Employment

Hello Family.

Now that I've picked myself up off the floor from the shock of learning I have some 500+ relatives I never knew existed, I want to say to everyone. One of these days I will get around to completing this profile so can know more about me.

Briefly, I'm the granddaughter of Louis Vogel, daughter of Harold Vogel and have three sons of my own. While I'm originally from the Chicago area, I moved to Madison, WI in 1990, which was probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life!

My husband, Rick Caruso, became disabled, due to a work-related accident, cannot work and receives SSDI, which is equivalent to poverty level. I cannot find employment, doing any type of work, for any employer at any price and have now crossed over from frustration to panic stricken. It's absolutely ridiculous that someone my age, with my skills, etc. should even consider looking for $7 an hour jobs, but to be turned down for these as well, is beyond comprehension.

I went back to school a few years ago and am literally one assignment away from earning my BS. I'll be done Saturday with the "official" graduation ceremony in July, but my graduation date will be end of March. I've worked damned hard to earn the summa cum laude distinction, but there is still no job in sight.

My degree is basically in English-professional/technical writing and I have an associate in business. I plan on starting a Master's program in May for an MA in English.

I know here in Madison there is an unbelievable amount of age discrimination, as I am actually filing a discrimination suit against a company. With all these obstacles, I'm frantic. I haven't worked in a professional capacity since 2003, so it is that serious. I don't count working part-time at the local gas station, for $7/hr or waiting tables a serious career move, but this is getting ridiculous.

My preference is to do freelance writing, since at this point in my life playing the corporate games are not exactly what I'm after. I can't exactly imagine taking an "entry level" position at the age of 55 and have a boss half my age telling me what to do.

Bottom line....due to Rick's inability to earn a living wage and my inability to be seen as a person with value, our family is in serious financial crap.

If any of you could use a freelance writer, my specialty is writing business materials, such as letters, reports, press releases, copy, proposals, articles and more. I've spent ten years in the area of direct response marketing, but Madison isn't exactly the biggest market for the type of work I did previsously. That's why I want to freelance, plus these days everything can be done remotely.

If you or anyone you know could use my services, please, please let me know. I have basic design abilities as well, but my son Joey actually excels in that area, so we could be a package deal!

Thanks so much. I just appreciate your keeping me in mind. Hope to talk to more of you in depth. Take care!

Gen Vogel-Caruso