My Current Employment Situation

I am a licensed Property Manager, with over 5 years experience, who is currently unemployed. My last job was working for a local Property and Homeowners Association Management company. I was hired for this company as an independent contractor, making three times the pay than my previous job, and in a less stressful environment. Being an independent contractor you responsible for paying your own taxes. Independent contractors are not considered employees of the company and therefore would not be able to draw unemployment.

After 7 months working there I was informed on a Friday afternoon that due to company reorganization my position had been eliminated. So there I was unemployed and unable to draw unemployment. After realizing that this was not the end of the world and I could get another job I went home to tell my parents. The first thing I did Monday morning was update my resume and start looking for a job.

So I looked for a job everyday, went on several interviews, three second interviews, and still no luck. I was devastated. After being unable to find a job in the property management or real estate field I broadened my search to all jobs. Yes, all jobs. Still no luck. January came around and I decided that if I was unable to get a job maybe I could go back to school so at least I am doing something. Something is better than nothing, right?

Migraine Headaches

I have had migraines since I was 15 years old. To anyone who does not know a migraine is a horrible headache that often includes nausea & vomiting, sever pain, sensitivity to lights, noises, and smells. I have had migraines last 5 or 6 days. In search of a cure or treatment I went to Medical University of South Carolina, The Michigan Head Pain and Neurological Institute, neurologists, chiropractors, message therapists, pain management and several emergency room doctors. There is no cure for migraines. Since migraines have many different triggers and causes all you can really do is try to prevent them by avoiding these triggers. Of course simple things like getting enough sleep, eating right, and avoiding caffeine can help avoid a migraine. After 11 years of having migraines I definitely feel like an expert on the subject.

Parking at Midlands Techincal College

I am a full time student at Midlands Technical College in Columbia, SC. Like most of the other college students I drive my car to school. Parking at Midlands Tech is absolutely horrible. There are 11,000 students at Midlands Tech and probably 1,000 parking spaces. So to be able to find a parking space and get to class on time you need to be at Midlands Tech 35 minutes before your class starts. Looking for a parking spot consists of riding up and down the same rows over and over again. Life at Midlands Tech would be so much easier if there were more parking spaces.

SC Job Market

The current job situation in South Carolina sucks. The unemployment rate in South Carolina is at an all time high. 12.5% of people living in South Carolina are currently unemployed. I believe there are two parts of the unemployment problem. The first part of the problem, is the lack of new available jobs. The second part of the problem, is that people are continuously becoming unemployed. Some employees are being fired, laid off, forced to take early retirement, asked to resign, and losing their job due to company reorganization.

Snow here in Columbia, SC!

In my last post on February 4, 2010 I vented about South Carolina’s unpredictable weather and how it never snows. I guess you could say that I called Mr. Snowman out and he showed up. On Friday, February 12, 2010 Columbia got the heaviest snow in at least 7 years. It started snowing late Friday afternoon and by Midnight Columbia got between 7-9 inches of snow. It was absolutely beautiful. In my 23 years of living in Columbia I have never seen that much snow here.

Usually it snows just an inch or two, enough to cover the ground. However, this time it snowed enough to build a big snowman, to go sledding, and have snowball fights. Of course all of the schools did close early that day. Many churches, places of employment, daycares, and of course most government offices also closed early. People still rushed out to the grocery stores to get bread, milk, firewood, and some other essentials and to the gas station to fill up their tank. The roads were covered in snow and black ice so bad that people were unable to see the lines in the roads. The roads did get really bad causing over 207 traffic accidents according to the SC Highway Patrol.

So my next question is, will we be lucky enough to see any more snow in 2010? I sure hope so.

What did you do when it snowed?

What's up with the weather?

Growing up in South Carolina people always say if you don’t like the weather wait, tomorrow it will be different. I never really knew how much they were right. What’s up with the fact that on Monday it will be 65 degrees outside and sunny, Tuesday will be 60 degrees and cloudy, and Wednesday is 30 degrees outside with a chance of rain, sleet, or snow?? I mean seriously. In my opinion this is one of the ways people get sick. Living in South Carolina, don’t even think about making outdoor plans ever because 9 times out of 10 the weather will change at the very last minute or it will be the complete opposite of what the weatherman said.

Another thing that really trips me out is how people in South Carolina FREAK out when there is a slight chance we might get snow. I mean seriously I have lived here for over 23 years and it has snowed like three times since. People rush out to the store getting bread, bottled water, and canned foods. Like the end of the world is coming or something. Believe it or not the rest of the world does not shut down when 1/8 of an inch of snow hits the ground. No I am serious. It really doesn’t.


Does anybody else notice this or is it just me?

Welcome to THE VENT

Hello! I am Ashley Walters. I have always been told that I am a pretty brutally honest person. I have never had a problem expressing myself or how I feel about something. When a person has some minor anger management issues usually expressing oneself is not a problem : ) Since some people do have a problem expressing themselves when presented with an opportunity in my Business class to create a blog about something we feel we are in expert on I saw this as a great outlet.


THE VENT is a place where you can comment and build discussions on whatever a post is about. The point of this blog is to get people to open up about what bothers them in life. I am going to VENT about what fustrates me and want to know what you think about it.