Saturday we went down to K.T.'s for the Werewolf game. I had fun hanging out with everyone, but the game itself was a bit disappointing - strictly combat, very little role-playing, a tiny baby bit of puzzle-solving. It's not K.T.'s fault - I could tell she was just as frustrated with it as I was. But there didn't seem to be any way out of it.
Much to everyone's surprise, Joel showed up. Just when we were getting ready to move on without him. I think K.T.'s looking for an excuse to kick him out of the game for good - he's just not a very good role-player. All combat, no personal interaction. I wouldn't miss him if she did kick him out, but she has to be careful, since he's Kevin's ride to work a lot of the time.
Sunday, we went over to my parents' to celebrate my birthday. I'd asked to go to Outback steakhouse for lunch/dinner (we went at 3; what would you call it?) which was wonderful, and I'll be having leftovers for lunch today. And I got my presents from them, which Mom kept insisting were nothing exciting, but which I certainly was happy with - a cordless drill and circular saw, bits for the drill (actually from my brother), a storage box for Christmas ornaments, a gift certificate for clothes, a travel bag, and this so-ugly-it's-actually-cute turkey basket in the picture. 
Matt's been sortof tense and grouchy lately. He's almost as much of a worrier as I am, and getting an interview with Syscon has really upped his worry-meter. He's worried that they'll get the SuperTech to interview me and I'll botch the interview and be depressed. He's worried that they won't offer me a job and I'll be depressed. He's worried that they will offer me a job and I'll hate it and be depressed. (Are you sensing a trend here?) He's worried that if I get another job too soon after going to Syscon, it'll look bad on my resume. Of course, he's trying not to let me know how worried he is, so he's trying to suppress it, and it's just leaking out everywhere else. Anything that doesn't go perfectly according to plan earns a grouch.
My plan is to take the job if Syscon offers it to me, and then keep my eye open for better jobs. The very worst part of all this, for me, is the uncertainty. I could probably find another job better than Syscon's before the end of the year, but I'm not certain. We could probably make my severance pay stretch to the end of January, but I'm not certain. One thing I know for certain is that the unemployment I can collect will not be enough to pay half the mortgage on the house, much less cover any of the other bills.
As far as I'm concerned, the current corporate structure of the country not only allows for frequent job changes, it encourages it. I can remember a time when my dad changed jobs every three years, like clockwork. He's been with Syscon for over fifteen years now (discounting a short layoff period somewhere in the middle) - mostly out of personal loyalty to the head manager at the office. Now that that manager is about to retire, Dad's been looking around again.
I'm not too worried about working someplace I hate. I hope I'll be able to leave my job worries at the office, but if I can't, then it won't bother me in the slightest to look for something else. Something better. I have no intention of ever again making the mistake of thinking that my loyalty to a company translates into the company's loyalty to me. I will keep my resume up to date, and scan the want ads every Sunday, even if I'm not really looking.
Last night, as I was typing all of my "Things To Do" into my PDA (File weekly unemployment claim; write thank-you notes; send out the weekly resumes) I started a list of things I could do if I was bored.
Wow, what a list. And I didn't even put down things I should do, like go to the gym, cleaning the house, or working in the yard. Without even touching a computer, there were at least five items - hours of activity! I certainly won't have any reason to complain of boredom while I'm unemployed! If you can think of things to do to add to my list of options, let me know!
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