Girl87,

I worked at the Stardust Hotel (a Boyd property) here in Las Vegas over an eighteen year period and got laid off three different times. The last was when the hotel closed for good in late 2006. I was then out of work for nearly a year. I lost everything I owned--my apartment, my book collection, my computer, my DVD collection, etc. A close friend allowed me to move in with her and rent a room. I've been working at the Orleans Hotel (another Boyd property) for the last twenty months and came close to being laid off again a few days ago. Instead, and I breathe a sigh of relief, all the hourly employees in my department had their work hours reduced to roughly 32 hours a week. That way we're able to keep our insurance and our heads hopefully above water.

The reason I'm telling this is that hard times come and go. You just have to find a way of surviving when you have little or no money coming in. I know that it's extremely difficult, especially when you have a family and children to worry about. You have to learn to follow your heart and instincts. It isn't always as easy to find a decent job as everyone makes out. Still, if you can hang in there, good times will eventually appear again. The one good thing about having my hours cut back is that I now have more time to write, so there is a positive to this for me. Sometimes the worse things in your life can lead to the best.