Updated & FIRE SALE!! : Unemployed & Thinning-out the herd........

DBSTrader2

After 21 years of loyal service, I was cut loose by Verizon on Feb 1st.

Facing a possible long period of unemployment, I've made an initial inventory of items I've had laying around that I either never got around to using or turning into collections.... So, in addition to turning into the bank various clad rolls of Sac's, halves, state/territory quarters, etc, I figured I might as well list what I'm looking to sell or trade for a little bit of spending money...... Still a few items remaining.

Nothing earth-shattering.... just some "beginner"-type items someone might have interest in before I try to dispose of them elsewhere.

Thanks for looking! Please PM me with any interest in or offers on the following.

Update:

FIRE SALE!! All prices below plus actual est. shipping costs. Discounts for volume. Please PM with offers - - I'll consider them, too!

Thanks!

- - Dave


COINS:
1 Lincoln Bronze 3" Medal (#116) NO box or stand. ($25) (Mint website is offering again WITH box/stand for $42)
1 C-N & 1 Brass? 1973 Franklin Mint set of coins on business cards. ($4)
1 Laredo Nat'l Bank "Serving Two Nations Since 1892" 1&3/4" diam. bronze medallion (left-facing roaring lion obv.
& smooth rev.) ($4.50)
2 2010-D Sac $1's from Mint rolls ($1.50 each)


EMPTY BLUE WHITMAN FOLDERS (no coins):
2 different US Large Cent folders #9001 (1793-1825) & #9002 (1826-1857). Copyright 1940. VG w/minor edge wear ($4ea)(ON HOLD)
2 diff. Canadian 1/2-Dollar folders #9070 (1870-1910) (1 new; 1 new w/slight tape mark by 1910) ($2ea)
1 Canadian 1/2-Dollar folder #9080 (no dates) (used for extra "stock" - - lots of dates written-in) ($1)
1 Lib. Walking 1/2-dollar folder 2 #9027 (1937-1947) (used for extras - - some dates/grades written-in) ($1)
2 Franklin Halves folders #9032 (1948+ & 1948-1963) (some writing/wear) ($1ea)

CURRENCY & STAMPS/FDC's:
1 7/4/1975 Bicen. FDC (tan env.) w/ 4 10-cent "militia/uniform" stamps & "Minuteman/Paul Revere" medal ($4)




UPDATED (5/7/11) - - some SOLD!!:

LouisCamp

Dave,

Sorry to hear how another company treats loyalty. Hope the best for you.

Lou

DBSTrader2

Thanks, Lou.

This past year has been a rough one. Last Feb my left retina spontaneously detached, and I was out on short-term disability for a while. When I came back to work (without skipping a beat), I was working on just 1 eye & a patch over the left eye (otherwise, it would conflict with the right eye & I could get nothing done). Verizon's been decimating their onshore IT groups for many years now, and I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time (per my Manager)...

I also developed cataracts in both eyes, which, I am told, often happens after retina surgery. They just removed/replaced the lens in the left eye Monday, but say the right eye's not ready for a few more years, despite constant "floaters" in it as well.

That's what really has me concerned once severance and unemployment run out....... what kind of work can I do (or even get past the interviews for) with 1 good eye, when I've spent so much of my working life on detailed paperwork & computer work..........

- - Dave

DBSTrader2

DBSTrader2

ttt - - updated 3/4/11

cajun

PM Sent

mbogoman

<< <i>This past year has been a rough one. Last Feb my left retina spontaneously detached, and I was out on short-term disability for a while. When I came back to work (without skipping a beat), I was working on just 1 eye & a patch over the left eye (otherwise, it would conflict with the right eye & I could get nothing done). Verizon's been decimating their onshore IT groups for many years now, and I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time (per my Manager)... I also developed cataracts in both eyes, which, I am told, often happens after retina surgery. They just removed/replaced the lens in the left eye Monday, but say the right eye's not ready for a few more years, despite constant "floaters" in it as well. That's what really has me concerned once severance and unemployment run out....... what kind of work can I do (or even get past the interviews for) with 1 good eye, when I've spent so much of my working life on detailed paperwork & computer work.......... - - Dave >>



Best of luck to you, Dave. I was in the same predicament three years ago - I know how cutthroat the IT world can be to people of our age (I'm assuming you're on the downhill side of 50). If your finances permit, take it easy for a bit and enjoy the good, important things in life...

lordmarcovan

Dave, after having been in the same boat back in '08 (edit- with the job thing, not the eyeball thing, that is), I can certainly sympathize. PM sent.

piecesofme

Dave,
Keep your chin up there bud. I had a detached retna myself back in '84 from a HS baseball injury. The ball literally hit my eye! Gave a literal meaning to keeping my eye on the ball.
Had the surgery shortly thereafter and have been ok for the most part since, praise God. Even with a contact lense the eye is 20/30 at best, but it could've been alot worse as I am legally blind in that eye without the contact. It really affected my decision to get out of trucking after doing it nearly 23 years and having to pass a DOT eye test. I barely passed for the last 5 years of doing it. When another opportunity came, I got out and havent looked back (no pun intended lol).
In the last 5 years, i've developed floaters in the eye and I tell ya that really SUCKS. Makes it hard to focus on anything for more than 5 seconds.
Also, the pupil split into halves. Through surgery, the pupil was brought back together but the result is that the pupil doesn't focus anymore. So in bright light, I have one large pupil and one small one. Needless to say, I almost always have to wear sunglasses outside due to the brightness, and to not scare too many kids away The injury has also caused my blue eye to turn hazel/green. Some of my wifes lady friends think it's pretty cool. I let them get close and stare me in the eyes, then I bark like a dog real loud right in their face. Good for a laugh every single time lol.
You just get used to it because you have to, what choice do you have?
Sorry to go on & on. Really just wanted to wish the best for you and if you ever want to talk i'm just a pm away.
Sincerely, Rich

DBSTrader2

YOW, Rich!!

