It's Not about My Ego: It's about What Needs to be Done

I'm doing some contract work for the company that just laid me off.

Hey, it's money, and while I look for another job, it helps boost the budget.

My contact is the president who delivered the bad news last week, and we're both trying to figure out how this works now. It really is like being dumped and then having your ex ask if you still want to be friends, and then both of you figuring out what the new boundaries are and how you're going to communicate. For instance, can I still talk to all of his friends (my former co-workers) who used to be my friends, too? Do I log in to their communication and organization software in order to move assignments along like I used to, or do I only communicate to them through my contact?

Awkward.

I like them all fine. They are good, upstanding people. But I cannot lie and say that it doesn't kill me just a little to have to accept contract work from them. I'd much rather find some awesome new job and then tell them I'm too busy so they can find someone else to do the contract writing and we can all be on an equal footing once again.

Meanwhile, I will be researching and writing extensively about one of my least favorite subjects: golf. Golf! I've only ever played mini-golf, but I am writing to an audience of avid golfers, so my work is definitely cut out for me.

I am also polishing up my resume and looking around at my options.