hasta lavista

first things first. i'm unemployed... AGAIN.

more to the point, there was a mass lay-off yesterday, and i was one of the lucky 28 who got let go. but i have to admit, the second time around is not as bad as i thought (* i was also part of a mass lay off on july 16, 2003). i was admittedly surprised, but not entirely because i had spent a good part of the last couple of months surfing the web. i had started a new role and my training wasn't going as well as i'd hoped, at no fault to anyone in my new department. the right project wasn't there for me to do the learning, and i had kind of placed myself in an awkward situation. the whole formula of no work, lack of skills and the fact i was getting my old salary at a junior level made me a strong candidate for the boot.

the one thing i know i've gained is a pretty solid network. i logged on to msn this morning, so i could start telling people, "i'm unemployed!!" people were mostly concerned, wanting to make sure we were ok, but people had already started sending word out to their extended networks. there have been some interesting leads so far. unfortunately, i'll have to return to my old role for now.

on the plus side, i enjoyed sleeping in today. i needed time to digest everything that had happened, and what's better than more time off after the holiday break? i met kirk for brunch, and then artur for coffee later on to discuss an opportunity at his company. so things are not as glum as people think and i'm optimistic about finding something that fits.

speaking of a good fit, the last place i should be after a dismissal is at the mall. but i had to go there today because in a freak accident, i broke my laptop adaptor. so i had to go to the apple store this evening to get a new one. $100 later, i was waiting for nancy and craig and wandered into a shoe store, where i saw an amazing pair of flats for $49, in the colour i wanted, my size - $70 off the original price! i felt a little too positive, cause i bought them. heh he.

considering the past day's events, it turned out to be a pretty good day. and what's a new pair of cheap shoes? a little bit of (controlled) retail therapy is a good for the soul. it also reminds you that things are going to be a-ok.