Hmmm, not what I wanted to hear

I've struggled all day with whether to include this in the blog, but in the end it's part of my story for this trip so I feel like I should include it. I found out last night that I got laid off from my job. That wasn't exactly the news I was expecting to hear out on the road, but life is what it is. I'd heard about the company layoff from a friend and decided to call my boss and see what's going on. He tried to hold off on telling me until I got back but I forced his hand. Better to know I suppose.

Anyway, I've decided that I'm going to ignore this news for the rest of the trip. This is likely the only opportunity I'll ever have to ride out here, and the real world will be waiting for me when I get back. I'm actually feeling pretty OK with things. My company has supported me and my family for 18 of the last 20 years, and I'm incredibly grateful for that. I've dodged the layoff bullet many times over the years, so at age 47 I'm pretty fortunate that this is the first time it's happened to me. There are lots of potential opportunities out there for me. I've never been unemployed before, so this will be a new experience. I've decided to continue blogging here about that experience after the vacation is over. Who knows, maybe I'll end up on Oprah!

My riding mates have been really supportive. By the end of the night we were actually able to joke about things. I told Terry that every time I ride with him I have to change careers!

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...