The cold hard truth

I have come to a realization …

If I want to keep working as a web programmer (and I DO), then I am going to need to move out of the Fargo area.

I don’t like this one bit, but there really isn’t anything I can do. I’ve exhausted almost all of the opportunities out there. There is one left, but they aren’t interviewing until December. And there’s no guarantee I’ll get an interview (I DO think I have a good chance of getting one, but who really knows). There are a couple other places I submitted my resume, but I don’t know if I’ll hear from them. There are opportunities around town, but they are for .NET programmers.

This realization breaks my heart and scares the shit out of me. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to move to a larger city in order to find something. I’m targeting the Minneapolis, MN area (the Cities as it’s called around here) first. That’s only about 5 or 6 hours from here (depending on how fast you drive … LOL). I do have a former co-worker who lives down there. I emailed him this afternoon to see if he knows of any companies that are hiring. Then there is Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com that I can search. I’m also going to email my contact at a local agency to see if they have an office in the Cities (I believe they do, but I don’t know for sure). I need all the help I can get since I don’t know the area.

I may eventually (have to) expand my area, depending on what’s available in the Cities. Where? I have no clue. If you know of any company looking to hire a web programmer with a focus in php and mssql or MySQL, let me know.

I’m going to start this course of action on Monday. Tomorrow I’m taking a day off from the job hunt. I’m going to treat it like a vacation day. Why? ‘Cuz it’s my birthday. I almost feel like I’ve been punishing myself for the past month even though it’s not my fault that I lost my job. It’s this damn economy. But I’m not gonna get into that now … that’s another post that I may or may not write. Tomorrow is a day for me. I owe it to myself to treat myself right tomorrow. I will be calling Job Service tomorrow to put my unemployment claim on hold (since I’m not getting my job contacts) and checking the job listings a couple times a day (but not as often as I have been). But otherwise I’m not doing anything related to my job search. I’m gonna get a paper in the morning, wait for my new laptop battery to be delivered (don’t ask … LOL), go get my sister, go out for a free supper (at Paradiso w/ Lisa, Robin, and Dannilynn), and go to the bar (the Hub with the same as supper minus Dannilynn … she’s a little too young … she’s not quite 2 yet. ). I’m not gonna worry about when I’ll get my next paycheck or where I’ll be living when I get it. It’s gonna be a day for me dammit.