Yesterday afternoon I accepted the verbal offer of a writing contract at high-tech company. I will start on 12 July. The contract will run until October. I expect to hear from the HR folks about the paperwork that will make the offer official.

A good friend just accepted a job as a software engineering manager at Amazon.com. How cool is that?

I still have several prospects in the queue that might lead to permanent jobs in a few months. This contract might also lead to a more permanent position. Hiring decisions take a long time these days, so an interview in July might lead to an offer in October. I was extremely fortunate that the requisition for this writing contract had already been approved. That allowed the hiring manager to act quickly. For permanent positions, it's often the case that a hiring manager must get approval to interview candidates and then go through an additional approval cycle to make an offer.

So how do I feel? Relieved, mostly. Relieved and grateful. Having been without real work for many months, I'm also a bit anxious. Will I remember the basics? Will I be able to make a contribution?

And what about this journal? Because I started this project as a way to record how I spent my time while I was out of work, it's most appropriate that I think about retiring this log. It's been fun to write regularly. I will most likely start a new journal with a different theme. Stay tuned.