Monday...

Here is a picture taken last year just when we bought the house. Wow. A lot has happened in a year.

Not a good day. Rain. Chilly. With work, one project ending, another deal gone bad and not much in the pipeline. In a stress-induced moment, I sent a resume off to a regional CPA firm. Tomorrow I may send an application to a growing local health-care company that is hiring and right up the bike path. It will be back to the life of florescent lights, hermetically-sealed buildings, Dockers, and nauseating office smells and sights. Right now, there are many emotions creating unpleasant hollow feelings. But it is a roll of the dice to see what path needs to be chosen for me. It never works out as I plan, but it always seems to work out.

You see, I work with companies to write business plans and help to get them funded. I found out today that there are really no private parties lending any money to small businesses at this point, due to the meltdown in the sub-prime market. Small businesses are the engine of the economy and do most of the hiring. Big businesses, on the other hand, are the ones scaling back headcounts to increase productivity and profitability. Any of us that has ever worked in the corporate world knows that this means that when someone leaves, the job duties are spread amongst the remaining workers. Increased productivity means doing more with less. But I digress.

There are many ominous signs (from what I am reading) that the economy is going to tank in the next 12-24 months. As a matter of fact, I've met no one knowledgeable in economics that feels there are good times ahead. Consequently, this is not a good time to be self-employed with two months of living expenses liquid in the bank. I need to go into retrenchment mode and let this blow over, which by my estimate will be five years out (at least). Henceforth, time to jump back into the game.

And for this reason I am selling my soul (again) to The Man. But an East Coast education goes a long way out here, so I'll see what transpires.