Oh, there is so much to blog about today…

First off, I got laid off from work this past week. My last day was Friday. I’ve been thinking about how I wanted to write about this major event in my life, and, for a while, I was bitter about it all. I even was opting at one point to write this nasty entry about it all. After giving myself a couple days to reflect on it all, I’ve decided to just state some simple facts about it. I was laid off Friday because my job was phased out. The software and most of the systems I’ve worked on over the past seven years have been going away this year, and the last big software package I supported is being shut down on December 1st. I was officially let go around 10:30am on Friday, and they gave me the option of staying the rest of the day. I immediately packed up my stuff. What was the use of staying there for seven and a half more hours? Plus, I really didn’t want to go through the entire emotional ordeal that surrounds someone leaving – people stopping by, asking about the details, hugging, crying, etc. I guess I’m too much of a pussy for that stuff.

So, I told the guys what had happened and Jeff told me to get my stuff together and we’d go to lunch. I said goodbye to my boss, John, and to Chad, both of whom I’ve worked with in the department for the past 2 years or so. Me, Jeff, Schafer, David, Kelly, Paul and Peter all got into our cars around noon or so and headed downtown to Two Senoritas for lunch. I had my usual, the marinated chicken burritos. We sat there, laughed about things, talked about the future and, in general, had a lot of fun. These guys are a fun bunch and I’ll miss hanging out with them everyday, playing Tap-It, and talking about disgusting things. Thanks for the fun guys!

As for me, the company gave me a seven-week severance package and paid out my vacation time. I don’t have and precise plans yet, but I have my recruiter looking into things and should be on the warpath for a new job after Thanksgiving (I’m told next week is dead for recruiting).

Well, what else is going on?… Well, after telling Schunk about everything that happened at work, he and I went out to the Sarasota Ale House for drinks Friday night. We talked about stuff, and one of the topics that came up was that we hadn’t been to see and R/C air shows in a while. Well, it just so happens that there was a show going on this weekend, so we headed out this morning to go see it. Me, Jon, his daughter and his dad all met at Jon’s house around 10:00am this morning and then proceeded to head over to the airfield. I snapped a bunch of photos and uploaded them to the Picture Gallery. Anyway, I had a couple of big hot dogs (of course) and a Diet Coke, and we sat and watched the pilots qualify. The field was hosting the 2006 Corvin Miller Memorial Contest U.S. Scale Masters Qualifier. We watched several exquisite aircraft fly. At one point a custom-built jet took off and I stood there and just took in the awesome smell of the kerosene. Mmm. We stayed until about 11:30 and then headed back to Schunk’s, where I soon departed for home.

I’ve also caught up on my comic book listing, and that’s now current in the Digital Archive.

Yesterday I picked up a copy of Cars on DVD and Shauna and I watched it last night. Great movie. I was amazed at the complexity of some of the scenes. The textures were amazing. Top-notch, Pixar. Top-notch.

I’ve also started reading Stephen King’s new book, On Writing.  I’ve made it all the way through the third introduction.

Sick Thought of the Day: Heat the iron, stick the tip into the sphincter, make the room smell like burnt dog hair.