Greetings to my friends and family in Steppes and Glaslyn,<br>
<br>
I know that there have been some questions, rumors, and speculation about me lately,
so I thought I'd just let everyone know and quash all the whispering.<br>
<br>
I did get laid off from my position of 11 years at Verizon last week. I
have 3 more weeks on the company payroll, some vacation to cash in , and
a modest severance. I am not too worried. While the job market overall is
not great, my field is still doing very well as far as positions
available. For those that are wondering, my career is network security,
specifically intrusion detection and prevention, but I have experience
and exposure to many types of network security under my belt. I am
working on updating my resume to start hitting the job market, but since
it was last really updated in 2003 (I don't count the 2006 revision, as
it was mostly an address update), it may be a week or so before it is
ready for distribution.<br>
<br>To answer some questions we got this weekend (and make this post SCA relevant):<br><br>
At this time, we do NOT intend to be stepping down as Baron and Baroness.<br>
At this time, we do NOT intend to be relocating away from Dallas.<br>
<br>
We are having to re-asses our commitment to go to Gulf Wars however. I
figure that this March I will be in one of two situations: still
unemployed, or newly employed without any vacation available. If the
first is the case, then I have to say I am just too frugal and worried
about saving as much as I can for as long as I can to get through the
jobless times to be willing to splurge a week on vacation. If I were to
land a new job, my career is too important to me to risk it by
requesting a week off so soon after being hired.<br>
<br>
There is still a chance that I can find a position in another area of
Verizon in the next three weeks, and if that happens, then I will still
have vacation, et all, everything I just said will be irrelevant,
and it will be "game on" for Gulf Wars. I'll know the answer to the third possibility on or before February 4th, which unless something comes through internally is my last day at Verizon.<br><br>As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns.<br>
<br>Regards,<br><br>Duncan<br>