting companies approached by a group of doctors, attorneys, and others to form a new construction company and they do very well. On the other hand I've seen guys break away from their companies and go bankrupt. Bad decisions and substance abuse brought some companies down.




How about you? How did 2020 treated you and yours?


I lost at least two jobs that were worth over a million. Wife continued nursing school but had to do it at home and didn't get to do clinicals. This year she's able to do clinicals and will get her RN but she'll continue on for a BSN and then go to work and later study to be a nurse practitioner which will give her powers of a doctor which she always wanted to be.



$1050 a week---Basically $4515 a month ...how did that happen? West coast prices?



It's more in Washington State. Cost of living is high in the Seattle area but Eastern Washington is laid back and more affordable.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: ML on March 28, 2021, 11:31:30 AM

This year she's able to do clinicals and will get her RN but she'll continue on for a BSN and then go to work and later study to be a nurse practitioner which will give her powers of a doctor which she always wanted to be.



No nurse practitioners do not have powers of a doctor.

NPs have more power than RNs, but a long ways from having powers of a doctor.

To achieve NP, she will have to get a masters degree.
But many online courses for this masters, as I have heard.

I talked a lot with RNs, NPs, Physician Assistants, Interns, Residents and full MDs during my long hospital stay, and at my many, many appointments since.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us. Healthcare
Post by: ML on March 28, 2021, 11:37:32 AM

Cancelled the COBRA, and advised my employer the date (COBRA cancellation) and when her coverage kicks in so they can stop the compensation. I get an email response advising me the ownership decided to keep the compensation in my pay intact indefinitely.

This 'ownership' you refer to was your previous employer, where you no  longer work . . . right ?

Commenting on the bigger picture . . . yes health insurance coverage is very, very expensive.

And it got a lot more expensive when Obama Care kicked in because insurance companies had to up the premiums from paying folks to compensate for those who were paying very little or nothing.

I expect premiums will go up further as Obama Care is expanded under Joe.

Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: BillyB on March 28, 2021, 12:35:14 PM

No nurse practitioners do not have powers of a doctor.


There are many articles on the internet saying nurse practitioners are taking over for doctors. They have the powers to diagnose patients and prescribe medicines. Some people may not even realize it but their primary care doctor may actually be a nurse practitioner.


"We can pretty much do anything that a doctor can do with the exception of performing surgical procedures independently," says [/size]Sylvia Estrada (http://www.cedars-sinai.org/programs/cancer/we-treat/breast/experts/sylvia-s-estrada-dnp.html)[/color][/size], nurse practitioner in the [/size]Cedars-Sinai[/size] [/size]breast cancer program (http://www.cedars-sinai.org/programs/cancer/we-treat/breast.html)[/color][/size].

[/size]http://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/difference-nurse-practitioner-vs-doctor.html (http://www.cedars-sinai.org/blog/difference-nurse-practitioner-vs-doctor.html)
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: ML on March 28, 2021, 02:27:17 PM
Billy that quote was from a Nurse Practitioner. 

Medical Doctors would laugh at her assertion.

Sure NPs are important and are doing a lot with patients.

Each time I go to see a MD now, I am first seen by a NP or a PA.
They do a lot of the checking, etc.; then they go confer with the MD; then they  both come back in to talk with me.

The MD often tells the NP to write a prescription, but never for dangerous drugs or controlled substances.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: BillyB on March 28, 2021, 05:35:39 PM



Billy that quote was from a Nurse Practitioner. 

Medical Doctors would laugh at her assertion.

The MD often tells the NP to write a prescription, but never for dangerous drugs or controlled substances.


Cedars Sinai is regularly ranked in the top 10 hospitals in the nation. I doubt they'd allow medical personnel to make false statements on their website.

Some States give NPs full authority and some NPs need to consult with physicians. Maybe your state limits what a NP can do.

http://www.usa.edu/blog/nurse-practitioner-vs-doctor/


In less than a decade from now, America will be short of over 100,000 doctors and NPs will be in greater demand to fill the void. They spend less time in school compared to doctors and are also paid less. But they can easily make over 100K. My wife says she'll take care of me someday. For those looking for an FSU wife thinking this whole ordeal is going to cost a lot of money, it can actually be an investment. If you invest in your woman and take care of her, good things with happen.

http://www.solvhealth.com/blog/doctors-vs-nurse-practitioners-what-s-the-difference
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us.
Post by: GQBlues on March 29, 2021, 09:53:13 AM
Good luck on your new endeavor.


