[Elspode]

I appreciate all the input, folks, and particular thanks to Syc for some late-night ICQ commiseration.

As it turns out, I am working harder now that I am unemployed than I ever did at my job. Current pursuits include trying to dig out some of the shithole of a house we live in, putting up some superfluous possessions for sale on Ebay, beginning a new roofing-related startup with my longtime coworker (the guy who is still working for the lying scum, but at half salary), searching for another job (went to a headhunter yesterday...oh joy...I am real good at Wordperfect, as it turns out), and training to augment my wife's psychological transcription work here at home as she may have found a full time job with benefits...which we obviously need most desperately right now.

We obtained some help from my wife's family (her grandmother, Gods bless her skinny little neurotic heart), and have paid off our van, saving us four $450.00 monthly payments (Grandma, upon hearing about my unemployment, immediately began interviewing my wife, ascertained that paying off the last four van payments would be good, and then *told* my wife she was going to pay it off for us, and there was to be no argument, period).

In short, things could be worse. We have severely buckled down on our expenditures (are there Aldi's where you guys live?), and are now in fanatical conservation mode on all fronts. Frugality is probably one of those lessons I should have learned or at least practiced over the years, and it seems I am now going to learn it, like it or not. We'll be having a garage sale soon, and I have a bunch more Ebay stuff coming up. Unemployment will start coming in at the end of June, and we may take in a roommate.

We have lived pretty stupidly for a long time, and we have more crap than anyone in our income range has a right to own. Upon consideration of selling one of my two Martin guitars, and knowing that I will likely take a $250 loss on versus its new price (about 25%), I take solace in knowing that this is a smaller loss than a similar sum invested in the stock market would have taken, so I guess I can consider a lot of the things I've bought over past decade as investments, huh?

I'll keep you guys posted on the incredible unemployment saga. Life could be worse, so far, but I've only been unemployed for a week.

Going to the Scott Joplin Festival in Sedalia tomorrow and Saturday courtesy of a generous and very good friend. I'll let you know if it is any good or not, but I expect it to be cool as hell. Ragtime was invented in Missouri, you know! (stated in my best Chekov voice)