milonga

Last week it was announced that the unemployment rate hit 6.5%.

I am part of that statistic as of Wednesday, when after 8 1/2 years of service, I was laid off from my company. I'm not bitter, since I knew there was a possibility of that happening, and I did get a severance package. Yet, that doesn't make it any easier to handle. I was given two (2) hours to pack or say goodbye or just leave. I decided to take all my personal belongings, and two of my co-workers from my group helped me pack up, so that I had enough time to send out a short email to some of my friends and colleagues (which was short, to the point and professional).

Granted it's only been about 3 days, but I feel as though I am on vacation. I decided to take the first few days to 'decompress', since I had been under a lot of stress and hadn't been happy at work for the last year and half (if not longer). I got together with a fellow 'unemployed' friend and we've been exploring some of the 'free' activities around Seattle. On Thursday, we went to the SAM (Seattle Art Museum), since first Thursday of every month, museums and art galleries offer free admission. And then, on Friday, we went to the Kubota Gardens (Japanese Gardens). It is said that these are haunted, but we didn't see anything, other than perhaps it was a little strange that we could see our breath while standing by one of the ponds (it was about 62F that day), but that could've been a result of higher humidity.

I am trying to remain positive because I would like to find a job a quickly as possible, because I do have a family to support, and the money will run out at one point. But, at the same time, I don't want to just take any position with any company. So we'll see...

In the meantime, no more free pound of coffee a week or 30% discount for me! Unless my old work buddies offer it to me