I've heard that Rapha's stuff is actually nice, good quality. But too rich for my blood.

So, bad day today. I've been expecting layoffs at work. Many of us have been expecting it. Our client's new fiscal year starts soon. The software application we work on is very mature and in need of rewriting, but they haven't decided yet what direction they will go in, or maybe they have decided but are just moving very slowly. We've been in austerity/maintenance mode for a while now, and had a 20% staff cut a year ago. So, today more people were laid off. I've been here for almost 17 years, and some of the people I said goodbye to today have been here for 13, 15, 17 years. I was too busy this afternoon to really think much about it, other than to say goodbye and make sure I had their contact info. Now as I sit here, I feel sick.

Rumor is that we will be forced to take vacation/leave without pay in the next month or so because the funding does not exist to cover the rest of us in the short term. If true, for me this could mean having little or no time to spend with my parents at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I should know more early next week.

So on the one hand I'm glad I still have an income and health insurance, but uncertainty remains, as my programming skills are not up to date and there is no chance of getting good experience with more marketable skills as long as I work here. And I am sad.