So it's official ...

So I got "the word" that my last day on my present job is June 30th.

Which, as I've said before, is fine with me.

I'm looking forward to having the month of July off, with pay.

And now they're talking severance, too, which is good.

I'll take whatever I can get.

And after initially being concerned, then pissed, then scared, I've come up with a plan.

And the more I think about it, the more I like the plan I've come up with:

• Work my present job until it's over and done.
• Take the 30 days on the bench, paid.
• Take whatever severance they offer and put it in the bank.
• Cash out my 401k* and put it in the bank.
• Collect as much unemployment as the government allows me to, for as long as I can.**
• Or, if that doesn't work, then take a job where I work for a temp agency doing small jobs that take several days or two weeks at the most, and use that to supplement the funds I have until I land a job that I want. That way I don't have to take the first offer I get, just to have a job.

{*My 401k isn't a lot of money, because I've used it for educational expenses and haven't been very good about contributing to it. (Yes, I know there's a tax penalty, but I don't really care that much. Because its not a whole lot of money, but it is money. And it will last me a couple of months. As for the tax penalty, I'll let the matching funds contributed by the company pay the tax part, so I'll get what I put into it out, and a little bit more. And why worry about my future retirement? Isn't that what social security is for? [Yes, that's a joke. I have no doubt that Social Security will not exist in 15 years, let alone when I'm ready to retire in 40 years. Besides, the way I look at it, I'm gonna work until I'm dead.]) }

(**My job is being eliminated through no fault of my own so why not take advantage of the government assistance that's out there? And you can bet your ass I'm keeping track of every dime spent in the job search so come tax time it's all written off. )

So why am I doing all this rather than just jump in and look for a new job?

Well, two reasons:

1. I've learned my present skill set needs some tweaking, and some certification. I have the education, and the experience, I just don't have the proven knowledge as judged by certifications. And taking the time not working and living off the money I have coming in from various sources (severance, 401k, unemployment, eBay, the sale of small children I collect at shopping malls, etc.) will give me the time to get the certifications I want to have before I start seriously job-hunting.

2. Summer job searching is full of recently graduated college kids who will take any offer to get a job. I don't want to compete with them.

And with the certifications I'm going after, I'll need a bit of time to read, learn and study. Because they're hard. But they're worth it.

Those certifications will give me a better resume that hits the keywords that resume search programs look for.

And those certifications will get me better interviews.

Which will get me better job offers.

Which will get me a better paycheck than just jumping into the job market and taking whatever offer comes along.

Make sense?

So look over my plan and tell me what you think.

Do you have any thoughts?

Any ideas?

See anything I've missed?

Suggestions on which malls have the best children to steal for sale on the black-market later?