I never bothered to mention it before, but I kinda have to now, because I am looking for some feedback. On November 23, I was laid off on the 90th day of my 90-day probation. It sucked, but not that much. They graciously offered a little severance which they did not have to do, and this will serve me well through the holiday season. The reasons were mainly because the reason for my being hired in the first place no longer exist. I may have contributed to this, actually; I made a strong case for a key feature to not be included in my projects. But that's part of my job, and regardless of the results, I am glad I at least did that well.

As you all know, this hasn't been an easy fall. The health issues alone made things very challenging at work. Towards the end, I was missing work, missing sleep and looking like pure shit most of the time. My mind was foggy, I was depressed and part of me was wondering if I could even do my job adequately. I am sure that this was a part of their decision, and if so, I respect that. There wasn't much I could do about it.

Since November 23rd, I have been largely taking it easy and getting as much rest as I can get under the circumstances. My mind has expanded to take in more young adult cancer projects. I am more involved with Survive and Thrive Expeditions. I am seeing a therapist. And I started chemotherapy again, but in pill form. I have just begun the second 10-day round, and so far it's been a pretty positive experience.

So I keep busy. I am enjoying this time off. I feel as though I am healing slowly but surely. I don't feel nearly as desperate as I did before, although I have by no means thrown away my new perspective on time.

Here's the thing: I really REALLY think that I could get a new job very quickly. Here are the advantages:

Le texte suivant vient d'un homme exaspéré de mon travail. La situation est décrite avec humour, mais je vais laisser toutes les fautes d'orthographe car je veux illustrer un autre point: le monde d'ici sait pas comment écrire.

Ce message s'adresse aux hommes seulement. Suite a un mésaventure avec un siège de toilette submergé d'urine, j'aimerai porter votre attention sur différentes techniques envers la procédure de soulagement en question. Viser au centre, s'assoir ou lever le siège de toilette. Si vous décidé de viser, il serait bien de nettoyer en cas de débordement. Je ne crois pas que les gens laisse leur siège de toilette bien enduis d'urine a la maison alors pourquoi le faire au travail. Ceci est un grand manque de respect pour vos collège. Si vous avez peur d'utiliser vos main pour lever le siège il y a 2 méthodes très simple. Prendre du papier et lever le siège avec ou utiliser vos pied bien protégé par vos chaussures.

Ça me fait penser aux mésaventures de zura à son ancienne job. Y a-t-l un blogue qui raconte ces histoires de toilette au boulot?

Sorry about my absence folks, although those of you that follow me on Twitter or Facebook know that I am alive and kicking.

I should be talking (or should have talked) extensively about my experience on the Owyhee River. It was tremendous, to be sure, and not easily put into words. Maybe I will give a somewhat brief summary soon. Maybe I will vlog it instead. I do plan on returning here again in any case. Let me fill you in on the last 2 months.

July 10-July 24: Trip of a lifetime. Returning feeling healthier than I have since fall 2005.
July 25: Picnic in the park with friends followed by watching the best worst movie ever. Wore Columbia gear.
July 27: Found out the contract with Cedars is basically over and the job in the fall isn't going to happen. I am also overqualified for anything else. Radiation started. Barbecue with friends (this time in French!). Wore Columbia gear.
July 29: I learn that another young adult with cancer died two days earlier. I drop the ball WRT to Julie's birthday.
July 30: Severance pay ends. Start really feeling ill, tired and depressed from radiation.
August 12: Interview at company. Not too impressed.
August 13: Tumours acting up. Not happy.
August 18: Apply at three game companies.
August 19: Phone interview at one of them. Tumours gradually begin to stop bothering me.
August 20: Face-to-face interview at the second one.
August 21: Accept offer at the second one.
August 24: Start work. As a producer.
August 28: Lose backpack with a lot of valuables.
August 31: Realize that the backpack is actually lost. Meeting with oncologist suggests that the cancer is under control. We'll see.
September 3: Start class once again.

I will go back and elaborate on some of these things soon. By the way, it seems that this blog has absolutely no formatting in some browsers. Could you indicate to me if you can see my template at all? Just leave a comment. Thanks.

I just got laid off*. Again. If I were a Scottish-born senior citizen, you could call me Sean Cannery. That's what global recessions do.

But as layoffs go, I must say, there have been worse. The package was pretty decent. Not only that, but I start another 3-month contract this afternoon. I get to work from home or anywhere else much of the time, the people are interesting and the cause is a good one. More on that soon.

So not only do I get paid for a while, but I am working and getting paid on top of that already, I might get an even better-paying job out of it at the end, and if that doesn't work out, I still get unemployment if nothing happens. Good deal, I say.

Still, I regret not being in the industry. I am, or will soon enough be, at a real crossroads. I could try to get back into the industry, or I could see myself making a whole new career here. It's quite possible. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

*The cancer comparison is creepy now that I look back at that entry.

First of all, this blog nearly died. I let the domain expire, and I wasn't really in a position to do anything about for a little while, so that is why there haven't been any new entries in a month. But that is solved now.

Some of you know this, already so I will be brief about the past little while. The day after my last post I started two weeks of radiation therapy. Compared to chemo, it was a walk in the park. There were a couple of days where I was incredibly tired, and I got esophagitis for a week, but it was basically a breeze. Since then, I have been feeling pretty much fine. So much so, that the doctors said that I could go back to work whenever I wanted, especially since there was no more to do until after my PET scan, which is probably going to be in June.

I was looking for sponsors for my rafting trip, and I may have found one! I will also be running at least one other event that I will describe here once details come through. Just be sure to keep April 30 free.

A few days ago I sent out an email to some people asking if they knew of any part-time work for me. I am just looking for some extra cash to get ahead and pay off some things; I am not in dire straits or anything. About 90 minutes later I received a call from the the executive director of the Cedars Cancer Institute. It was a full-time job offer. I had to refuse, since I already have a job, but I was definitely flattered to have been thought of immediately. More on that in another post.

That leads to today. I went back to work...but there was no project for me (I cannot return to my old team, since they no longer need me). In fact, my computer wasn't set up, I wouldn't have had a place to sit anyway since I didn't have a project, and there was absolutely nothing for me to do. I asked to leave, and they agreed.

I decided to go to Cedars to check up on some things, and I started speaking to the executive assistant. Since I had nothing to do all day, I volunteered to stuff envelopes and perform other tasks that needed doing. It was fun, and I got to meet a couple of interesting and influential people.

I received an email at the end of the day from work telling me that I had a project. Unfortunately the project is not game-related, and it is with someone that...makes me a little uncomfortable. I will find out the details tomorrow.

So doing actual work-related work was a failure, but at least I kept busy while lending a much-needed hand at my favourite charity. I'll let you know how everything turns out.