Reflecting
9:45 48 degrees
This hasn't been the smoothest year. I started it out on reduced time at work, then got officially laid off before January had ended. Sucky, but okay. At least they cashed out my Paid Time Off. I get settled in, I get the unemployment rolling, I get into a groove with the extra writing time...and then I go back to work.
Okay, okay, not really complaining about that. The kind of emotional up-and-down started then, however. "We've got work for now, but we don't know for how long." That little chorus got old fast. It was never wrong or badly meant, but after skating along the edge of that for a while, you forget that it really is a long way down. We really were always looking at limited work, but that's easy to overlook when another packet of it just keeps dropping outside your door a bit before you run through the last batch.
Even over the summer, when things got thin, they found work for me; however unpleasant - and those of you who know me know what I was complaining about. But it picked up again, sure enough. I think the rest of the team was on a reduced schedule for about a week, maybe 10 days. I suppose it's something too that the company worked to find me something I could bill for.
The summer was no picnic for other reasons. M___'s hospital stay was considerably worse for him and E________, obviously, but watching that roller-coaster from unfamiliar sidelines was no easy task. Between that and the deteriorating work situation, it felt more like something to get through and finish rather than something to make the best of. Truthfully, I do miss Fox Soccer Channel, but that's about it.
Of course, that wasn't the only problem. J______ had her job yanked out from under her and then partially returned. That was a fun ride. She remains on a reduced schedule, and fortunately hasn't been rearranging the furniture from boredom for awhile. That could change tomorrow, I realize, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
So here we are with the work finally gone for real. HP has offshored the majority of their document production, Siemens doesn't have any immediate projects, and nothing's in the offing for months at least. Time to fire up that unemployment again. Thank the Goddess we paid of the largest part of our debt in the spring. That helps. Still, we're moving into the really expensive part of the year with her on half-time and me on no-time. And now I've got to get back into the groove of doing stuff with my time while hoping desperately to end that groove as soon as possible. Yuck.
Yeah, not the best time. Still, not the worst year I've ever had. There's still the potential for things to even out. And not everything's bad. M____ is recovering. The regular, Friday D&D game continues enjoyable. A___ got his EMT certification. B____ went back to school. E___ is getting married in April. And the season of soccer with the Sounders has been a hands-down blast (some of the asshats surrounding us notwithstanding). Very much looking forward to next season. So there's some balance there. I could do with a little more on the plus side, though. Winning the lottery, for example. That would balance things nicely. :)
This hasn't been the smoothest year. I started it out on reduced time at work, then got officially laid off before January had ended. Sucky, but okay. At least they cashed out my Paid Time Off. I get settled in, I get the unemployment rolling, I get into a groove with the extra writing time...and then I go back to work.
Okay, okay, not really complaining about that. The kind of emotional up-and-down started then, however. "We've got work for now, but we don't know for how long." That little chorus got old fast. It was never wrong or badly meant, but after skating along the edge of that for a while, you forget that it really is a long way down. We really were always looking at limited work, but that's easy to overlook when another packet of it just keeps dropping outside your door a bit before you run through the last batch.
Even over the summer, when things got thin, they found work for me; however unpleasant - and those of you who know me know what I was complaining about. But it picked up again, sure enough. I think the rest of the team was on a reduced schedule for about a week, maybe 10 days. I suppose it's something too that the company worked to find me something I could bill for.
The summer was no picnic for other reasons. M___'s hospital stay was considerably worse for him and E________, obviously, but watching that roller-coaster from unfamiliar sidelines was no easy task. Between that and the deteriorating work situation, it felt more like something to get through and finish rather than something to make the best of. Truthfully, I do miss Fox Soccer Channel, but that's about it.
Of course, that wasn't the only problem. J______ had her job yanked out from under her and then partially returned. That was a fun ride. She remains on a reduced schedule, and fortunately hasn't been rearranging the furniture from boredom for awhile. That could change tomorrow, I realize, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
So here we are with the work finally gone for real. HP has offshored the majority of their document production, Siemens doesn't have any immediate projects, and nothing's in the offing for months at least. Time to fire up that unemployment again. Thank the Goddess we paid of the largest part of our debt in the spring. That helps. Still, we're moving into the really expensive part of the year with her on half-time and me on no-time. And now I've got to get back into the groove of doing stuff with my time while hoping desperately to end that groove as soon as possible. Yuck.
Yeah, not the best time. Still, not the worst year I've ever had. There's still the potential for things to even out. And not everything's bad. M____ is recovering. The regular, Friday D&D game continues enjoyable. A___ got his EMT certification. B____ went back to school. E___ is getting married in April. And the season of soccer with the Sounders has been a hands-down blast (some of the asshats surrounding us notwithstanding). Very much looking forward to next season. So there's some balance there. I could do with a little more on the plus side, though. Winning the lottery, for example. That would balance things nicely. :)