Wife to be laid off

We knew this was likely as she works for a bank.

My wife has received notice that she will be laid off in 5 weeks.
The severence package is... unbelievably fair. Over a year of pay
and benefits (minus 401k matching, serously the only cut!).

My job has also become far less secure. :(
Oh, I have an out. By 'volunteering' for a high travel assignment,
I secure my position for a while. (In negotiation, I only found out yesterday.)
My previous boss wants me back and I do not have enough supporters to be
'bullet proof' at headquarters. :( But it means a ton of time away from
my wife and daughter.

Kinda sucks after getting another awsome review
(but pay raises are tiny this year, my lowest ever).
But my skill set has gone from being in short supply to a surplus with layoffs and
a few individuals 'reading the tea leaves' and taking early retirement.

Thank God we didn't buy. Why?
1. Our little two bedroom cottage has low rent (for the area)
2. Lawn service is included
3. Its not that hard to clean
4. Down payment sitting in CD's. :)
5. We can *easily* rent on just one income.
6. We were living as if we had bought a place that cost $850k, money has been 'tight.' Now that is an 'artificial tight' as we were pocketing the
difference into our 'car and furniture fund.'

One of the reasons I haven't blogged as much is the nervousness that these
two events would happen. Now that they have... at least we know how to adapt.
Heck, after travel pay and benefits, we should save more in 2009/2010 than
any other year. But I do hate the travel and we'll have to hire a maid (I refuse to let my wife handle cleaning chemicals while breast feeding).
I did this travel for years and burned out on it.
I've only been off it for three months and did not wish to go back. But in this
economy, its not a time to be picky. At least I'm not burnt out on travel anymore.

Oh, this travel is why I felt so qualified to do the national emotions. I'll be back at it. All corners of the US. Sigh... Hawaii travels to visit us not vice versa.

Family has volunteered to help my wife while I'm away. In particular, there will
be four weeks I'll travel while she must work. ugh...

Oh, if you travel and like to read. Buy a Kindle. I LOVE it! My one splurge lately. What book are you in the mood for? I have over a dozen loaded and two of my favorite authors are about to release a number of books onto the Kindle. Warning: the available selection is much more limited than Amazon advertises. Tons of classics, but weak on releases over the last few years.

Got Popcorn?
Neil

ps (late edit): What laptops do you recommend? My personal one just overheated/fried and needs replacement (right after a FULL backup, no file losses). I'm looking for a *tiny* one
as when I travel its best to have computer for work and another for leisure. Why?
#1, work turns off the wireless (no free hotel Wifi).
#2, no installing software on the work computer (e.g., games, firefox, etc.)
#3 I often leave the work laptop 'on site' for file transfers.

I'm seriosly thinking Linux, but how is the photo editing and speadsheets now? When I last used Linux, I had to dual boot into Windows for those features.

What I need:
100GB+ of storage (huge photo collection, mostly of my daughter, that I will not do without)
2GB+ memory
Minimal games capability (I haven't bought a new game in 3 years... I play maybe
one hour per week, but its good R&R when frustrated.)
3+ hours of battery life.
Some ruggedness as travel is hard on a laptop.

I own an external DVD writter (USB), so I can do without that built in.

I'm willing to consider an Apple laptop too. I guess its time to read the reviews..
But then again, if I give up the games, the Kindle's internet access is just good enough (and I could buy a portable USB frame for photos). Decisions... Decisions...

Neil

#39 on the Implode-o-meter

A friend of mine received notice from Ameriquest on Thursday that "his services were no longer required." Now, anyone reading my posts knows that I was not in the least in favor of the loans being offered. But I do wish this individual well.

He's located in OC where the job market has developed quite a chill. So if anyone needs a good IT project manager, let me know and I'll pass it on.

Sadly, this is only the tip of the iceberg. I have very mixed emotions right now about all of the people getting laid off. Ok, the brokers who sucked FB's into loans that were financial death traps... I have no pity. For those doing back office work just trying to get by... some pity.

But emotions don't matter. The job market is going to get colder. Its going to become more desolate. Aerospace has almost completely shut down hiring here in So-Cal for experienced talent. Oh, students are still getting hired and there certainly are positions being filled on an exception basis... But normally I know of 3 to 4 openings for every acquaintance I have looking to job hop. Right now I know a few people about to see the pay checks halt... and yet I know of only two unfilled positions that could be filled by external applicants. In other words, the ratio hasn't reversed, but instead of applicants to jobs being 1:3 its now 2:1.

No claims are made that this is a scientific survey...

I'm also hearing about job transfers. A friend whom I work with just confided to me that he and his girlfriend will decide where to live within 60 days. Due to so-cal house prices... he's thinking elsewhere. She really wants to buy at level to at least match the standard of living of the east European country they left. Since that is out of reach in so-cal... they'll move again. :( This scenario, by rumor, seems to be most common at Raytheon right now. (solely due to the age demographics of their workforce. The other aerospace companies seem to have a large "hole" in the 30 to 39 age range.)

I'm hearing rumblings about Raytheon, Boeing, Northrop, and Lockheed all considering a decent size move. Now... Lockheed has already committed to moving 1,700 out of state and Boeing 1,000... so this could be a small follow on wave or something more. Boeing would do the most damage (largest employer in LA) if anything big happens (e.g., lose the C-17, Boeing satellites cuts head count/relocates some work, etc.). Northrop? If they will the KC-33, expect a few thousand to head to Houston and Mobile. I wish I could tell you specifics on Raytheon... but nothing but the rumblings.

The big unknown (to me) is when will the music companies start laying off. They have to, their books just aren't looking right. Ok, no need for a 2nd implode-o-meter. This mature "cash flow" industry just isn't meeting the numbers.... Somehow I don't think that CD sales are going to spike in 2007 or 2008.

So the summary is that so-cal is about to lose a bunch of jobs. OC is about to get "hammered." But everywhere will feel the pain. Those out of work had better be willing to be a little flexible. We'll get through this... but its not going to be fun for several hundred thousand southland families.

Got popcorn?
Neil