Thanks Billy.
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..Make sure your partners and employees are doing a good job. I've seen guys from big general contracting companies approached by a group of doctors, attorneys, and others to form a new construction company and they do very well. On the other hand I've seen guys break away from their companies and go bankrupt. Bad decisions and substance abuse brought some companies down.


I’ve known my partners for a few good years. One of them is actually a foreman to one of my team from last employer. He took along his crew including likely one of the best operator in the business. You should see what this kid can do on a CAT 345 & D8R amongst other things. Another is an awesome blade/skip hand for finishes. GCs, operators and laborer. We negotiated, offered and gave them over-scale for the switch for the field guys. We’re also implementing ESOP. Hopefully we can make good to all.


From your neck of the woods, I’ve contracted a lot work with Seattle-based Ferguson & Abbott for their ventures down here. With foreign money investing in the US, notably the major metropolitan areas, there's still much that can / needs to be done in SoCal.
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Wife continued nursing school but had to do it at home and didn't get to do clinicals. This year she's able to do clinicals and will get her RN but she'll continue on for a BSN and then go to work and later study to be a nurse practitioner which will give her powers of a doctor which she always wanted to be.

I wish you good fortune there. That’s a great career to have. Especially with a growing population. The medical field had been a huge employer for many foreign professionals too, especially Filipinas. Very demanding field though.
My niece is an RN in Minnesota. Just graduated. I am so proud of her. She’s been working in a hospital (don’t know on what capacity) on a work/internship programs of some sort while she was in school. However, having whatever income she got out of that wasn’t really enough. She also had to dive into the student loan program. I just hope she didn’t lean into it too heavily. She’s too stubbornly proud to ask for assistance.
Title: Re: 2020: A wonderful 'bad' year for us. Healthcare
Post by: GQBlues on March 29, 2021, 09:59:15 AM
This 'ownership' you refer to was your previous employer, where you no  longer work . . . right ?

Sadly, yes it is, ML. The Boss man was more than fair with me during my employ. He never macro-managed anything with me and readily gave me full rein with my team anyway I wish to do so. Always been supportive of deals and decisions I made for the company. I am one of 3 teams he had in the company that, and albeit we were the newest one, we’re always on the top tier earner year in and out.

As generous and fair he has been to me and my team financially, it wasn’t simply because of his generous nature. I feel our performance over the years have more than a lot to do with it. But, it was his company, and were still only his ‘employees’. I never lost sight of that.

I’ve been approached more than a few times and players in the past. It wasn’t until now that I decided to take the leap of faith. Why not? I’ve made a few good people a ton of money over the years because of what I do and have done. For the future of my wife, with a calculated decision, I feel whatever few good years I have left I hopefully can further make good to assure her future to be as solid as I can make it to be. The least I can do for her dedicating the prime of her life on me. Our family personally, and the extended inclusion all the way to my nieces and nephews, kins from both sides, will be around long after I’m gone.

Why not try to make good with one last heave, right?


I have an understudy that I left behind. He’s more than ready to spread his wings. Bright guy. With a very young family, this is a golden opportunity for him to establish a solid and secured footing for himself and family. He’ll be a promising professional in his own right. Technically, I’ve departed with about as much as I can possibly share with him, and he’s been a sponge all along. He’ll serve the ownership well. He also understands that I’ll just be a phone call away whenever the need arise.


He’ll need to hone his golf skills however. That’s an area I can’ help him with. He needs to understand the science in how to play holes 1-18. And just as important if not more, the art behind the 19th hole. I’ve negotiated and consummated a lot of great deals in golf courses as much as any other means.


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Commenting on the bigger picture . . . yes health insurance coverage is very, very expensive.

And it got a lot more expensive when Obama Care kicked in because insurance companies had to up the premiums from paying folks to compensate for those who were paying very little or nothing.

I expect premiums will go up further as Obama Care is expanded under Joe.

Yes, you’re right. It wasn’t too long ago that I (can still) remember I wasn’t paying for any ‘employee-portion’ for healthcare. Sure, the catastrophic coverage maxed out at $20K, but I was young and invincible then. Never got sick much less hospitalized. Not having to ‘pay’ for any employer-provided coverage was great. Now, with Obamacare, that marketplace doesn’t really have much to offer without forking out princely dues for the trouble.

Considering the same 27 million in us is still uninsured, which was the focal reason used by the crony politicians who started this idiocy, which many believes is the major cause of division within us, it's a farce and made those cronies multi-millionaire. Each one of them. Mainstream Americans are still paying for this corruption and will be for a while. The heist of the century.