One month later
Dec. 19th, 2007 04:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shirenomadSorry, I know there's been nothing but dead air as of late. Things have been kind of dull for me and I haven't been able to pull together the energy to report on what's been happening.
Thanksgiving came and went; I wound up spending over a week with family instead of the usual four days, just to veg with good excuse and recover from all the events of November. And enjoy home-cooking. Also, my lawyer friend/ex-boss was looking to clean out some files (a six-year divorce case can generate a ton of paperwork) and move them to storage, and hey, it's cash, so I spent Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving to sort and haul binders. Covered the cost of driving up and back.
I'm a patient man, but after a month without seeing my severance paycheck, I got fed up and called. "Well, did you fill out the paperwork?" What paperwork? "You need to fill out the form before we can send the check." I repeat, WHAT paperwork? I wasn't told I had to do anything other than sit on my duff and wait for the check to arrive. Turns out that there was some release I had to sign saying that they would give me so much severance pay and I wouldn't sue them for punting me out on my rear end. This was supposed to be mailed to me. It never arrived, because HR failed to update my records in the month between when I moved to a new address and when the layoff hit. (They couldn't have handed it to me while I was cleaning out my desk?) So after much of the phone getting handed around, they rushed me a new copy of the form, which I will sign and notarize this next week, and hopefully I'll have a check in my hand the first week of January. That'll keep me going through February. I think.
With all this newly discovered free-time, one thing I've done is track down the nearest library and cleaned out their shelves. Especially Pratchett. Especially the Guards series. I know Vimes should speak with a British accent, but I keep picturing him as played by Nathan Fillion, who's otherwise perfect for the role. I've also read all the way through the Death series, and I got Good Omens in for good measure. Here's hoping that man lasts for a good while longer. Oh, and at the Friends of the Library bookstore? Someone donated all but the last two volumes of frickin' Sandman. Three dollars each. I ignored the snarky comment about comic books from the old lady manning the register (hey, do you want my money or not?) and grabbed them all. Going through them more slowly, since they don't have a return deadline -- only through volume three.
All my law applications are complete, for better or for worse. There was a tempting offer for a free ride to a decent school if I applied for early decision, but it came with the restriction that if they accepted me, I had to attend. Even if Stanford said yes. I don't know if Stanford will say yes, much less give me a full scholarship, but there were enough other schools I'd rather attend that I had to turn the offer down. I mean, I've never even seen this school.
Gift shopping is also complete. I've been putting some aside every month for the purpose, and I'm going to use it for the intended purpose, got it? Good. ...and okay, I picked up a bargain bin graphics card for myself while I was running around. It was a 256MB, which was better than my ancient 128, and after rebate it was less than thirty bucks. City of Heroes looks so much better now that I can bump up the settings without sending my system into a jittery nervous breakdown.
Meanwhile, all quiet on the hiring front. This is a miserable time of year to find work, but hopefully I'll start getting some hits come January as the new company budgets and projects roll out.
Leaving again tomorrow for Christmas: unlike Thanksgiving, my brother gets freed up for a whole week-plus, so I plan to link up with him and we can car-pool for the trip up. It'll also give me a chance to see his house, which he bought a few months ago but which I haven't had the chance to see yet. Brand new house in a brand new complex (which means Google Maps doesn't yet have the streets in question listed, so I had to get the directions from him directly). I'll drive there tomorrow, crash there for the night, then we both make the long voyage north the next day.
Thanksgiving came and went; I wound up spending over a week with family instead of the usual four days, just to veg with good excuse and recover from all the events of November. And enjoy home-cooking. Also, my lawyer friend/ex-boss was looking to clean out some files (a six-year divorce case can generate a ton of paperwork) and move them to storage, and hey, it's cash, so I spent Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving to sort and haul binders. Covered the cost of driving up and back.
I'm a patient man, but after a month without seeing my severance paycheck, I got fed up and called. "Well, did you fill out the paperwork?" What paperwork? "You need to fill out the form before we can send the check." I repeat, WHAT paperwork? I wasn't told I had to do anything other than sit on my duff and wait for the check to arrive. Turns out that there was some release I had to sign saying that they would give me so much severance pay and I wouldn't sue them for punting me out on my rear end. This was supposed to be mailed to me. It never arrived, because HR failed to update my records in the month between when I moved to a new address and when the layoff hit. (They couldn't have handed it to me while I was cleaning out my desk?) So after much of the phone getting handed around, they rushed me a new copy of the form, which I will sign and notarize this next week, and hopefully I'll have a check in my hand the first week of January. That'll keep me going through February. I think.
With all this newly discovered free-time, one thing I've done is track down the nearest library and cleaned out their shelves. Especially Pratchett. Especially the Guards series. I know Vimes should speak with a British accent, but I keep picturing him as played by Nathan Fillion, who's otherwise perfect for the role. I've also read all the way through the Death series, and I got Good Omens in for good measure. Here's hoping that man lasts for a good while longer. Oh, and at the Friends of the Library bookstore? Someone donated all but the last two volumes of frickin' Sandman. Three dollars each. I ignored the snarky comment about comic books from the old lady manning the register (hey, do you want my money or not?) and grabbed them all. Going through them more slowly, since they don't have a return deadline -- only through volume three.
All my law applications are complete, for better or for worse. There was a tempting offer for a free ride to a decent school if I applied for early decision, but it came with the restriction that if they accepted me, I had to attend. Even if Stanford said yes. I don't know if Stanford will say yes, much less give me a full scholarship, but there were enough other schools I'd rather attend that I had to turn the offer down. I mean, I've never even seen this school.
Gift shopping is also complete. I've been putting some aside every month for the purpose, and I'm going to use it for the intended purpose, got it? Good. ...and okay, I picked up a bargain bin graphics card for myself while I was running around. It was a 256MB, which was better than my ancient 128, and after rebate it was less than thirty bucks. City of Heroes looks so much better now that I can bump up the settings without sending my system into a jittery nervous breakdown.
Meanwhile, all quiet on the hiring front. This is a miserable time of year to find work, but hopefully I'll start getting some hits come January as the new company budgets and projects roll out.
Leaving again tomorrow for Christmas: unlike Thanksgiving, my brother gets freed up for a whole week-plus, so I plan to link up with him and we can car-pool for the trip up. It'll also give me a chance to see his house, which he bought a few months ago but which I haven't had the chance to see yet. Brand new house in a brand new complex (which means Google Maps doesn't yet have the streets in question listed, so I had to get the directions from him directly). I'll drive there tomorrow, crash there for the night, then we both make the long voyage north the next day.
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no subject
Date: 2007-12-20 01:01 am (UTC)Sorry that I haven't gotten to it sooner (you aren't the only one, either) but I won't be able to send your card until tomorrow, but since the Happy Holidays on it covers a lot of ground, it should still work. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-12-20 01:55 am (UTC)I can't decide between Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms as my favorite Night Watch book. Bad news about Terry Pratchett, though: he has early-onset Alzheimer's.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-20 02:29 am (UTC)Though given his skill with straight-faced irony, perhaps Carrot?
Johnny Depp as Rincewind.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-20 08:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-20 11:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-31 10:16 pm (UTC)