21 Jul 2012
More Woes on the Home Front

Well, I've successfully avoided posting this for a week, but unless I say something about it now, I fear I'll just retreat back into non-blogging mode until I do say something about it. When I've got something to say, apparently, it must be said, even if the saying must be carefully crafted indeed.

I got laid off last Friday.

This isn't a dirt dumping post - future employers may be googling me, after all. Nor is it an economic rant - I've got plenty of those saved up for sure, but the broad sweep of economic theory suddenly took a back seat to the narrower one of personal scrambling.

I just have to say it, that's all. I got laid off last Friday. That would be the 13th, for the superstitious. Considering the disasters that have befallen us this past year, it's easy to get that way.

I do have other fish in the pan, so to speak, but they're currently somewhat flaky fish, if you get my meaning. Long term now means 90 days. I have high hopes for one, but hope is all that's there for now.

This layoff completely ambushed me - I had no idea it was coming. None, nada, zilch. That's what makes it really tough - always before (and being in the tech industry, this certainly isn't the first time this has happened, nor will it be the last) I'd had some inkling, even some warning, that things were spiraling out of control and change was afoot. Not this time.

Lorraine suggested we take a week to "decompress" and process things - a good idea. And I'm still getting a paycheck, at least for another month what with severance and accrued vacation. So we're not quite dead. Not quite. And I will be hitting the job search engines Monday.

I guess my real fear isn't of not being able to find a position - I'm pretty highly skilled, and there's seemingly a lot of demand out there for my skill set. My fear is that I won't be able to find a permanent position with benefits, but only contract. Which, admittedly pays better, but when you have the kind of health conditions I have, you rapidly discover that buying private insurance on your own is simply impossible. So one health incident would crash everything, job, retirement, farm, future.

It's just scary as Hel.

But I have a wonderful wife, a fine flock, good pastures (albeit very dry, and getting drier by the day), and all the bills are currently paid. We have food in the freezer, love in our hearts and hope springs eternal.

We'll get through this. Somehow.

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