And then some bad news.....

It seems that for every plus, there's a minus... for every up, there's a down. Well, for the second (or third, depending on how you count it) time this year, I am being laid off from a job. Yep, you heard it correctly, my friends. The word came down today.

How can that happen, you ask? It's because of the Merck/Schering-Plough merger. I don't know how many I explained this to, but here it is in a nutshell. I work for ClinForce as a contractor for SP doing clinical data indexing. Because of the merger, the whole SP ClinDoc unit is being let go. That includes some really fine folks I met up in New Jersey. There had been a lot of worry up there, and I suppose rightfully so. I was told that of the 2, SP has the more sophisticated clinical documentation department. Merck just farms theirs out. Because Merck is holding the upper hand here, they call the shots and we're all unemployed as of 12/31/09. That's a total of 15 folks here in NC and about 60 or so up in NJ. Of course, that's a small part of SP folks that will eventually be let go, no doubt.

I have some prospects, and I am tentatively developing a plan. I have to believe that God is in control here and He knows what He's doing. I just have to trust and be attentive to hear Him. The job at ClinForce was ideal because I am getting ready to do an internship in Spring semester that I am hopeful will lead to a permanent clinical position, ideally as a CRA. That's out the window now, but worst case scenario (or maybe best case) is I draw unemployment while I do the internship and then try my best to get a full-time clinical job. I hate to be this mysterious and secretive, but I honestly believe that sometimes there are forces that work against you if you reveal too much too soon.

All I ask is that you all pray for the best, especially in regards to the outcome of the pending sale of the house. Having that cushion will be a true blessing.