DOWN WITH PANTS!

Today I wake up a free man. Yesterday was my last day of work and I am now totally and completely unemployed. It's such a weird feeling. Last year at this time I was working two jobs and was just about ready to start a third for the summer. Now I have none. Darn!

I left my job because of our impending move to Ventura, California. It comes at a very good time because the atmosphere in my department had turned from frigid indifference to downright poisonous. Everybody was out to get each other and stab them in the back. It really had turned into a chore to stay above it all and I failed in some instances, but I feel like I did my best to keep from going crazy like everyone else has.

But it was kind of fun to watch the drama everyday. You never knew who was going to fly off the handle or what lie might be said about you from day to day. It was entertaining to see what new tactics my coworker would come up with to work even slower than the day before. Yes, that daily soap opera is probably what I'll miss the most about the job, that and the half-price toys. Oh yeah, and the steady income.

So now I'm starting the Ventura job hunt in earnest. I've got a couple of irons in the fire down there already and if worse comes to worse I can always temp or start my baseball umpiring career. My hope is to establish residency right away and next year go back to college and finally finish my degree in something or other.

But until I have steady employment my plan is to just sit on the beach, hang out and be cool. Sounds like heaven to me.