*sigh*

Well, for those who don't already know, I lost my job exactly one week before Christmas, so this year hasn't been quite as jolly for me. It was fun watching the kids and such, but lingering in the back of my head is the fact, I have no work. Worse, when my home computer died shortly after I accepted this last job, I lost all my software and files I hadn't backed up. Worse yet, in my haste to get out of the place, I deleted tons of photos I had loaded onto my MacBook, including photos of my daughter's birth. :-( All is not lost, there are other photos, but there were some really good ones I would have liked to keep.

So, here I am, no computer with software a designer needs, no job, no nothing but my life, wife and kids. Fortunately, CompUSA had a really good sale on internal hard drives, so I was able to get a new 200GB one for about $50 after rebate. I also have a good friend that is an IT Wizard that had a copy of Windows XP I could load. Now I just have to swallow hard and buy the Adobe Creative Suite. But I'm going to make the most of it. I haven't started looking for a new job in earnest because of the holidays and such. I figure most people aren't going to be around or looking at this point. I may even take a swing at doing some freelancing once I get the software to do the work.

But, we're still alive in 2007. It has to be a better year than 2006! With the exception of my wonderful little girl being born and the HOW Conference, good riddance!

I hope your outlook is a little more hopeful. But don't count me out yet!

Dave