Wednesday, September 12, 2018

A New Beginning

Looks like the ‘Route 66’ trip is officially off.  The one-way ticket from Detroit to Los Angeles that I purchased about a week and a half ago for my buddy won’t be used (I suppose I need to investigate possibly getting a refund on that…).  No … I won’t be driving some 2500 miles east, north-east to move back in with my parents in a bit over a week as I have been planning.  I will, however, be loading up my car and driving some 300 miles north on Sunday – four days from today.  I’ll be heading for a hotel in Santa Clara where I have booked an “extended stay” for a month.  For you see, I appear to have landed a job today…

It’s a bit strange.  I’ve been trying quite hard to find a job once again doing what I was basically training to do for the first 23 years of my life … been damn near an entire year now.  As I mentioned in earlier posts to this blog that nobody reads, I wasn’t having much luck.  Primarily due to the four-year hole that I put in my resume – mid-life crisis delusion of grandeur … you know, same-ole same-ole…  In fact, just two days ago I was still waiting to receive an email scheduling an initial phone interview with a company down in San Diego.  Never received that email and, in fact, never had the phone interview that was scheduled to have happened by no later than yesterday (“3-5 business days” from when I got the initial email notification…).  I did, however, receive a phone call yesterday morning from a different company – one of the other 90 or so companies that I had sent applications to.  A couple calls yesterday, a few calls today and “Viola!” I got a job.

Now, to be completely honest here, what I currently have is a one-month contract (1099 work) that, if I am able to demonstrate my usefulness, will turn into a full-time job with benefits.  Their VP of Engineering just wasn’t sold on hiring me directly full-time because of that damn resume hole; however, I somehow convinced him to let me prove myself.  I’m not too worried though, with some 20-years’ experience doing this work prior to my hiatus, I believe it’ll come back to me in no time.  I had no problem completing the small contract job I picked up earlier this summer.  No, I know what I’m doing.  I’m sure I’ll be able to pitch-in…

Why then am I feeling such malaise?  That is the question that I am currently trying to figure out.  I suppose it’s most likely a combination of things.  For starters, I was actually beginning to look forward to doing the ‘Route 66’ trip with my buddy.  Spoke to him on the phone today and found out that he, as well, was looking quite forward to the adventure – said he’s been working long hours at a side-job in an effort to get more money for the trip.  Made me feel bad to tell him that it was no longer scheduled to be happening.

I was also looking quite forward to moving back to the old stomping grounds.  Sure, I would have been moving back in with my parents for some unknown amount of time and, truth be told, that’s actually somewhat pathetic for a man my age; however, it would have given me the opportunity to spend some more time with them while they’re still around – nobody lives forever…  That and I would have been able to hang out with many of my old friends on a more frequent basis than I get to when it’s only during trips back home around holidays.

I don’t know, seems to me that what I am doing here is once again letting money become more important than life.  We all (well, most of us at least…) seem to do this for a large portion of our lives.  For most, though, the choice is a necessity.  It costs quite a bit to raise a family these days.  I have no family to raise … never even been married.  My choice is far more selfish – it’s merely to make sure that I can take care of myself financially after retirement.  From all the stories I’ve read in the news, seems to me one can never have enough put aside to survive retirement these days.  We’re all just rats in cages destined to be running on our hamster wheels until we drop dead.  Jobs of the olden days used to provide people with pensions after they retired – those are, for the most part, gone now … merely ideas that seem to only have been myths to today’s working class.  Sure, there’s Social Security – for now – but what’s that get you?  Will it be enough to continually let you pay the consistently increasing rent for as long as you need?  I doubt it – that’s kind of why IRAs and 401k’s exist – you’re most likely going to need more.  And just exactly how much more is anyone’s guess.  That pretty much depends on how long you end up living.  Usually that’s an unknown…

Oh well, que sera, sera … I emailed the signed contract back for this job.  Decision made.  Right or wrong, I’m going to be starting work Monday morning.  I actually do think it’s most likely what is best.

bis später,

Coriolis

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