Contractor-Fu saves the day!

[Slinky]

I got laid off on Wednesday. Thanks to what I've learned on this board, it took me a whole 30 seconds to get over it.  It's really sad to see and talk the other folks that got laid off. The news was a big shock for them. My soon to be ex-employer was a private company that went public last year. I told my bosses about 3 years ago, that the company would drastically change if they ever went public. I saw it coming, since I saw their numbers, and the end of the first quarter is very close. As usual, the fastest way to make sure their numbers jive is to let go of their most expensive employees.

I have several irons in the fire already. One of the irons will the "new" .NET technology like WPF, WCF, and Silverlight. The one thing that is saving my bacon again, is my experience with databases.

The mental aspect of the whole employment/contracting/consulting thing is the most important. I think too many people underestimate this aspect. This is the one thing that I got out this board. Here's a toast to the Zen of Contracting that I learned here!

[Origisaurus]

BTDT.  A still-extant company I worked for did this several times.  "Managers, we're having a slow quarter, so we need to cut payroll.  Get rid of the people you like the least."

So, Slinky, do you think they'll want you back later?  And in what status?

[The Gorn]

Slinky, the main area where I fall flat on my face is that when I am between gigs, the situation gets to me. It's difficult to me to keep up the personal momentum.

You just reminded me why I don't want to pay the site in question for a subscription, even though it could be useful. Your previous employer needs to break things down to a more reasonable level, IMO.

What may help you would be to get some work in to stay busy, even non choice work like (dare I say it) freelance bidding site work - maybe. Some people have a knack for finding reasonable-paying opportunities on those sites.

Or figure out some other tactic for staying busy, like get back to the mISV.

Keep the board posted on how you're doing with this "mental balance" thing. You've got a great attitude. Sustaining it for the duration is key, #1 numero uno job.

[Aussie]

"Get rid of the people you like the least"

That happened in Sydney.  Big mutual society that demutualised onto the Stock Exchange.  The share price just after demutualisation was about $30.  It fell, as a result of bad decisions to $3, it's currently about $6.  Unfortunately, the 'like the least' tag described either: (a) The most competent techies who also had the virtue/sin of being prepared to try to argue the klutzy managers out of PHB decisions, and (b) The competant lower managers that were snapping at the heels of higher-up incompetents.  That second one reminds one of the old Redgum song "The Drover's Dog",  about (former) Australian PM Bob Hawke :
"So party faithful wherever you may be,
If you want to bark from the top of the tree,
Remember there's room for only one dog here;
I'll piddle on your head if you get too near."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiLQwAzGyaQ&feature=related

(Though Redgum were more famous in Australia for the 1983 "I was only 19" song about Australian Vietnam vets.  1983 being some years before the West was able to separate the egregious polticians of the Vietnam War from the Poor Bloody Infantry who had to fight it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urtiyp-G6jY&feature=fvw )
 

[appsdba]

Slinky,

Bummer dude sorry to hear about your recent layoff. That sucks. I was laid off in February from my 135k/year consulting FTE gig as an AppsDBA.
Now I am looking at ANY Oracle Apps DBA job that pays a decent wage in the USA. Market is flooded by H-1B and worst part are the many Indian borkers who constantly harass me. Most of these Indians I can barely understand due to their thick accents and Hinglish so I screen calls and avoid them.

Best of luck,

AppsDBA