My 2020 started just a bit early, in that on December 2, 2019 I was released from my very permanent and would be forever teaching position at an elementary school that literally begged me to come teach for them. I am THAT teacher, the one that teaches 6th graders at a higher learning level, so the school made such a fuss about me joining them. Funny how a few months (from August to December) can make such an impact on the lives of OTHER teachers who didn't want to have to deal with the shared students we taught asking questions about how Bloom's Taxonomy scales and/or levels of observation could be applied to the disciplines the kids were learning other than Reading. (I taught Reading. There was a Writing teacher as well, and let me tell you, she was the WORST at stringing two sentences together let alone using proper grammar. Call me crazy, but if you're teaching kids grammar you should probably know it yourself!)
I lost my job just before 2020 struck, but I wasn't upset about it. I was able to strike back and get a great severance package based on evidence of how badly they had wanted me to teach for them, and how abrupt my severance was. My unemployment kicked in a few days after the settlement came in, and with the new income stacking up in the bank I decided to take off the entire teaching year and just sort of gather my thoughts, perhaps think about another line of work (such as Securities). That's when COVID hit hard, more forced unemployment for some, a continuation for me. Our government paid us to stay home and I applied for my teacher's retirement a bit early to ensure that I really didn't need to go back to work even through the end of what was already promising to be the strangest year this planet has ever encountered.
Sometime in the summer I realized I didn't know enough about trading securities to make an actual impact when I decided to go into the field. I began studying the fringes of the industry, and put my mind to work on getting to know everything I could about securities such as bonds, stock, mutuals, and T-bills. I wanted to know everything possible. I'm still in the middle of learning everything I can, but the good news is I am able to study at home and work from home selling insurance (Life, Health, P&C, and Workers Comp) as a 1099 producer - - enter Allstate.
Allstate agents often hire producers and service managers on a salary basis to get them through tough times and then they routinely let them go so they save money and the producer has been paid, so no one is upset with the other party. That's what I've been doing for the past 3 months, and that assignment will end on Christmas Eve....Merry Christmas, you've lost your job! It's OK, it was a temp thing. I expected to lose it around mid-January, so what's a few days? Earlier in the summer I accepted a two-week assignment that turned into a month! I was not selling anything; I was literally putting pieces of paper into their rightful place. A little-known company had allowed their filing to become such a mess that it was causing them to lose business when they couldn't find the papers they needed for an unexpected audit. I took over the chore, and by takeover I mean I TOOK OVER and forced the actual people in the office to back the hell off so I could get their files in shape! It was one of the most fun jobs I'd ever done simply because I made it MINE and refused to back down! Those auditors were NEVER going to say they couldn't find what they needed after I got finished with that filing room/disaster.
So here we are on the last week of the year 2020. I look around my house and there isn't a single Christmas decoration in my house unless you count the ONE wrapped present that I just finished wrapping for my son and his wife. We don't have a tree, we don't have garland, we don't have bells, whistles, ornaments, tinsel, or elves. Laura and I spend our money on horses, feed, board, tack, saddles, vet bills and the like, so we don't have time or money to clutter the house with needless merriment, however we do really enjoy going out and looking at lights, decorations, trees, other people's stuff, and making a big deal going to see Santa with kids or friends who take their pets. This year that's been rather sparse to be honest. We've seen one Santa and we've had one evening out going to see the lights in the park - - but it was incredible, I'll say that.
ONE present was wrapped this year. That just made me laugh. Because of apps like Venmo, PayPal, Amazon Prime, and others, I just didn't really need to buy an actual present for anyone. I gave my daughter Caity my FitBit Versa 2, I wasn't using it. I paid for Laura's board, and I gave Reuben and his wife Josie tickets to the most sought-after game for the Oklahoma Sooner season; the Bedlam match up with Oklahoma State! The grands will of course be gifted, but that's a Venmo thing to their mom and dad and I always wait until after Christmas to get Brandon his present to see what he didn't get - - it's a thing. It's our thing. ONE FREAKING PRESENT is all I wrapped and I didn't have to do that, but I did decide that Josie needed more than the OU tickets since she's not really a fan.
I wasn't put out like most were during 2020. The lockdowns and mask wearing were certainly annoying, but I only played at it, I didn't really lockdown, quarantine or even social distance that much. I rarely don a mask, and if I do I pull it down as soon as possible. I can't let the sheep mentality get me down, I've got too much to do. I am hoping 2021 brings a bit more UPLIFTING news...uplifting being the key word. I'm looking for the RAPTURE! There's simply NOTHING this world holds for me, and I just figure it's time to leave it - - while the leaving is good. Here's hoping we see Jesus really soon. I am ret-ta-go.
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