More importantly than losing my job, I got to teach the aikido basics class both this week and last week, which was awesome. I've gotten really good feedback from people, which validates my thinking that I did a good job and I'm actually pretty good at it. I like pretty much everything about teaching: having to think of what to do next, introducing more advanced concepts using more basic language--stuff like "connection", or "following through on an attack", that they may not quite understand just then, but that will resonate just a little bit and they'll get a deeper sense of it with time. I also enjoyed feeling so much more comfortable the second time, as I realized I could (for example) do a warmup routine more like what I want to do: there's no need to just do what Cyndy (the regular teacher) does. I also relaxed and was much more my snarky self while I was talking, remembering that (a) I'm actually a pretty nice and funny guy, and (b) everyone in the class knows me already anyway.

Back to the unemployment thing. What now? First I'm finishing my rakusu, and then I'm taking falls for an aikido test on Thursday, and buckling down to finish my Chile application...as for work, I'm not sure. Unemployment, whenever it kicks in, will cover maybe half of my monthly expenses (I need to make a budget), and it wouldn't be hard to just live off savings until February. But who wants to draw down savings if you're just home where you always are, and not off adventuring? And I'm here for a while, with my lease going to November and my black belt test coming up in December, but I'm also planning to leave town and I can't take a permanent job. This week I'll probably scout around for contracts or other temporary work I can do. (I was looking at wackier stuff, like being a counselor at a bilingual summer camp in San Francisco, but I don't think my Spanish is good enough.) I'm not worried, though.