Nothing happened to my eye (although I joked that it came from my wife slapping me around one time too many, or my getting into a hockey fight with my son) - - it just spontaneously detached.

A few weeks prior to that, I had gone to the eye doc with complaints of the same "floaters" you mentioned, but in the right eye. The doc chalked it off to the "viscuous fluid" gelling-up, as it tends to do as one gets older, and that it would work itself out eventually. And they had been watching that right eye for a bit for any signs of problems, because the retina was a bit thinner than usual in that one.

So imagine my surprise when it all happened out of the blue to my LEFT eye! I was picking up my son from a weekend camp for Cadets (an elite drum & bugle corps), and a "flickering" fluorescent light on the ceiling of the gym was bugging me. On the way home, it felt like I had a speck of dust or something on my eye, as it kept jumping around my field of vision. By the time we got home, my vision was a bit blurry. I went to the eye doc & she said she'd watch it, in case the retina was tearing. She told me to get back to them if I started seeing any "flashes of light".

I didn't, but over the weekend, it was as if a blotch was "eclipsing" my vision. It turned purple, which I thought might mean blood. The next day, I went back, and they said the retina had detached & sent me off to the eye surgeon, who said I needed emergency surgery the next morning. At the same time, they lasered my "good" right eye to prevent similar from happening. (Since then, the right eye close-up vision hasn't been the same, there's still lots of floaters, and it's developing a cataract that will have to be removed in a few years, according to my eye doc.)

The next day, I had the surgery. Unfortunately, the retina had detached to the point that it was called a "macular-off", which means that, even if the optic nerves regenerated themselves, it was off the focal point & nothing more could be done about it.

So I was out of work on disability for about 6 weeks with no improvement. My left eye conflicts so much with my right eye that I pretty much have to wear a patch over the left eye most of the time to get by. What I though was dryness/puffiness (like the feeling one gets when a contact lens dries up on your eyeball & is about to fly away in the wind) was really just the strain on the right eye due to the conflict. The minute I put the patch on the left eye, the right eye felt better.

So I went back to work & picked-up where I left off for the next 7 months until I was RIF'd...

Since then, I have had a cataract removed from that left eye, so the docs can see better how the retina is doing. Before the surgery, they had held out some hope that they might be able to clear up the sight if only slightly, perhaps to 20/400 at best. The first day after the surgery, I actually thought I saw some improvement, but not anymore. I'm back to the patch over the left eye most of the time.

What really sucks, besides having to try to find a new job after all this, is that I just can't seem to concentrate anymore for any long period of time. The eye just bothers me that much, and the vision in the right eye is never 100%. It's like looking thru "morning sleepy-eye" all the time & trying to actually accomplish anything! I don't know how I'm going to make it the rest of my years like this....

I'm allowed to drive, but I'm afraid to do so on any road more than 1 lane in each direction, since any 2-lane road would have a serious blind spot almost entirely to my left if I were in the right lane. I'd be afraid of having to make any quick decisions at high speed. I'm ok locally, but still am super-cautious. What REALLY worries me is how long my right eye will last without having some problems. If it goes, I'll be blind, and so much of what I do is visual (coin collecting, watching the kids' sports & concerts, etc) & on the computer. I'm deathly afraid & feel tremendously vulnerable. And now, on top of all that, I feel like I may never again be able to provide for the family (with 1 in college & another in a few years). And I'm finding it hard, even with binoculars or the zoom lens on the video camera, to even pick out my older son in formation when he's marching with either the Cadets of at halftime during football season. It's heartbreaking.......

- - Dave

DBSTrader2

ttt. updated

DBSTrader2

ttt - - updated again

DBSTrader2

ttt

updated 3/11 with more items.

thanks!

- - Dave

DBSTrader2

ttt updated w/additional items 3/12/11

DBSTrader2

TTT

Thanks to everyone who's offered their support and similar stories with eye problems & unemployment/new jobs....... I never knew this was such a common problem until it hit me........

Also thanks to those who have found items of interest among my list or offered suggestions on how best to handle some items.

I've decided to withdraw the Disney Dollars, as even the slightest fold basically renders them face-value only. I have a young neice who will be heading to Orlando soon & will give them to her to enjoy/spend.

I've also decided to pull the stamp panes as well, as there's little or no premium to them (besides being attractive), so we might as well use them up for everyday postage (along with another 10 or 12 cent stamp). Maybe if I send out any resumes in envelopes with those stamps on them, they might even attract some additional attention!


I have added one item: Abe Lincoln Bronze 3" Medal (116) from the U.S. Mint (originally 2009, but being sold again this month?): 90% copper 10% zinc. HEAVY!! The obverse has a right-facing profile of Abe, with "Abraham" around the edge on the left behind his head and "Lincoln" on the right in front of him. The reverse has a heavy raised wreath around the entire edge, with the following inside from top to bottom:

INAUGURATED
PRESIDENT
OF THE
UNITED STATES
MARCH 4, 1861
SECOND TERM
MARCH 4, 1865
--- . ---
ASSASSINATED
APRIL 14, 1865



UPDATE: This 3" Bronze Medal is actually once again being made available for sale by the U.S. Mint (#116 - - with box & stand) for $42 later this month!

coastaljerseyguy

I bot a Library of Coins SLQ album from Dave just over a week ago & it was in perfect condition - fast & secure shipping also at a great price. Highly recommended.

Jim

DBSTrader2

Thx, Jim! ttt.

DBSTrader2

back ttt - - prices indicated & reduced.

DBSTrader2

ttt