Ok, so here's the scoop, because apparently I did not describe my situation clearly:
Yes, I got laid off on April 3. April 3 was the first Friday after the end of the first quarter, and of course my employers were reacting to some cash flow issue that could only be resolved by getting some long-term expenses off the books. Frankly, I was under the impression that Thursday afternoon was the best time to fire people, as they get a three-day weekend to absorb the shock, they can leave at a normal time of the day without arising much suspicion, etc. etc. The incovenience of being laid off on Friday morning is, I still had to commute on my last day, and it was a little hard to leave discreetly with my box of shit at 10am.
I did not leave in a huff, I did not burn bridges or go Jerry Maguire, I just put my personal stuff in a box and headed for home (and later to a bar that has a very good-looking daytime bar mistress). The firm had a severance package for me that would have allowed me a decent amount of time to get on my feet without losing an income. The "Plan" that I posted a while back was what I planned to do with my non-rushed unemployment, most importantly figuring out if sticking around Raleigh made any sense. I considered it a luxury to be able to travel, exercise, sleep, and all the things you would do on a vacation without digging a huge financial hole. So I began executing the plan.
By this last Monday, I had gotten most of my lazy screwing-off done and was becoming serious about the travel I wanted to do, studying for my next ARE, thinking about my various open projects, setting my alarm in the morning, that kind of thing. After exercising at the YMCA that morning, I ignored a phone call on my cellphone as I headed to the shower. I was about to launch into my day when I remembered the messsage, found out it was from my former employer, and listened to the message... knowing that I had not stolen anything or committed any other crimes when I left, I suspected immediately that the only reason they'd call me is that the layoff didn't "take." And sure enough, they offered to have me back. I deliberated for a couple hours with the help of my Ma and a promise by my landlord that I could negoatiate a shorter renewal for my lease given the uncertainty of my re-employment. I was back at my desk in less than 24 hours.
So, here I am, two weeks after being laid off, a week into being rehired, and basically nothing has changed. (Actually, in that time, Raleigh had its big annual tree pollen storm, and now we are basically fully leafed out.) My gracious siblings and parents have sent me care packages, which were great, but now I feel guilty because I pretty much got them for nothing! The folks at work were happy to see me back, but it only took a couple days for all that to work itself out and get back to normal. If I didn't document that this all happened, I think I and everyone else would be liable to forget. Come to think of it, I wish I had done something stupid or memorable during my week off so that this was, in some way, a stuff-changing experience. Oh well, maybe next time.
Here's the map of my last walk during unemployment (call it ITB-SW):
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=931+Washington+St,+Raleigh,+NC+27605&daddr=Hillsborough+St%2FNC-54+to:Ashe+Ave+to:Avent+Ferry+Rd+to:Pineview+Dr+to:Kaplan+Dr+to:Western+Blvd+to:35.789099,-78.674512+to:Groveland+Ave+to:931+Washington+St,+Raleigh,+NC+27605&geocode=%3BFVoNIgIdJLVP-w%3BFarvIQIdGrBP-w%3BFcDBIQIdBBZP-w%3BFUbiIQIdVvpO-w%3BFdTiIQIdwUBP-w%3BFQ8JIgId91VP-w%3B%3BFSMUIgIdCLxP-w%3B&hl=en&gl=us&mra=dpe&mrcr=1&mrsp=7&sz=15&via=1,2,4,5,6,7,8&dirflg=w&sll=35.781544,-78.67022&sspn=0.027469,0.055618&ie=UTF8&ll=35.778062,-78.679962&spn=0.054941,0.111237&z=14
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