A bit about my work history

Yes, everybody is feeling the pinch from the economy these days and the word is that it will only get worse. Businesses are cutting back on overhead, many are laying off their employees, while others are sadly closing their doors.
I started working at the age of eighteen in the student center of the college I attended where I was studying welding and blueprint reading. That was back in the days when they were building a pipeline in Alaska and the local shipyards in Seattle were booming with business and welders were in demand all over the world.
I thought I would have it made but towards the end of my training the Alaska pipeline was completed and the shipyards were in a down cycle. Welders were being laid off everywhere but I completed the course and set out trying to find a welding job. I never did get a welding job but the economy was pretty good and other types of work were easy to find. Nowadays it is not so easy to find work and there are a lot of people with good qualifications competing for the few jobs that are available.
I spent fifteen years in the roofing industry as a freelance roofer and the lifestyle of being self-employed was great, but now I cannot do that type of work anymore as I am too old for it but the lifestyle of being self-employed is not easily given up once it has taken hold of you. Right now I am mostly self-unemployed and struggling to make ends meet. I have a computer repair business that is getting no business because people in my area are not spending money due to the economy. I work other odd jobs from time to time and I am just living week to week for the pay and hoping the economy gets better for all of us real soon. In the meantime I have decided to give the Google ecommerce package a try because I am running out of options and like they say, "you never know until you try".