Back to square one

Up until today, I had a job. Since that is no longer the case, I’m writing this entry to fill in some of the details, sparing me from having to relay them repeatedly each time someone asks.

No, I didn’t see it coming, so I’m still feeling rather winded by the news. They didn’t have a single reason for it, saying something vague about the downtime over the weekend, as if my inability to do anything about it were a factor. Communication at that place never went beyond the bare minimum, and I was never told of anything I needed to improve on or do differently. Since I always did what I was asked and contributed to new and existing projects, I can only guess that I haven’t been liked for a while now, and they’ve been waiting to get rid of me on a technicality. (That, or they hired too many too fast and this was the easiest cost-cutting measure.) That’s too bad, because I was looking forward to contributing to the next version of the software. Now that I’m no longer on board, they’ll have to do without. But if that’s the way it has to be, I’m not going to fight it. When a software company is headed by a design person, the work of a programmer will never be fully understood or appreciated. With management like that, they’ll probably be eaten for lunch by a better-funded and better-staffed firm. (Not that I’m bitter or anything.)

What could I do? I packed what I had and took the bus home. I didn’t burn any bridges, despite the temptation. I haven’t any future plans at the moment, although my options are suddenly numerous — another city, province, or continent are all very real possibilities. The family won’t be able to go camping this summer, so once Suzanne returns home I’ll have little else coming up. These things happen to people all the time, and the best one can do after falling is bounce and keep going. This is why I’ve been so careful to not stake my identity and self-worth on having a job.

That’s all there is to it. Feel free to tip me off about any openings you know about.