The Universe Has Its Ways...

Well, I must say that this has been an...um...interesting (yes, that's it, interesting) day. At work, we delivered the project to the customer (after working all weekend), the deployment was a little bumpy (customer-induced), and then I got laid off. Three-quarters of my team was laid off, which leaves one person to test the product and answer support calls, as well doing the five million other things that we did.

This presents a dilemma. On the one hand, a part of me says "Free, free at last! Thank God I'm free at last!" On the other hand, another part of me is thinking "Ohmigod...I've got to find a job right away!" On the third hand (pretend I'm one of those Hindu deities with lots of arms), another part of says "Woo hoo! I can now devote lots of time to spinning and knitting and maybe I'll pick start weaving again." On the fourth hand...well, I could go on and on.

What is clear is that for some time now, I've been feeling like I've gone as far as I could with developing a QE and Tech Support team, without spending more money, which wasn't available (my budget consisted of the team's salaries). So today's layoff was the universe's way of saying "Listen up, girlie-girl, it's time to take on something new. So you're outta here! Good luck. And write when you find work!"

So, what's next? I'm going to take some time to figure it out and not just plunge blindly into searching for another job. Do I want to stay in high tech? Do I want to go low tech and try something new? Can I make fiber arts a more integral part of my life? Should I go back to school and work on a Master's in Social and Organizational Learning? Can I learn to just chill out for a while?

For those who have responded to my challenge so far, thank you! I was very excited and pleased to see responses coming in. I hope you do excuse me for not posting them tonight. I've been a bit distraught distracted this evening. However, now I've got plenty of time to work on the gallery! I'll start posting pictures tomorrow.