Wednesday the Earth Stood Still

"Just remember what ol' Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol' storm right square in the eye and he says, "Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it." "

John Carpenter had it right in Big Trouble in Little China and our lives right now are defined. What I'm drinking coffee in, and what I'm listening to are trivialities for other days.

Starting today, I am the sole gainfully (gainfully? really?) employed bread winner in our household, as Dave was laid off yesterday. How scary is that? A lot of people are finding out the answer to that question right now. I wish I could take comfort in the solidarity of numbers. After the incredible job he did on CNN's election project during the past three years and the video project before that, his reward was to have his position eliminated and to find himself out of a job. Times are tough everywhere, and it's no different for Fortune 500 companies.

Last night we had two ways to go, and we chose to celebrate. We shared a good bottle of champagne left over from New Year's Eve and toasted the opportunities and the pathways life opens up to us. It is the best of times, it is the worst of times--and change is always scary. Though we celebrated we are also making cautious cuts and the first things to go were Jessie's trip to Philadelphia and my attendance of BECon this summer. I was really looking forward to the Lost Wax post-conference workshop and the kilncasting sessions, but I already blew my theoretical financial wad slated for professional growth and business expansion on doing the January gift shows in Atlanta and Dallas. I just can't justify another big expense that doesn't have an immediate benefit (other than joy) attached to it. Celebrate opportunity or not, it seems an... inappropriate... time for joy alone.

Yesterday I had thought of a Kavarna day today, little did I know how likely it was! So we sit with our laptops at Kavarna sipping mochas and listening to perky new millennium pop. D polishes the resume--nibbles are already coming in (he is a genius, after all), and I polish up the ERP specs to hand over to him--this being an opportunity to get him to code it for me that I can't pass up. This afternoon, kilns to fill. And life goes on.