Today’s the day I clean out my cubicle. Tomorrow’s my last official day, but I don’t expect it’ll be a full day and I’d rather spend it getting my goodbyes in than cleaning up so I’m going to get the cleaning up bit done today. I’m a little nervous as this will be the first time in the 10 or so years I’ve been working as a contractor that I haven’t moved directly from one assignment to the next. It’ll also be the first time I’ve ever collected unemployment.
I’m not going to miss the position as I never wanted to be a planner in the first place and I wasn’t happy with being forced into the role from my position as a 2nd Level PC Tech, a job I did love. I will miss the building I resided in and its residents. There are a lot of good people there who thought I was the greatest tech they’d ever had and who still come to me on occasion and ask for help because they’re not getting it through the official process. I’ve been amused by the fact that this has picked up in the last three weeks as word got around that I was being let go. It’s like they were double checking to see if they had any outstanding problems the SPOC folks couldn’t fix so they could ask me before I was unavailable. That’s flattering in a way. Several of the building residents have been helpful in forwarding my resume on to other areas that are looking for tech workers and I’ve talked to an unprecedented number of contract houses as a result. It has been a pleasure working with these folks and they will be what I miss the most.
On the job search front it’s been a mixed bag so far. There’s no shortage of listings for tech work on the job search websites, but Michigan’s unemployment is tied with Alaska for worst in the nation so there must be a shitload of people all trying for these jobs as well. I’ve got around 40 or so resumes that I’ve personally submitted out there along with who knows how many that have been passed along by helpful people, but so far I haven’t had a single interview. Still, I’m optimistic as there are a lot of contract houses that seem to think they can find something for me to do and my own contract house has an internal project that I am being considered for that would require a two year commitment. My pimp mentions the two year part like it might be a problem. I pointed out that I love my contract house and the only reason I might give up a good position before two years is up would be if I won the lottery.
Anyway, as long as I’m not out of work for more than a couple of weeks then the time off should be useful in terms of making me really flexible in scheduling interviews. I get paid once a month and today is payday for the time I put in for January. So I have, essentially, a month of time before I receive my final paycheck for the current position which will have 11 days on it. One month to find something new to do before things start to get precarious. Whew! I’m getting a little nervous just thinking about it.
Oh, and if any of you guys are famous Hollywood producers or directors that have been thinking I’d make a great unknown for your next film then now’s the time to act. I’m inexpensive and willing to put up with huge amounts of abuse in return for moderate fame and fortune.
Oregon’s unemployment rate isnt too pretty either. But do not despair. The only way you won’t find a job is if you stop looking. Hang in there.