A Serious, Unfortunate Event

So....I was laid off today, part of a company-wide culling; it appears they cut about a third of the staff, including, sadly, myself.  There was a severance package, and I guess I can apply for unemployment, but... it is not fun.  I don't like being unemployed and unproductive, for one.  Two, I really liked this job -- treated well, decent pay, good people, liked the work.  Three... well, it certainly took me a long time to find this one, and I had a job at the time, so I cannot imagine being without one.  Four, I did have plans (I know, life is what happens while you are making plans), like paying down bills and doing some delayed renovations.  Five, there are insurance and other considerations; I will have to reduce expenses (several noted I am not exactly extravagant, to put it charitably).  Funny; I had planned on trying a place in Akron, but that has been cancelled, as is all other restaurant tourism (or other fun) for the immediate duration.  Six, I had been saving money, was planning on using that for debt reduction, but now... yes, we will have to see about unemployment, but...

I guess we can look at the positives -- more time for Church and SVDP stuff, more time to read, and I was able to immediately update the resume and cover letter (both done before J!; the news came about noon here), which, in turn, meant that I could start looking for my next forever career ASAP.   Sent out 10 applications already (Linkedin is wonderful, is it not?) and will continue to do so the rest of the weekend.  I guess we also have time for closet cleaning, going through stuff, and maybe putting some items on Facebook Marketplace; my sister has had good luck with petty cash-type returns, which I will consider to be a win, in many ways.  Sigh.  No more trips to New Mexico, so I can do my share for carbon emission reduction, too.  

Putin in crisis: Wagner chief Prigozhin declares war on Russian military leadership, says ‘we will destroy everything’ – POLITICO

This is....interesting.  I don't think anyone really believes that Putin is ready to go down in a coup, or that this guy can replace him.  On the other hand, no one is going to complain if one group of Russians starts killing another group of Russians (and vice versa).  So...what is the end game?  A coup?  An end to the war?  A big pile of money to go away?  Most odd.  Long may it continue, as I like to say...