I feel so lost, but I feel there maybe some comfort to vent.

[cudaken]

 The old site offred me comfurt and support in the past. It was a ture friend. I hope this site will serve as the same. By the way, spelling will Chevy big time.

As many of you know, I am close to finshie a dream, like the last time I was doing the Daytone Clone. Had all the money for the parts, but Maker could not get them done. Well I was chevy canned and had to use the Daytona money to keep the house's.

Well, it has happend again! Sitting in the garage with the 69 Charger with a blowen 440 sitting in front of me, at 4:45 PM 08-15-05 old Cuda Ken is Chevy canned again! Still about $500.00 from start up, but only $2,000.00 to my name.

The Pices of Shit Company I worked for as of today (soory Tory but had to use the S word that time) has Chevy Me 3 time's before. Reason, sale's flat line, no increase's time to fire the losser. Hum, when there new great hope fall's on there face's and shop losse's money, guess it time to call old Cuda Ken again

Took over the dump in 2002, lost $17,000.00 that year, cost them that to keep the door's open. 2003 made them $40,000.00 botton line profit, 2004 bottom line profit $58,000.00. Other shop's doing 2 times of gross are only making $61,000.00 bottom line profit?

Other manager in St Louis thought I was kidding when I called him and told him I was out of there, was not till I told my old boss to say Hi on the phone that I was not kidding. His figuers are worst than my bottom line, but plus one month for fical quater. Guess that one + ment something. But over all still doing better than he is, OK, not, he still has a job.

I guess beside the lack of money, I feel like I have let the family down. Wife can not work, health problems, plus my brother in law as well. Richard, well he is the Bother in Law that people make fun of. At 52 he thinks $350.00 a week is good money? Spelling, you think mine is bad, should turn him losses on the site. His health is worst than wife and mine. Blood clot's in his leg's, need's a pace maker and a place's to live. For some reason, his 4 son's have told him to eat chevy and die and this weekend has no places to live. He was to come to old Cuda Ken's home again. It was with a heavy heart tonight I told Sue what had happen and she need to call her bother.

Other big worry are med's. Will lose health insurances the end of this month. Sue and I meds cost around $200.00 with the Co Pay's. I have dropped a lot of pound's and eating right. Feel I can drop the cholesterol med's and with a lot of luck blood pressuer med's. Sue on the other hand, well up the creek. She make's me look like a PIC of health.

I still have many thing's to be thank full for, house, in ground swamp, I mean pool, 69 Charger with a blowen 440, great audiophile grade garage stereo, 68 Road Runner, one great dog and one lesser dog and other thing's I can not think of right now.

Many reason I am posting this, I could not sleep tonight. With me getting the ax so late today had no way to get all my stuff out of the shop. That mean's I have to back there to get my snap on box, award's in the offices, Mopar PIC on the wall, 2 440 69 and 1/2 six pack's hood's I have been intusted with and other stuff.

OK, main reason, could not sleep. Keept thinking about Tuesday getting my stuff. Walked out with out letting them do the out Audit. Looked at the X boss and said I am out of here! Asked me "don't you want to stay for the shit canning"? Said know, "will sign the audit when I get my stuff, beside what are you going to do fire me"? What could he say?

Guess the real reason I posted this! I need to have a reason to keep drinking Cam 2 till I pass out so I can sleep.

                 Just shoot me, worth more dead than a live, losser ken

[Silver R/T]

thats shitty, seems like everyone suffers from this bad economy. Its important not to give up, hoping for things to improve. As long as you've got family that still can support you its all that matters. Hold on in there man.

[Brock Samson]

 
Ken, I'm sorry to read of your difficulties,.. Your not alone dude, many others are facing similar troubles.
Keep your head up and try to get this behind you, it may take a while to adjust but you will.
keep us posted. Ok?..
Strat!

[Daytona Guy]

Sorry to hear about all that you are going through. I know nothing I can say will change how you feel. But I do know how you feel. I lost everything in my life in one weekend. I lost my family, my wife did not want to be married any more, wanted to be with a woman, lost my kids, (seeing them every day) my house and my Job. I hated life. Everyday was hell for me. I lost 40 pounds in two weeks. People thought I was dieing. I say all that to encourage you. I bounced back because I found people who cared. What does not kill you will make you stronger. Just a little advice. Stay away from the sauce. It does not help. You deserve to be angry. I was. But eventually, when you are ready, you will find the strength and something will come along better than before. Keep us informed. You are in my prayers man.

