Done this week (20120225 Mo - 0301 Fr)

[mdlbear]

Did I mention that I hate roller coasters? This last week has been one.

Tuesday started out great -- Naomi picked me up and drove us down to Cortiva, her massage school, which was having a free clinic day. I had two lovely massages, concentrating on my back, shoulders, arms, hands, and calves. N's new GF was there, too. We had a couple of nice talks.

Then at 4pm I was in a suspiciously small meeting with Ryan, the manager in charge of the Disney ID group, who had hired me back in October. Sure enough, there had been a surprise budget cut. My last day will be March 8th.

Same day as the house closing. Oops.

From there it was all downhill; I gave the bad news to our real estate broker, who at first said to go through with it anyway, and then had second thoughts. Thursday I spent packing, trying to work from home, fielded a phone call from a headhunter and a phone interview with Limelight Video Platform. (I now have three headhunters and one company recruiter working on the problem, and it looks as though there won't be much more than a few weeks of gap between jobs.)

I also spent Thursday getting more and more fragile and frazzled; by the time we got to the airport I was pretty much a wreck, and by the time we finally got in to the hotel and got to bed I was seriously depressed.

Sometime Friday morning, while I was out at Fry's buying a new power brick for the netbook (I'd brought one; I just didn't realize that it was still set up for Colleen's Dell), I got a call from the mortgage broker, Kathryn, who said that the deal was still on. She'd explained to Dave that, although Disney had terminated my contract early, I was still employed by the contract agency, KForce. SHE UNDERSTANDS!

Now, if only the underwriter understands. That's still a risk, and I'm not going to be comfortable until I have the keys in my hot little hands. It could make my last day at Disney rather interesting.

And we could still end up with no house, and a pile of new furniture in our living rooms. If that happens, Naomi wants to build. I think that could work, but only if we can figure out ways to cut the price drastically; a first cut put the construction costs at around $700K, which is about twice what I'd feel comfortable with.

This old spectacled bear is, I'm afraid, also a skeptical bear.

But, after spending much of Friday afternoon chasing down pay stubs and bank statements and emailing them to Kathryn, I felt much more relaxed. Margaritas, prime rib, and hugs from friends completed the process, and it looks like I'll actually be able to enjoy the con.

Did I mention that I'm at Consonance this weekend? I apparently hadn't mentioned it before, leading to several people wondering whether we'd show up this year. There were times when I had my doubts.

0225 Mo
  * up 6:20; W=203.4; d, n, l; dishes, light
  * walk:  only to Office Max and back.  Uninteresting.
  
0226 Tu
  * N will pick up between 7:30 and 7:45
  * 8:30 Massage clinic - ride down with Naomi  Two massages, from Jennifer and
    Cassandra.  Back, back of legs, shoulders; arms/hands, back.  Nice.
  * Cortiva charges $35/hour for student massages; $25 for seniors (55+)
  : laid off.  One of -six- _8_ people let go, so 15-20% of the group.  Things are
    already in motion; hopefully I won't be out of work long.  Told (realtor)
    Dave; his response after I told him that I think I can handle a couple of
    months between jobs was "We didn't have this conversation." 
      The timing sucks -- my last day is March 8th; same day as house closing. 
  * Contacted Lexie at KForce, via Ashley
  " C:  We'll make it.
    me: Naomi thinks so, too.  I hope so.  
    C:  _You_ take a lot of convincing.
    me: Skeptical bear.
  "

0827 We
  * up 3:35; W=203.4; d, n, l; dishes
  @ 'Social Reading' The Next Phase Of E-Book Revolution (Jamey Graham on LinkedIn)
    " To get at that serious information, read it and discuss it freely, McGuire
      thinks within the next five years, every page of every book will become
      its own searchable webpage with its own URL. 
    " -- cf Penguinsong.  -- Maybe...?
  * humira
  * Contacted Karise
  * more with Lexie.
  * two phone calls lined up for tomorrow:  roosterpark and limelight
  * Dave Reith called; we're still in trouble.  Need to contact KForce tomorrow
    and find out *exactly* what the story is.
  @ How to create social media interaction for small business websites |
    TechRepublic (via Andrea Dale on LinkedIn)
  * Today's mail included the loan packet from Evergreen, to be signed and
    mailed back.  But can I do that now?  Crap.
  * print boarding passes
  
