Mister, Can You Spare a Dime?

So it happened... It was inevitable, really. You can only have your paychecks bounce so often, be siting bored at your desk only so much, and not realize things are bad. Beyond bad, if truth be told. If nothing else, it only proves what we in the middle and lower -class of human beings knew already even if the government won't admit it: the economy still sucks...

Yep, I've been laid off. And although I knew it was coming, it doesn't make the shock of it any easier. So I piled my few personal possessions into a box and walked out the door--and yes, I was smiling while being scared at the same time.

Change is one of those things you either look for the silver lining in, or hide under a rock and hope it passes, leaving only the past intact and decidedly unchanged. Of course, any rational forward-looking individual will realize the futility of keeping the status quo--one would hope, anyway.

So the silver lining:

• I will be able to complete the upstairs and make up for lost time during the last five months of doctor's visits, physical therapy appointments, and the like;
• I will be home when the sewer system goes in next week and be able to do all my own indoor plumbing saving hundreds of dollars;
• I will have more quality time with the husband;
• and, double-bonus, government unemployment paychecks don't bounce...

Of course, there are down sides, but to focus on those would be ultimately self-defeating except as a reminder of things which should not be focused on.

Speaking of focus, is this a good time to mention there won't be a comic tomorrow? I hope that's change you can deal with, dear reader. I've just spent hours on the phone with various governmental agencies, and, well, I'm sure you know how that goes... My focus has been zapped for the evening....

Things will be tight for a bit--considering we do have to put in said sewer system, we're both unemployed now, and food hasn't gotten any cheaper. But I figure people have been through harder times and survived--hell, I've been through harder times and survived--so I know somehow, in some way, we'll be a-okay...

But if you do happen to have any spare change lying around... After all, change is good, especially when you need to make every gold, bronze, or silver piece of change count...