Singing (Emo Songs) in the Rain

M has been officially unemployed for a week now. Last Saturday, he got in a full day of overtime, so that helped the final paycheck not suck so much.

So far, he seems to be handling unemployment pretty well. He's doing a good job at doing things at home so I can focus a little more on my freelancing projects, and he's been looking into a job position in Indianapolis. No interviews yet, but we think there will be one very soon. (Keep your fingers crossed for us.)

On Friday, work took a drastic downward turn. It was strange when I first started but evened out. But in the past few weeks, we've had some change pains because of a new program manager and a move to a new area of the building. I was riding it out, but it has turned into a not-so-pleasant experience for me. Our little team moved into a new area of the building with the larger team, and it turns out that a lot of things that I was able to mostly ignore before aren't so easy for me to ignore in our new location. On Friday, I was ready to walk out of the place and give it the finger all the way out the door. But I didn't. I stayed and sucked it up. I get paid well to be a contractor there, after all, but I wonder if it's worth it, the way we are now being treated (more like 5-year-old children than 20- to 40-something-year-old professionals). I had happily forgotten about most of the issues over the weekend, but the subject came up in a phone call this evening, and now my stomach is churning. Something's got to give, but Lord only knows what. Apparently, I'm the only person of the contractors who is willing to speak up and put my neck out by doing so. But I can't sit quietly by and take the crap. Well, I can, I suppose, if I channel my mother's personality, but I have too much of my father in me. I'll bring it up, but I'm waiting for the right time, the right place. We'll see what Monday brings.

If I speak up, the worst thing that can happen is they let me out of my contract immediately. No worries (aside from Mike's monetary ones). I'll still get a good recommendation from my immediate boss and my team members. The best that can happen is that things change for the better (when pigs fly). If nothing changes, I work to the end of the contract and move on. As for applying for the job they've tried for months to get me into...I don't think I'm interested anymore. I'm most definitely looking seriously for another job now.

But anyway, what does all of that have to do with our house? Not very damn much, actually. But I had to vent (again, for about the 9th time, and it's not really helping me feel much better).

* Stringham high: Turns out that my visits to the dietitian aren't turned in to the insurance company, so I can keep going to my wonderful dietitian, even without our health insurance, which M was providing.
* Stringham low: See above.
* Stringham super-high: M and I have had a good weekend, spending pleasant time together and planning for the summer and dreaming about our geothermal heat pump being installed next week. And some of our seeds and supplies were delivered this week; we are going to start some seedlings indoors next week!