Fate or Shitty Coincidences

I said in the last entry that I wasn't going to do many reflective entries but...meh....


Unemployment Opportunities


So I am now officially unemployed. I knew I was getting laid off for about a month now and the day finally came. I had no idea when it was supposed to come though and when it did it was pretty much an ambush. It was about 11:00 AM and my boss came in and basically said 'oh hai, itz official, we haz no money, sorry, GTFO'. I've been trying to hide it from most people because its very embarrassing, but now that its official, its become harder to hide. This is thanks to Iowa's fantastic new governor whose first task in office is to cut the funding to many programs, including my own, in order to lower taxes despite the fact that the state budget is $300,000,000 in the hole. It all makes a lot of sense. While being without a job does really suck, there are both pros and cons.


Pros:

• No more SWIPCO. Writing hazard mitigation plans for southwest Iowa isn't exactly what I got into planning for. I mean they weren't the worst thing in the world, but I would have preferred at least being able to collaborate with other SWIPCO employees on them. On many occasions I've felt awkward in my own body going to council meetings in cities mostly run by old farmers. It's rare that they don't have a look of "who the fuck is this 16 year old and what is 'hazardous migration planning'" on their faces. Doing it for communities who gave a damn might have made it more worthwhile.
• I wanted to get a new job and being laid off was the kick I needed to get started
• No more addiction to fast food
• I can go to bed and wake up whenever I want every day.
• Unemployment insurance covers all the expenses I'll have for the time being
• No more extreme commuting

Cons:

• Hard to pick up chicks
• Extreme cases of cabin fever
• Job applications are not very fun to fill out
• Very little money in it

I was kind of stretching it on the last few pros. However, and as I kind of alluded to above, losing this job has come at the same as several other events...

Fatal Attraction

They say everything happens for a reason. What's if that reason is controlled by fate, or some divine power? Several months before losing this job, I also lost a girlfriend. She didn't die, as the title of this section might imply, but she did break up with me. Woe is me and all that, but from it came a lot of soul-searching; a lot of time thinking about who am I, what do I want to be, and how do I get there. I also reflected on other things in life like missed opportunities and people I had been an asshole too. Apparently a broken heart leads to enlarged balls, because with that thinking, I've started doing things I never would have done before. I rekindled many broken friendships, successfully (and unsuccessfully) asked out a handful of girls I would never have asked out unless the planets aligned, and became more outgoing.

Several months later I lose my job....aaat the same time that many awesome job opportunities to progress my career become available. It's ridiculous. Omaha, Chicago, Beverly Hills, a suburb of Salt Lake City, a city near Tyler in Minnesota, the State of Iowa, among others. Plus they let me go the month that my apartment lease expires. Granted I have to move back in with mom and dad, but its free room and board, man; that instead of a costly apartment and living off microwavable burritos, fast food, and Hy-Vee Chinese.


Final Countdown


So in summation, I've been let go from being tied down to anyone or any job, no financial constraints.....I'm free. Is it by fate or pure coincidence? Is there some crazy immortal power thinking "this kid's not happy. I'm going to get rid of that girl, that job, and couple personality traits for him, but leave him with money and some career opportunities to make something better of himself"? I'm really hoping. If not I'm totally fucked...


Next entry will be more amusing than sappy-ish-ly self-reflective. I promise.