April 22nd

For whatever reason, I had Akisa on my mind.

Perhaps it was because it occurred to me that so many of the characters had strongly ethnic names. Granted, many of them are sensible given their backstories, but it stood out among the baseline. Or perhaps it was the fact I was reading Read or Die last night and found the name "Yomiko Readman" delightful. 

Pazi and I discussed Akisa's family history. While we didn't resolve the issue, it felt wonderful to be causally thinking about stories again. Any sort of creative act has been difficult for a very long time now. Continuing issues at work have left me stressed out of my mind, exhausted, and constantly in pain from muscle knots. 

They laid off most of my former department three weeks ago. Tomorrow will be their last day. I've felt angry at how this has come about. We were literally set up to fail by corporate. They took away our sales staff, set a revenue goal we couldn't make, and yet fell short by only a few tens of thousands. Still, the pink slips came. Five people, lining up for the unemployment line. Only today did I hear that most of them have a job offer, and that they were more worried about me being the only one left behind. 

Far from being alone, I won't even be in the office next week. I'll be in Houston attending a class. Curiously, I won't be there to audit it or because I'm about to be sent out on assignment. I'll simply be there to attend. It's....a little weird. I know what my new boss has in mind for me. I'm actually looking forward to it a lot, but it's a different mode of work compared to what I know. 

Maybe this is what I need right now. A slower job writing classes and producing web-based training, instead of a continent-hopping marathon.