don't put a bag of quarters in your "carry on"......

....unless you want to spend time getting searched in the security line. the inspector said that i should put them in my checked luggage the next time, and i told him that i was pretty sure those quarters wouldn't be comin' back with me.

i should have just marched into the casino, gone straight back to the "cage" and handed them my sad little ziplock bag directly. but instead, i indulged in a bit of video poker, blackjack and wheel of fortune, and this allowed me to rack up a few points on my "south point casino club member card." i've never had one of these cards in my life!!! now they will know everything about my gambling habits - how quickly i press the buttons, how quickly i put money in, how much money i put in, and how many times i ultimately smack the machine.

there was no life changing gambling experience so i still need to find work. today (in between packing boxes) i sent out several e-mails to various consultants and outside vendors i've worked with just to let them know what was happening. basically, i told them i didn't even know what was happening, but that i would keep them posted.

technically, i'm still using vacation days. so i choose to think that i'm still on vacation.

Scott made me

I was laid-off one week ago today from a job I've held for almost ten years. Today was my last day.

I have no clue what the future holds for me. I have no clue what my next job will be, or when it will be, or how I will find it (exactly) or who I will meet along the way.

I haven't really had to look for a job since 1984.

I do not have an updated resume. I do not own a suit. My toenails are a mess, and I'm bruised from moving. I'm leaving for Las Vegas tomorrow - not to gamble, but to take my son back to school. I made these plans before I knew that I would be laid-off. Now I am eying the quarter-filled change cup in my husband's closet just a little differently than I did just one week ago.

It will go with me.

I love documentaries. I actually took a week long documentary course a few years ago, and it was one of the most amazing creative experiences I've had in my adult life. I love how the story kind of unfolds right before your eyes. Life is an amazing director - and doesn't think twice about killing its darlings.

I am 46. I have no clue what my next job will be. I will start in earnest when I get back from Las Vegas and finish moving. Fortunately we downsized. COBRA will cost $1,500 per month. I will save $300 on gas.

I remember in English class learning that a writer should not start every paragraph with "I."

I'm gonna have to work on that.

When I self-consciously mentioned to a co-worker yesterday that I had considered blogging about this experience - in a documentary sort of way - he said I must do it, and that I had to start it today. And he told me the same thing again today. So there you go, Scott. It's a done deal.