The gleam of daybreak

[rydain]

Let's get the worst out first. I got laid off. My reviews were stellar over four years of employment. I just happened to lose a game of Contract Musical Chairs during a time of uncertainty in the realm of government R&D funding. I have contacts, I have references, I have excellent prospects lined up - including an interview soon to come with a

Comments

[aetherspoon]

Ah yes, the moment where you get to prefix your title with "senior".
At least it sounds like it didn't hit you at an abysmal time (being defined as, "no prospects and [insert emergency] happening).

[rydain]

Yep. The spousal unit has pretty much fossilized into job security, I qualify for unemployment, and we could live on his salary if necessary. It could be a lot worse.

Last time I got laid off, I was on the verge of burnout and grateful for the time off and upgrade into a better position. This time around should be similarly fortuitous, though I was happy with my former job. My best employment prospect is Penn State, which offers reasonable salaries, excellent vacation time, an emphasis on work/life balance, and deeply discounted tuition, meaning that I could get a master's in two years or so if I wished. I have two recommendations in addition to the four listed on my resume, so I'm quite optimistic about my chances, even though I have the expected ants in my pants about having to wait for my application to go through and all the departmental higher-ups to be available for an interview.

[donesschen]

Sorry to hear about that! Sucks :( But hope you get a new job soon, good luck :D

[rydain]

Thank you! I'm sure I will. While things are still moving through the system, I've been enjoying the opportunity to flail all over DW8 stuff without having to worry about those pesky little matters like a regular sleep schedule. I can't speak for the overall story and quality of interactions, of course, but the maps are so much freaking better and seem to have improved cast participation as well. Guess which rockman gets some Badass Adversary presence against Wu instead of moping in the fort at the end of a boring map. ♥

[donesschen]

That's what I love about fandoms, they are a great distraction from the crazy real life stuff :D So is DW8 out already? I assume you've played some of it.

[rydain]

It's out in Japan, and some livestreamers got it earlier this week. I haven't played yet - I was watching streams here and there to get some idea of whether I wanted to buy this upon NA release or just pick it up eventually. Assuming it gets localized, of course, but I think that's a reasonable expectation, even if they go with text-only translations as in WO3 and DW7: Empires. I'm way more hyped than spoiled - I didn't watch anywhere near the entirety of Wei and Wu, and I can't exactly ruin much through the language barrier. Time to remember how to draw to keep myself busy until the release date. XD

[rydain]

It's all good. At least I've been able to camp the DW8 live streams and squee over Cao Ren getting his swag back, Bad Box Art Mega Man face notwithstanding. Lu Meng, Lu Su, and Han Dang all converge on him after conquering Jiangling. I have no clue what they're saying, but I was dying of testosterone overload anyhow. Too bad I can't find that archived anywhere, because it needs to be capped and creatively subtitled.

[erg_o_matic]

sucks, but it's keen that you have a plan. you continue to be awesome.