Laid Off For Christmas

 
The day before Christmas eve, my boss sat down across from me in her office and informed me that she would be laying me off in January. While it came as no surprise, and I had been mentally preparing myself for over a month, it still sucked royally. The project that I've been working on has come to a grinding halt and my boss has been giving me off jobs to fill my time. Nothing thus far has indicated that my project will be picking up so I don't blame them for laying me off. I'm going to be the fourth person they've let go in the past two months.

Unfortunately, if you're looking at salaries, I am the primary breadwinner for my family and we're going to have to do some monetary acrobatics to make things run smoothly. I had hoped to be at this job for at least two years before grad school, and all our financial plans are built around that timeline. We just recently met our first savings goal and moved up our next since we were doing so well. Without my job, there's no way we'll be meeting that goal or any others anytime soon, even though E is working his butt off and doing extremely well. I'm really proud of him and the incredible progress he's made in his field and I feel like I'm letting our family down. We're pushing back our plans to replace E's car, move out and start a family. I think I'm more upset about that than the actual loss of my job.

I'm not sure when my official last day will be, and I'm hoping my boss draws it out as much as possible. Each day I stay employed is another check we can put towards our bills. Our December and January bills are always out of control with all the holiday happenings and this lay off could not have come at a worse time (as if there's ever a good time to get laid off!). I've been checking around for other jobs for a couple weeks now and haven't found a single opening in anything remotely related to my field. Finding a new job was not originally one of my New Years resolutions but you can bet it's on the list now.

(Old) New Years Resolutions:

1. Lose Weight Gained Since Wedding

2. Train Dog

3. Pick Grad Program

4. Save, Save, Save

(New) New Years Resolutions:

*****1. Find Job*****

2. Other Stuff

By the way, I'm mildly disturbed by the amount of laid off cartoons on the internet. I typed "laid off" into google images hoping to get a few good ones and instead found roughly a million. This is not a good time to be unemployed.

Congratulations to My Pony

Yesterday, my bestest friend Pony, got offered a full time position at one of his dream companies! I am so stinkin' proud of him for everything that he's accomplished that I have to post about it. He works in a field where you have to study for interviews and take complicated interview tests and he totally rocked his interviewer's socks off.

Pony, congratulations for everything you have accomplished. I wish E and I could celebrate with you in person now but we'll have to wait till Thanksgiving. We love you!

Holy Paychecks Batman, More Work!

(Source)

After just two short weeks in my current position, my boss has offered me a full time job. It was really unexpected but upon further consideration I think it's a fabulous opportunity for me and for E and I together. The salary will allow us to save more so we might be able to work towards a decent down payment. It has fantastic health, vision and dental. There is some travel involved. They pay for lunch everyday. It'll look fabulous on a grad school resume. While I was nervous at first, I'm getting more and more excited about it. The only thing left is to make a decision about what to do with classes while working which is tough because it's so tied up in other factors:

Option A: 
- Full time job
- Part time school (no tuition)
- Loans roll over
- I keep parental insurance
- Possible pro-rated salary due to insurance not needed

Option B: 
- Full time job
- No school
- Loans go into repayment
- I take job insurance

Once I get the job squared away, we need to deal with the temptation of moving. Although I'd obviously love to, we shouldn't jump the gun and move out. Our current location means I am approximately 5 minutes away from work and we'd never be able to afford to live that close on our own. No rent means more savings. A house vs apartment means Milou has a backyard with a dog door. Plus, when my mom adopted Tintin we promised her that we'd be there for awhile so he and Milou could play together and run out their puppy energy. Without us being here with our puppy, she would not have adopted such a young dog. I also essentially run the house which is going to be difficult to do with a job or a job+school. I don't relish sharing the responsibilities since I'm a control freak I love doing them but I'm going to have to. I'm also fairly sure my mother and sister might off each off if left to live alone.

Ideas? Thoughts? What would you do? I'm hoping the salary will make the decision for me but I don't know if it will for sure.

A New Job

I have a new job. Yes, let me say that again. I. Have. A. New. Job. Those are not words I was expecting to type out for awhile but I admit I am excited about it.

I have worked for this company a few years ago doing database work and very much enjoyed the experience. It's a solid company with genuinely good people and the work environment was always positive.

This time I am returning not as a computer tech but as a researcher and consultant on an Education and Community Development project. It's really exciting stuff, the kind of material I review on my own time for my own personal enjoyment, but this time I get paid for it! It's confidential so I can't discuss much but it is cutting edge research that I'm hoping will have a positive impact on the world.

Thus far I've only committed to part time work but as long as I can fit my classes in with my work schedule  I'll add more hours. If I continue it should be enough to help me save for graduate school and hopefully lead me towards one of my desired careers. Fingers are crossed, I would love to be able to make up my mind!

Also, I will be in an office. With a window. While it's not an exam room, at least it's not a cubicle!

(Source)