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10/03/2002 Entry: "October 3, 2002"

There is one factor that is directly affecting our next trip.
I was laid off from my job at the end of June. Since then, I have been working as a contractor on the same project that I had been working on before that. The good things about working on a salary basis are:

1) Benefits;
2) If you work less than 40 hours, or even if you are idle for a week or so, you still get a salary;

The bad part:

3) If you work more than 40 hours, you still get the same salary.

The good part about working on a contract basis is:

1) If you work 60-70 hours in a week, you get paid for all of them (not time-and-a-half, but you at least get paid for them all);

The bad part:

2) If you work less than 40 hours, you only get paid for the hours you work;
3) If you don't work, you don't get paid;
4) No benefits.

I worked pretty steady from the middle of July until September 25. But I have been idle since then, and still don't have any idea what I will be doing next, or when.
This makes it hard to plan any travel, because:

1) I don't know how much I will be working between now and December;
2) If there is work for me during that first week or so in December, I really should take it, and not turn it down to go on vacation.

So right now, things are very much up in the air. I hope that things will straighten themselves out soon.