[41husk]

Ken,  We will take my truck over and get your stuff tonight,  you need to clean the garage and do some body work on the side tax free income to supplement unemployment.  good thing I did not borrow your compressor sounds like you will need it.

[firefighter3931]

Geez Ken, that really sucks !  Hopefully things will look up in in the not so distant future. Maybe it's time to open your own shop and start working for yourself. Good luck and keep your head up buddy.

Ron

[IBsmokin]

dude man, life throws these obsticles in your way, you just have to overcome them, what dont kill you only makes you stronger, its summer time, take that 2 grand and buy a ride on lawn mower and go around your town mowing people yards, charge them 50 bucks a lawn, if your town is big you should score 4 lawns a day, thats 200 bucks a day, in a week you will have your money back from the lawn mower purchase and the rest is profit, just an idea to let you know, all is not loss you have options, beside this mowing idea is just something to bring in the dow till you get another Job.   drinking does not help, kills brain cells, destroys the liver and kidneys, smoke a joint that will knock you out.

[41husk]

Thats is funny,  Hey Ken the way you do your lawn you should have a bright future in the lawn care field.

[ChargerRob]

Ken, Do not let life get the best of you. Have faith in YOURSELF and the Lord. Something will come up and you'll be back on your feet.  

[andy74]

Ken, i feel for ya,we all have down times,some worse than others.i got fed up with a job once and had to leave,my then girl friend ran off with a mutual friend,my ex took off and left my 2 year old son in my lap,and my car blew the engine,all in about 5 days time.I never regreted having my son,but it was a very difficult time,i was 19,and had about 1000 bucks to my name-any how,i took a leap of faith and borrowed a grand from  my father,and left new york,went to florida to sell cars(tended bar and worked on cars before).after a year of hard work got a job offer at a local dodge dealer promotion etc,and pulled my life in a better direction-moved back to new york and have agreat place to work,met my wife and now have a son,a step son and a great new baby daughter,and i still get to drink some beers!!dont let the shit get to you,just look at another direction man,it will work out for ya-andy

[Charger_Fan]

I'm glad you posted this Ken, up until now I thought I was the only one with problems like that!
Just kidding, Man. I'm sorry that you've been thrown this crap.

Here's to hoping that something really great will come your way!!

[dodgecharger-fan]

That bites, Ken.
You've got a lot of talent. Don't let that go to waste. Do some side work or get into another shop - even if it's not quite the same as what you're used to doing.

Take a long term look at what your solution needs to be. When you were listing things off, the idea of selling it popped into my head.
That will only solve your short term problems. Resist that as long as you can. (Well, maybe trade in the audiophile setup for a little boombox - at least for now.  )
Look for someting that will be steady - even if it's less than what you're used to. It will give you an opportunity to relax a bit, and look around at your options and opportunities.

Best of luck to you.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Chin up Ken.  A man with your talent will bounce back.  At least thats what I got fromn your story.

Good luck

[LahTera]

I agree with Dodge-ChargerFan.  Selling your cars will only give you a short-term solution.  Had we gone that route all the times our lives crashed, we would have never been able to keep our Mopars.  Mopars (Chargers) can be parked and they'll wait for you to get back on your feet.  Trust me!  We've done this many times before.

Seems I've spent a lot of my life going up only to crash again and have to start over.  Seems to have become a trend.  But I have hit bottom in my life:  living homeless on the streets of L.A. was my worst time.  So I know I can survive, eh?  (And I didn't have to compromise my values, either.)  And having that knowledge brings me comfort because despite what the government/devil/whatever-you-want-to-call-it throws at me, I will survive and make it one way or another.  I think you can too.

As I read all the above replies, I can see that you have a lot of people that care and can help support you in some form.  Blessed be that!

We're here, bro!

LahTera

[Telvis]

God bless you Ken. You are in my family prayers. By now you probably realize that there are a lot of people here rooting for you. Don't ever give up. Stay away from the alcohol. It only makes things worse.

