Laid Off!! How cool is that?

You know, I've always tried to keep this bloggy thing abstract and not personal. But for just one post I'm going to break that rule. Here it is:

I got laid off. That pretty much sucks. Or so I thought at first.

But, being laid off forces me to face the big questions: what do I want do do (professionally), where do I want to do it, who do I want to work for and how hard do I want to work?

I think those are critical questions I've never really asked. Things are rough economically right now, personally (duh, I just got laid off, and right before xmas!) and nationally (double duh, am I living in a cave?). Hmm. I better focus on bringing home some bacon.

So how does writing this self aggrandizing post get me to the cash? For two reasons really. I'm forcing my self to state the Problem. And by publishing it in the interweboogles, I'm showing all two of you what I'm working on. You are now my bosses. Keep me honest.

First Question: What Do I Want To Do: I am a designer, and I want to design. Simple. My focus has been on exhibit design, but that is by no means all I enjoy designing. I DO enjoy exhibit design, I also enjoy production design, concept design, industrial design... is there a reason I have to limit myself right now to just what I have oodles of experience with? HELL NO. Now is the time to think big, to take this situation and turn it into pure Awesome. And believe it or not, I have the Skills to do it. No, it's not my nunchuck skills or ninja skills, but my design skills. I have mad crazy design skills.

Second Question: Where Do I Want To Do It: Now, since I'm married with children (natch, watch the pun kids!), this really should be plural: where do we want to do it... but this is my friggin' blog so, here's my personal answer. It'll help me talk it over with the spouse. I want to be around cool people who I can be comfortable around. I want to be with my friends, and dear god dare I say it, my family. We all know where that is. If I'm more clear the creepy internet stalkers will be able to find me. But the two of you know what I'm talking about.

Third Question: Who Do I Want To Work For? This question is binary: Me or Someone Else. The worst part is I'm not sure. Which generally means Someone Else, except in this case I don't think it does. I think it's just I'm scared of the real answer: Me. Is that really true? Well over the next couple months we'll see how it goes. In other words, this answer subject to change with out notice. (Kind of like one's employment in a right to work state. How bass ackwards is that title for a rule that allows termination for no cause and with no notice? Oops. I'm trying to stay positive.)

Fourth Question: How Hard Do I Want To Work: Another scary one. I want to see my family. I want to be with them and enjoy them. When they are sick, I want to be there. When there is something silly like preschool graduation, I want to be there. So, I will bust my ass, but I damn well want to be there for my family. They are NOT I say again, NOT exclusive. You can have both. It just requires more... work. I'm willing to work HARD. I will put in long days and nights to succeed. But I will be succeeding on my terms now, thank you very much.

So there. That's my road map. There are a few turns undecided, but the general course is set. So is it I-90 and straight through the Rockies, or is it Route 66 and taking my time? That is yet to be seen.

So yeah, just like Captain Max, I'm ready to fly!