Back to work, again

Today is the last day of my eight weeks of unemployment.

I suppose I could have brought this to an end sooner if I had been willing to settle for far less than what I was making at my old job. Places everywhere are hiring, warehouses and call centers and retail stores. All the jobs they were offering would have paid up to 25% less than what I had been making. The job I am starting is paying an hourly wage almost identical to my previous wage, though the bonus structure - or in this case, commission structure - will be quite different. (To be fair, in the first nine months of 2018 I made more money than I had in any of at least the previous six full years of employment, so that's a hard mark to reach.)

I'm starting over again. What worries me is that I'm starting over doing customer service for a tech company. That sounds great, but technology has a way of becoming antiquated and obsolete. I say that as someone who once thought he had a career in the CD and DVD industry. At my age, I'm looking for a job that will keep me employed for the next fifteen to seventeen years. If this job goes away in, say, six and a half years, I'll find myself back on the job market at age fifty-seven.

I met with some friends for dinner this afternoon. I had some plans for when I got home, but instead wound up sitting with Joey, our oldest cat. He likes to be wrapped in a blanket and held, and when he is adequately comfortable his purrs will turn to snores and then silence as he falls asleep. Thor napped nearby, just out of arm's reach. One or both of these cats may very well die in the coming weeks, and will probably die while I am at work. I wanted to get in as much time as I could with them now.

Now it's time for bed. Five o'clock will come around soon.