People Rock
I have some good-sized challenges ahead of me.
I have no back-ups -- no husband or other significant other with a job, no roommates willing to cut me a break on rent while I get back on my feet, no nearby relatives. My parents (their house is the easiest place for me to move) live almost five hundred miles away. Like so many places, jobs are hard to come by around here, particularly jobs that fit my particular qualifications.
Those are the challenges. This is a potentially catastrophic blow. As I type that it sounds melodramatic, but it's true, especially knowing that lesser things have leveled me in the past, if only temporarily.
However.
In the meantime, I have a bunch of fantastic friends who have offered all sorts of help, whether it's a place to stay or a contact with a company or to provide a reference. My parents are willing to help me move (and willing to put up with their grown-up daughter for a few months while I figure out where I'm headed next). There are people all over the country who have offered a couch or a spare bedroom if I end up there on a job search (or a grad school visit, or just because I need to get away).
There are the people who turned up last night at my moderately impromptu "I just got laid off and I want to be around friends" evening. Including three people that drove 3 hours each (well, two of them came together) and surprised me. I was nearly in tears.
And then there are the people who have been laid off before. There's a sadly huge volume of advice flowing my direction (some of it better than others) and lots of people willing to lend an ear for a little while.
The biggest thing everybody seems to have in common is faith in the idea that I'll be fine. And while I had no doubt of that myself -- I know things will work out -- it is infinitely more comforting to know that other people think the same way. These people have faith in my abilities and some of the decisions I've already made, and only two days after the initial blow they're offering words of support without words of worry. If anything was going to bolster my confidence, this is it.
It's strange, but even though the last week and a half has been utterly chaotic (from the flood to the wedding to suddenly finding myself unemployed) I feel more calm than I have in ages. Yes, there are tons of things to get done (as terrible as I am with holding still, I hate packing up all my belongings and moving -- easily the worst part about this next month) and there are all sorts of less-than-fun things going on ... But in the end?
It'll all work out.
I am an incredibly lucky woman.
And so begins my new normal. With awesome friends around me and plenty of planning to do -- I can't be bored. Believe it or not, sometimes that's all I need.
Here's to the next step.
I have no back-ups -- no husband or other significant other with a job, no roommates willing to cut me a break on rent while I get back on my feet, no nearby relatives. My parents (their house is the easiest place for me to move) live almost five hundred miles away. Like so many places, jobs are hard to come by around here, particularly jobs that fit my particular qualifications.
Those are the challenges. This is a potentially catastrophic blow. As I type that it sounds melodramatic, but it's true, especially knowing that lesser things have leveled me in the past, if only temporarily.
However.
In the meantime, I have a bunch of fantastic friends who have offered all sorts of help, whether it's a place to stay or a contact with a company or to provide a reference. My parents are willing to help me move (and willing to put up with their grown-up daughter for a few months while I figure out where I'm headed next). There are people all over the country who have offered a couch or a spare bedroom if I end up there on a job search (or a grad school visit, or just because I need to get away).
There are the people who turned up last night at my moderately impromptu "I just got laid off and I want to be around friends" evening. Including three people that drove 3 hours each (well, two of them came together) and surprised me. I was nearly in tears.
And then there are the people who have been laid off before. There's a sadly huge volume of advice flowing my direction (some of it better than others) and lots of people willing to lend an ear for a little while.
The biggest thing everybody seems to have in common is faith in the idea that I'll be fine. And while I had no doubt of that myself -- I know things will work out -- it is infinitely more comforting to know that other people think the same way. These people have faith in my abilities and some of the decisions I've already made, and only two days after the initial blow they're offering words of support without words of worry. If anything was going to bolster my confidence, this is it.
It's strange, but even though the last week and a half has been utterly chaotic (from the flood to the wedding to suddenly finding myself unemployed) I feel more calm than I have in ages. Yes, there are tons of things to get done (as terrible as I am with holding still, I hate packing up all my belongings and moving -- easily the worst part about this next month) and there are all sorts of less-than-fun things going on ... But in the end?
It'll all work out.
I am an incredibly lucky woman.
And so begins my new normal. With awesome friends around me and plenty of planning to do -- I can't be bored. Believe it or not, sometimes that's all I need.
Here's to the next step.
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