blog one another

Stolen Laptop: Violence and forgiveness

This is Part 2 of a series on my stolen laptop.

Having my laptop stolen from my car left me feeling violated. I'm sure there is only slight resemblance to suffering personal violence, but the experience gave me greater sympathy for victims of violence. The daze. The fear. The uneasiness in innocent situations that would not have bothered me previously.

The incident also affected my immediate family. My wife drove the car that night, taking our youngest daughter out on a date. They were uneasy about leaving a car with one window missing, so they parked right in front of a restaurant window and sat at that window. And watched the car as they ate. And felt uneasy.

Economic recovery?

Photo by reynaldo f. tamayo (license)

I'm still here! But this blog has taken a back seat to higher priorities. After working my day job as a software contractor, my evenings are usually devoted to my "second job," namely continuing to search for full-time employment.

After a long season where the well seemed to have dried up, I had three phone interviews this past week. I hope this is a sign of the beginnings of economic recovery. Maybe I can be a canary in a coal-mine, in reverse.

If you pray, please remember me as the Lord brings me to mind. I am asking our Provider to open the door to wherever he wants me — ideally, a role where my emphasis on test-driven development and code quality is welcomed and recognized (as opposed to having to work around the system).

If you don't pray, I'll take happy thoughts and job referrals. :-)

Hey, the sooner I get a full-time job, the more time I can spend blogging.

It's off to work I go

Hi-ho, hi-ho: I head back to work this morning for the first time in six months!

This all happened so quickly that it's still a blur. On Monday, a praying friend asked if I had any news about jobs. I replied, "All quiet on the job front." And now it is Thursday, and I have to get ready for my first day on the job.

This is a 4-6 month contract, so I am still looking for a full-time job (with good benefits to support a family). But this buys me valuable time, which was running out. And because I get no benefits, we get to keep COBRA, which continues the excellent coverage I had in my last job. And thanks to the federal stimulus package, our payments have been reduced a whopping 65%, which has been credited retroactively, so now we have a positive balance to draw on for a few months and low payments after that!

I tell you, we have a weird Just-In-Time God.

The company I will be working for is redacted, makers of redacted.

Hi-ho!

Code Monkey need a job

Illustration by jawboneradio (license), adapted by Jon Reid

It's been six months since I lost my job. In that time, I've had a handful of interviews with some fascinating companies, but nothing has panned out. So today I applied what I've learned about blogging and created a new job hunting page.

Dear reader, I need your help. If you know people in tech industries in Silicon Valley, would you refer them to that page? The best way would be to email them the link. But if you are speaking face-to-face or on the phone, I created a shorter forwarding address that is easier to say and remember: jonreid.webalias.com.

Thank you for your help!

Cast Your Cares (Psalm 55:22)

Sigh. Despite positive feedback on my interview, they decided not to go with me. This is becoming a recurring story for me this time, probably a direct result of having to compete against many other skilled people in this economy. The positive feedback keeps me from feeling crushed, but coming in second place doesn't pay any bills.

With that context, I found this music video really refreshing. I probably shouldn't tell you that it's a simple tune written to help kids memorize scripture, because then you might not play it. But there's something about this, with Beatles-esque "Kinetic Typography" that just… well, trust me. Press play.

(Hat tip: the accidental seminarian)

God said, "Stop praying"

Photo by Stitch (license)

After a job interview, it is customary to perform self-flagellation.

At least, that's what my mind does to me. And today's interview went rather well! The time flew by and I enjoyed myself. I left happy, thinking, "I actually have a decent shot at this job." But that didn't stop my mind from playing its dirty tricks.

Replaying specific sections. Pointing out the flaws, the obvious and clear answers I had overlooked.

Help Me Listen

Searching for a job while unemployed is a soul-crushing affair, because until something comes through, all you get are rejections. It's kind of like the statement, "The keys are always in the last place you look." But searching for keys is just an annoyance; with a job rejection, it is hard not to ask, "What did I do wrong?"

It's hard when you think your chances are really good. Harder when it is from a company in which you have a proven track record from eight years of work in different positions. Harder still when you think you nailed the interview.

I am grateful for the support and prayers of friends and family. My former pastor sent me the following poem, "Help Me Listen" by Ted Loder:

Psalm by one who is unemployed

Faithful, Faithful
Though the earth shakes
And economies crumble
Though darkness has its day
And my heart fails for fear
You are the Just-In-Time God
And will not abandon me
Faithful, Faithful

(Written this morning during a series of exercises in non-musical worship.)

I've been terminated

Well, it was two months ago today that I was laid off (along with 600 others). For some reason, they did not give me a severance package right away, but kept me on the payroll for a while. I've never had this in my previous layoffs, but I was grateful for it because it meant that we still had health insurance.

Today is my official termination. Bye-bye, paycheck and benefits. Hello, EDD unemployment insurance and COBRA.

No Google

I finally heard back: Although they made me a job offer two years ago, this time around Google has decided not to hire me.

I am disappointed, but have peace that God knows best.

Update: Kay took us all out to Baskin & Robbins saying, "We need to celebrate the loss. Otherwise we won't have enough celebrations."

I am experiencing mild shock. I guess I reached a state of peace just in time!

Update 2: It seems Google is making some cuts and closing some offices, but trying to get affected employees relocated into positions on the main campus. That's admirable, and it makes sense then that they'd clamp down on new hires. Sucks for me, though.