Two Weeks

The last month and a half has been busy. It’s a good thing we don’t have real jobs. Since the layoffs were announced, almost all development work has stopped. A couple of people have been working on a new, web-based version of our software. One person has been continuing to work on our current applications. Those of us who were laid off have spent our time looking for jobs.

It’s a strange atmosphere. Those fired are just putting in their time until it’s over. Nobody pretends to care anymore. There’s not a sense of hostility between The Haves and Have Nots, but there is tension. It seems likes The Haves feel a little guilty, and a little worried about their own jobs. Rumors of unpaid bills do not help that any. For the Have Nots, there is some resentment, but a lot of relief, and even a little sympathy for the Haves. I, for one, do not envy the job they have ahead of them, trying to keep this company from folding completely.

Besides applying for jobs, Angela and I have been busy with Smart Goat work. We’ve done a lot with Clemency’s site, and we think we are close to finishing another client’s site. We are also close to signing a couple of other customers. And, we joined the Yukon Chamber of Commerce, where there are a lot of potential clients. Our days are not all Slashdot and solitaire, like one might expect.

All the job searching has paid off for Angela. Just last week, she accepted a position with a building materials manufacturing company. She will be doing web development and Java development for handheld devices. She is excited, and the projects they have for her sound very interesting.

My own job search has led me to the opportunity of a lifetime. I have about decided to accept a full-time position with an up-and-coming web design company. :-) Not because I’m giving up, or because I’m not finding anything. It’s because Angela and I both believe this could be our chance to jump start our business. If our business is going to grow, someone needs to be working on it aggressively. We’ve talked about this a lot in the past week — she doesn’t mind being the main income provider, and I don’t mind staying home and working on the business. It’s a little risky, but that is exactly what we need: With big risks come big rewards. I can always jump back into the corporate world if necessary, but I’m determined to make this work.

My last day is two weeks from Monday. My first day is two weeks from Tuesday. Guess which one I’m looking forward to more.