End of an Era

Today is my last day at GE. I think I should be more broken up about it, but honestly, it doesn't feel real. Perhaps it will set in when I start looking for a new job, but right now it just feels like I'm going on an extended vacation. It has been almost 10 years with the company, and for the first time since I was 16, I will be unemployed.

Fortunately, I have a few things working in my favor. The biggest of those is the luxury of being able to take my time to find a job that will be a good fit. The certifications I earned with GE will help, and my long work history with one company will also probably be a benefit. Supposedly the unemployment rate for those that have advanced degrees (ie, bachelors/masters) is significantly lower than the rest of the country, though I might trade that edge for all the student loan debt!

My goal for the rest of the December is to try and enjoy all the madness. It would be easy to get my PC set up the second we land and start hunting non-stop for work, but I think I will regret it if we don't at least spend a little time exploring our new home state before locking down and find a new job. So, I will do my very best to spend December just enjoying the holidays, and getting to know the area. I'm not sure if it will be possible, and it would be entirely to freezing to actually swim, but I would love to see the beach! If not soon, hopefully we'll get to make the journey this summer!

As far as home goes, while I've been packing up boxes at work, we've also been continuing our purging and organizing at home. It feels so liberating to be able to move with less. I can't say how many moves we've made lugging useless junk behind us. Sure, some junk will  make it in this move, but I can safely say no junk MAIL will make it. We've done a good job at getting rid of the things we didn't love, and tomorrow the Salvation Army will be hauling away the things we didn't love that someone else might enjoy.

The movers leave on Friday, and then we set off across the country. I'm so excited to begin writing about this new chapter in our lives! 2012 is going to be amazing!