0228 Th
  * check hotel; adjust check-in date if necessary -> it was necessary
  * rent car Avis 26946182US4
  * 1:30 limelight competitor of brightcove limelightvideoplatform.com
  * pack 
  * Walgreen's - pantsu, pink pads, my prescriptions, chair pads
  [ N's phone not working:  grace's phone 206-380-8911.,]
  * 4:30 leave LFP -> more like 4:45 or 5
  * 6:10 be at airport
  & forgot Colleen's cane; wrong plug on charger.  Idiot bear.  Extremely
    frazzled when leaving; close to breaking down in room.  I hate this.
  * Traveled without Chami -- just Red (the shoulder bag), the CPAP bag (which
    flies for free as medical equipment), and Plink (whose bag is big enough for
    my jacket as well).  One suitcase each.  *finally* figured out how to carry
    the Hartmann bag -- extend the handle on *both* suitcases, and hook one of
    the H's handles over each.
  * They put us in one of the corner suites, with a booster seat on the toilet
    and a grab rail on the tub.  Getting into the bathroom is a little tight for
    Colleen, but she has a huge amount of room to maneuver in the bedroom.  It's
    a little odd sleeping on the "wrong" side of the bed.

0301-3 Consonance - Milpitas Crowne Plaza
  x probably work best if we drive down, and I drive back with Stuff.
  ~ Hotel 0301 Fr - 0304 Mo Acknowledgement #: 326N738G (408) 321-9500 
    2 Double Beds Nonsmoking Check-In: 03/01/2013 Check-out 03/04/2013
  * Seattle/Tacoma, WA - SEA  to  San Jose, CA - SJC 02/28/2013  -  03/04/2013
    08:10 PM	Depart Seattle/Tacoma, WA (SEA)		Flight #3216 
    10:20 PM 	Arrive in San Jose, CA (SJC) 		Travel Time 2 h 10 m

0301 Fr
  * up 7ish; d, n, t
  * breakfast buffet.  The restaurants, downstairs, are still being remodeled;
    they set up the buffet in one of the ballrooms, and the restaurant menu is
    being served out of room service with no delivery fee.
  * Went to Fry's (for netbook charger) - they had refurb iGo Greens
  * call from (loan officer) Kathryn -- apparently the deal's still on -- they
    understand about contract agencies!
    ! a bit dazed.  Cautiously optimistic
  * Bischoff's and ABC Medical
  * Updated LinkedIn profile.
  * Spent quite a bit of the afternoon chasing down both a decent connection and
    the last bits of documentation that Kathryn needed.  Finally gave her login
    info over the phone for a couple of accounts (UB and the paystub site).
  * Margaritas in the "bar" -- the 12th floor lobby.
  * Out to Black Angus for dinner -- pieces of dead cow.  Prime rib.  I don't
    have it all that often.
  * heard most of Scott Snyder's concert from the hall outside, talking.  He's
    an amazing guitarist. 
  * no singing today.

Comments

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

Oh, man! My thumbs are held for y'all: may everything come to a desirable consummation, with less misery than makes any sense on the way.

[mdlbear]

Thanks!

[smoooom.livejournal.com]

I hope the con helps you relax. Keeping fingers crossed on all fronts.

[mdlbear]

Thanks!

[joecoustic.livejournal.com]

Wow, I know just what you mean!! I used to live a roller coaster sort of life myself and though it worked for me once I so resent it now! I'm looking forward to my life returning to it's calm boring state more than I can tell you :).

Also I think in this case (as in many cases) being careful and skeptical with the outgoing money is never a bad idea.

I really hope you can take the weekend off from these worries and enjoy the con, and I'll be thinking good work/mortgage thoughts for you all!!