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I found a new job. That makes the total time in limbo about twenty-four days, but since two weeks of that was killed by Christmas, I think I did okay. I also got another of the layoff victims a job at the same place with me.

Grand total for being laid off is: no loss of income, several thousand dollars in bonuses and pay outs,...
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I love packing for a trip. I don't always love the airport or flying or anything else, but there is a certain zen to packing that makes me feel okay.

As always, my technology marches forward making my travel lighter. Just as an MP3 player (an old Creative Nomad) replaced CDs and CD-related paraphernalia, a e-ink book has replaced the novels that I usually carry....
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Today, I was informed that I would be laid off on the second of February.

I said to my boss, "The Japanese have a saying, 'The nail that sticks up gets hammered.'"

He asked, "What do you mean by that?"

I smiled and replied, "It means that I'd rather work with competent carpenters."

Edit: I also think I ruined their whole thing when I started...
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Friday morning, cold weather and dreary traffic. I was climbing the hill toward the freeway, and a white Subaru WRX STI went barreling past. I looked myself in the mirror, smile, and slammed the clutch down with my worn black Chucks. Just then, "Leper Messiah" started playing, and I smiled. Five miles of high speed daredevilry through heavy traffic later, I waved to my playmate...
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At some point in the day, I tried to create a new internet meme by randomly telling people that Scott Baio would rise again. It didn't get very far. I'm pretty lazy.

My day wasn't as lollipops and ponies as I thought it was going to be, and I was absolutely ineffective. I cried a bit, but I cry a lot for how hard I can be. I was reminded that I still have some niggling human vulnerability, but that diminishes.

However, I survived and had some chicken fried steak. Even the bad days aren't really that...
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I look up from writing tomorrow's to-do list as something exceptionally pretty by Yoko Kanno begins on iTunes. The end of my Montblanc pen taps absently against my lip as I think. I set the pen down gently and take a handful of sour dried cherries and raw cashews from the bowl on my desk. I chew them slowly savoring the taste before washing them...
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Snow days or unused electronics somehow always lead to me muttering shit like, "How can I not have a 6-pin male to 4-pin male firewire cable in this damned box?" Today was both, so I muttered to beat the band.

Five days off, ample monetary resources, no responsibilities, and what will I likely do?

Nothing, and with luck it'll be all I hoped it could be.

See you kids on the other side.

I'm considering buying a Sony Reader. It seems to be the perfect confluence of everything I love: books, hemorrhaging-edge gadgetry, environmentalism, and design.

Plus, it would be way easier to lug around in a carry-on bag than half a dozen books.