Runester

Here I sit, in my comfy seat, wearing my most comfortable PJ’s and slippers, in my living room on Christmas Eve, 2009. Looking back at the year, a whole lot has happened. Here are a few of the highlights.

• Got laid-off from my employer, but immediately hired back as a part-time contractor
• Got hired as a full time contractor at a new employer
• Incorporated myself (S-Corp)
• Got hired as a full-time employee, where I was contracting
• Married my long time (and long suffering) fiance`
• Sold my condominium
• Had a wedding reception in Michigan with family and friends

Wow! That’s a lot. Further, looking back, my blessings become ever more apparent. For example, when my last employer laid me off and converted my status from full-time salaried employee to 20 hours-a-week contractor, I was a little worried. Was I going to be able to find another job? I was pretty confident that I could, but the issue – as always – is time. When? Well, to my surprise and delight, I followed up on some previous contacts and leads and found a full-time contract position very quickly. I started on 15-January-2009, and hadn’t even spent all of my severance. Ironically, I made more money those months then I had made before! Think of the irony of getting laid-off and having the experience turn into a financial boost? Great!

The next enormous blessing was when, over the span of just two weeks in November, I completed the two (2) year effort to sell my condo, and I got married, and I got hired as a full-time regular employee! In fact, I was hired just in time to take advantage of the employee perk of the Thanksgiving break and now the Christmas/New Years break; time I would not have been paid for as a contractor.

Not all of the blessings this year, were mine. My brother and sister-in-law had their baby and I got to see my little nephew! So many good things have happened to our family, that those few things which challenge us seem like speed bumps on the freeway and not really obstacles at all.

We’re looking forward to 2010. We’ve got big plans, projects, goals, and things are really looking great for us. We’re wrapping up one great year, and preparing ourselves for an even more amazing year to come.