Thanks

It's been a tumultuous three months...or year and a half...oh, heck, let's face it, it's been a nasty last three years. The Great Recession caught me as it has so many millions of others, causing me to leave Denver on an odyssey that took me to one extremely fulfilling job (Noble) and one extremely frustrating one (Sears).

As I finally get settled back into my adopted hometown with a new job and a new future unrolling, what better time than Thanksgiving to show my appreciation to the people who have helped me the most?

• Two of the bestest friends in the whole wide world are Bill and Gary, who literally opened their home to me when I got the layoff word in August. Bill and Gary had done this before, back in '04 when I was having my Lowry townhome built; now they immediately offered me a free bedroom and office so I could come home and make my stand in Denver. In the Great Recession, there was every chance that my job search could have taken a year. Bill and Gary simply didn't care - they were willing to put up with me for the duration. You don't find finer friends in life.
• Big thanks to Michelle and Sergio, two of the loyal and hard-working managers at Sears, who have been supportive and helpful after the company made the massive 250-person layoff in August. In a company that, sadly, appears to be in the first chapters of an end game, these and others in the company remain dutiful and people-oriented. If anyone needs a mega-talented training director in Chicago, Austin or San Antonio, let me know - I have just the leader for you.
• I want to thank all the great people at Lee Hecht Harrison, who gave me such great advice these past three jobless months. Both the counselors and the many similarly-displaced job seekers that meet weekly at the LHH offices provided significant networking and support to make the job search go much more quickly than it would have otherwise.
• Ryan deserves great gratitude from me. He has managed to distract me at some of my lowest points with his goofy humor and his "projects" involving the purchase of rental houses in Phoenix. I hope to make many more weekend trips down there to help him install ceiling fans, Magic-Erase marks on walls, and plant trees to enliven back yards.
• And I can't thank enough my wonderful references, who helped me secure my next gig. Linda, Bob and Susan are true angels, confirming with my new employer that at least I have SOME skills. -grin-

I'll talk more about my next chapter soon, but for now, I'll digest huge amounts of turkey and rest content in the knowledge that I am home, and (as Linda knows) in the end, everything will be fine; if it's not fine, it's not the end.