One Year Anniversary
Yesterday marked the one-year annivesary of my layoff from my former employer. I didn't spend any time celebrating, but a few days ago, when I realized it had been a year, I did take a few moments to reflect on the events of the past year.
Employment
Immediately after the grand event, I re-focused a lot of my energy on a young company that a friend and I started in August of 2001. Since times were still tough, I also began consulting for other business and technology projects. I'm happy to report that a year later, both companies are doing fine and well on their way.
Finance
It has been a very tough year in many ways, but especially financially. My wife was laid off from Nortel Networks a few months prior to me. We quickly started making cuts to our conservative, but comfy lifestyle. My wife took a contract job with Dell and is now contracting at Apple. Her continued sacrifice has allowed me the opportunity to keep working with Sprysoft and doing my consulting. While there have been many times where we were down to a couple hundred dollars in the bank, something we haven't been used to seeing since we were first married, somehow we always seemed to pull it off and keep our bills paid. Family and friends have also been a real blessing to us. They often go out of their way to help us and provide for us. They think they are being sneaky, but we notice and do appreciate their candid assistance.
Outlook
In many ways, I see 2003 as a new start. So many people are grateful that 2002 is over. It seems comforting to be able to put something behind you, when for the most part, 2002 was a horrid year for thousands and thousands of people. While winter is still here in many parts of the country, Austin, at least the past few days, is taking on a bit of a spring climate. This bodes well for new attitudes and fresh starts. Lots of new businesses are opening up and spending is increasing. The weeds in the yard are reminding me of the many outdoor projects still on my list. Some day soon, the grass will start growing again and choke back some of those milkweeds. In the meantime, I'll keep ripping them out and dreaming about my landscaped back yard. This year, debts will be paid, incomes will be secured, lives will be restored.
I am glad that life gave me a little push in the direction I'm headed. While most of it has been spent climbing up hill, mentally I'm in better shape and the view from up here is fantastic.