There is a calm, uncertain feeling on one’s first day of unemployment, especially in the IT field. You remember, in awe, what it was like before your first IT job or between IT jobs when you were not effectively “on call” all the time. You get out of bed and reach for that ball and chain, your Blackberry, as you have every day for years…and realize it is not there anymore.
You start some coffee and putter around your abode picking at things thinking about what you could do with the place when you are not actively searching for work. You think about those who you have left behind. You know that the peacefulness will be short lived but also that you have to make the best of it even through the uncertainy of the job hunt.
You think maybe you can take some time to visit family or old friends. You hope you can exercise every day, maybe lose some weight, to get that routine entrenched before you start the daily grind again. You pray that you can get two weeks of good skiing in before you start your new job because it might be a while before you get any more vacation time.
You know that the time will be fleeting… You know you have bills to pay… It still feels pretty good.