It's official - the economy really sucks.

I learned late last week that a good friend is losing his job in a couple of weeks, and not for performance reasons. The company he works for has a branch office in Austin, his office, that they're closing down to "streamline operations." Catch is, he works for a major publisher of entertainment software, so you know if the PC games market is bad, everything is bad. At least he's in Austin, where the market is faring better than Dallas/Ft. Worth.

This is just another reminder for me to remember how lucky I am to have a job within my field of expertise. I'm counting my blessings that I was only out of work for 2.5 months in the D/FW area, which is nothing short of miraculous, given my profession and career level. I know my friend will do well in his search because of his talents, skills, experience, attitude, but mostly because of his location.

To those of you who are currently earning a regular paycheck in your desired area of employment, consider yourselves blessed.

To those of you who are currently earning a regular paycheck in any field, consider yourselves fortunate.

To those of you looking for technology work, get the hell out of the Dallas/Ft. Worth market!