Profunksticated

Profunksticated is, for now, moving to the Washington, DC area in search of contract or other work. My family will stay behind at our present home. I didn’t think it would come to this, but it is now crunch time. The unemployment’s exhausted and The Spouse’s workers comp claim still hasn’t been resolved. A brother’s got to do what a brother’s got to do.

Remember the proposal contract job for which I was described as a "catch?" I contacted the staffing firm up here about a week ago only to get an e-mail from the recruiter saying her client was "leaning toward someone else." Huh? She told me I was the only one being presented. I was initially upset but then reasoned that there’s nothing stopping the client firm from finding someone elsewhere. I haven’t heard anything since then, and don’t expect to.

Anyhow, The Spouse and I this weekend met a nice older woman — whom I met through Craigslist of all places — who rents out rooms in her upscale townhome in Northern Virginia, giving me a place to stay for a relatively nominal rent. We were in Richmond, VA, where The Spouse was giving a presentation on how foreign language teachers can best deal with special ed students. On the way back north we stopped and met with the landlady.

My physically being in our nation’s capital area addresses the concern of several of the staffing agencies I’ve contacted: "You need to be living here." How long will I be in the DC area? I don’t know.

I will move in early November. But for now, as I write this, I’m planning to attend a conference this weekend in DC as well as a proposal training seminar in Reston the following week. My new landlady will allow me to "move in" early to attend both events. As you can imagine, my networking efforts will be fast and furious.

I know some of you that read this blog know people in the DC area. If you hit me up and leave me an e-mail, I’ll reveal myself, but promise you won’t tell others who I am.

Yeah, it’s a little scary, but kind of exciting at the same time. I haven’t mentioned this before, but I lived in Prince George’s County, MD, for nearly a year back in the mid-1980s, when I was much younger and stupider. I always did like DC, but got married and moved out West for a few years.

I’ll keep you posted as to what happens.

Peace.