[Lowprofile]

We've all been here Bro. Take a day or two to regroup, Hug your wife, kids, dogs & your cars. You've worked too damm hard to give up anything. Stay strong, Have Faith, Believe in yourself. I know your family & friends believe in you.

Take Care of Yourself and Be good to yourself. We all want to see that Bad Lookin Blown Charger running and burning the tires off!
Good Luck!

[Brock Samson]

 Hey Ken... there's lotsa chevies out there, but few mopars...

[General_01]

Sorry to hear the news Ken. Vent here all you want. I think you will bounce back and things will be even better. Think positive. I will keep you in my prayers. Keep us posted.

[cudaken]

 Picked up a lot of stuff from the shop toady, was treated pretty well. Was not treated like a hostel. Boy my spelling suck's. Mac, my old boss told me it was the Evil Overloard doing, Smith does not like me, that fair I hate him right back.

My old boss asked the bodyman "Do you think firing Ken is a mistake"? Yea, he is the only one that made this shop run right was the answer.

Before I went to the dump, I dropped by a couple of freinds shop's. I did not know how I would be treated and needed to know if I could get some help if I needed to get the hood's and boxe's out of the dump now! Ron, owen's a compamy named "Glass Blocks" is a customer, well was and a fellow Mopar and Charger freak. Said I could store my stuff there and wanted to talk with me about emplyment optriess as well! (sure hope a spelling test is not involved)    I do not know if it working for him or working on his Mopar's. Either way would be fine.

Also dropped my Hone's Auto Body to see if I could use there part's truck if needed. It is home of the Beer Can Rat Charger. Ken was stunned as well. His words where "why would they fire you when this year all body shop's are taking big hit's inc mine"?   Well, I told him, must be all my fault.

Met my replacment today, Hee, Hee, Hee, he is screwd. Older than me I will add. Was a paint rep for PPG for 25 year's but never ran a shop. Told my old bodyman " I do not like head ache's and want job that does not have any "! Marty told him "you better keep looking"! He was also told not to talk with me, well he did. Bad manager. We will see, but we all give him 4 week's max. Might be wronng but if he doe's not like problem's he need's to haul ass.

When I first meet him, he had looked at the PIC in the offices of the Mopars I have done. Stated "Man you did a great job on the Mopars"! Told him " I have been told the reason we are slow is due to the fact I want to make car's perfect"! Man I had been blowen shit about the Mopars I have done. He said "that is not right"! Just told him welcome to my world.

I will add today when going home, I had a strange feeling of peace's today. Sure I will get over that but maybe not with luck.

As far as what doe's not kill you make's you stronger goes. I am Keflair and 12" of steel. If people only knew the weight I have held on my shoulders. I cold give lesson's on stress.

Hum, wonder if the new Manager know's about deer season? Hope he can paint!

              Cuda Ken, feeling a little better again.

[Silver R/T]

so they fired you cause one of bosses didnt like you?

[Chris G.]

Hang in there Ken. I'm assuming that you are eligible for unemployment being you were fired? That should help out for a few months. It sounds like you will be missed at the shop. With your experience, you should bounce back in no time.

Good Luck with everything.

[Charger_Fan]

Sounds like things are looking up already for ya, Ken! I hope the Glass Blocks guy pans out for you, that would be cool working for a fellow Mopar fan.

I'm glad you're feeling better today.

[chargermick]

That just sucks, you do your job(very well) and because the boss doesn't like you, you're out. Hopefully when it all shakes out, his boss will realise what a jerk he is and he Will get canned. Have you ever thought of opening your own shop? Go in partners with a money man and with your talent and his money you can both make a killing. GOOD bodymen are rare, and I think you have what most of the others don't. Good luck buddy, you will be in our prayers.

[LahTera]

Ken, you've got it made!  You've got the skill, and people will want that -- people who aren't jerks like that boss.  All you have to do is get yourself out there!

I have no doubt you'll find a better job -- just got a good feeling about it!

LahTera

[SeattleCharger]

   Hey, when I was reading your first post, I was hoping you would post again and say things were a little better, glad you did and that they are.   Glad you could vent a little here and get encouragement.   Good luck with things. 
Nate