Yesterday I loaded up the truck and drove a good chunk of my possessions back to Tucson. I will be here for a week or so, and I will need two more trips up to my apartment to empty it out and have the bed and loveseat donated to the church for their annual garage sale later this year. They have storage for it and can send someone over. I have to have this all done by March 7.
While that is going on, I have recruiters looking on my behalf. There are possibilities in Phoenix metro as well as in Tucson. I'd be open to a contract job in Yuma or Las Cruces. Our neighboring state of New Mexico is pursuing private spaceflight and if I have to leave Arizona, New Mexico wouldn't be a bad place to be. New Mexico style Mexican cuisine is my favorite variety of Mexican food. We have a pair of restaurants here that serve it, and we can get Mexico City sytle and Sonora style as well.
As for this transition..........I'm doing better than I thought I would. I think being at home with wife and family is making all the difference in the world. The first few nights were rough and I didn't sleep well. I slept OK last night, but obviously needed that two hour nap that I fell into this afternoon.
In a situation like this, it's easy to ask the question "why?". Why did I have to go to Nevada in the first place if all it came to was a return to Arizona?
Well, what I acccomplished was getting back into the workforce and staying there for another year. I got to write design requirements for a spacecraft that's been in the planning stages for some time. I made some very good friends while there. I spent a lot of time Downtown people-watching, observing those being separated from their money as well as scam artists and street performers. I got to see and meet the Smithereens. I guess I can now reveal that my last boss is a relative of one of the members, and he's here in Tucson too.
There were those times when Sheila was able to come up. The high point was that drive we did to Reno, passing thru the small towns such as Beatty, Goldfield, Tonopah, and Hawthorne. I wouldn't mind doing that drive again and maybe we will someday.
As I said, I am home in Tucson, and I am very glad to be here. I will likely hang here and go up for a few days near the end of the month to take care of things there, like paying utilities and the rent that I'm obligated for. Hopefully on the last trip Sheila can come up with me so that she can help me with some of the things.
I am not bitter about what happened, though I can't say I care for the way in which we were 86ed. The new hires who were let go after one hour of service were harder hit. Some came with their families, acquired places to live, and were looking forward to the new dreams they were promised.....only to have the rug pulled out from under them. They get as much severance as I do.......zero. But they can't file for unemployment since they worked in the state for the sum total of one hour.
Eventually, the company owner will decide to go forward with his dream of a spacecraft, the dream he's pursued for several years. But in this age of information that we live in, he and his staff may find it difficult to attract the talent that he will need. This is the second mass layoff in the company history, and that could have some unintended consequences down the road.
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