Counting chickens

I found a job for Jim on the 'net that looks just about perfect. It's exactly what he has experience in, working for the EPA (a government job) and minimum pay would be 170% of what he was making before. Cool, huh?

It's in the general area of where we live -- close enough that he could commute for a while, but far enough that we would eventually have to move. It's just nice to think about being able to stay where we are until the lease runs out, rather than paying a penalty. The area is absolutely gorgeous. I like where we are now, but this is even better.

I started doing some online research on housing (we could afford a lot more than what we have now and possibly even buy a place). I keep telling myself that it's a good thing to look ahead and be prepared, but I have to be really careful not to count my chickens ahead of time. I don't want to be too disappointed if it doesn't happen.

The job was just recently posted and they'll be taking applications until the beginning of August, so I have a lot of time to both worry and count. Fingers crossed, though.

We're now a statistic

Jim just called to tell me that he has been laid off. He knew something was up because he got a call yesterday from the lab manager, saying that he wasn't to come in early like he usually does, but to wait until a meeting that was scheduled for 8:00 this morning. The meeting must have been a little early because it's now 7:40.

We'll be all right for a while. He gets a month's severance pay, and health insurance will continue for that time. Then he will get the back vacation pay they owe him, which is almost 8 weeks, so we have income at the same level through September. I doubt that we'll have insurance after this month, though. He said he has some paperwork that he's bringing home, so maybe there will be information there.

The thing that just kills me is that he gave so much to that company. Way over and above what anybody has the right to expect from an employee. On days when he was coming home "at the normal time", that would mean that he only worked 10 hours -- with no breaks -- instead of 12 or 14 hours. Several times he went four or more weeks at a time without a day off at all. And they shaft him.

On the up side, he has referred to the lab as "the bad place" for a long time. He joked about this being his opportunity to become a professional poker player. :-) At least we should be able to spend a few days of just being together before he gets into dealing with resumes and interviews and all that goes into looking for a new job. At least it's not cold out, and we don't owe any money to anyone.