*USA-RS. So there's been a really big shakeup in my job- I might have alluded to the possibility previously; I can't recall. Ok, so I can never remember how much I've mentioned about my job, but ok, a little background... So I work on the "Yucca Mountain Project," which is a project that the US goverment's Department of Energy contracts out. The company I currently work for (Bechtel SAIC) has been the contractor for the past 8 years or so. But every 5-10 years, the government re-bids the contract. And though Bechtel SAIC put in a bid again, they didn't win the new contract. The group that won it is a conglomerate of 3 companies: URS Corp, Shaw Group, and Areva. They're going by the name USA-Repository Services.

Anyways, don't worry for me, I don't have to worry about not having a job- anyone who wants to continue working here in Vegas can basically just hire on with the new contractor- they've all but promised to hire on the incumbent workforce, it sounds like. In the meantime though, Bechtel is scrambling to try to find jobs on different Bechtel projects for anyone who wants to stay with the company. I'm vaguely tossing around the idea of leaving with Bechtel (San Francisco was the main possible site I seriously considered), but just staying on in Vegas doesn't sound bad either. (text removed... shouldn't be mentioned publicly)

**(January 2009) Ok, so now there's rumors flying around like crazy about budget cuts & layoffs right around the corner. So, a little more background about the Yucca Mountain Project- it has traditionally not been particularly popular with Democrats. And with the new administration, and the new congress, and Harry Reid (NV) as the senate majority leader, it's widely rumored (if not expected) that our project will take a pretty serious hit to our funding. Doomsday rumors abound, and there has been little to quell them, but suffice to say that job security here now looks anything but certain. It's definitely got the cattle spooked, to say the least.

Ummm, that's probably all I can say about that (in good taste). But know that it's a HUGE worry of mine right now, and it's kept me up late at night worrying. It's one of the biggest things on my mind at the moment. I remember during election season, my coworkers were talking politics, and one of them asked, "Why would you vote for Obama? He's gonna get rid of Yucca Mountain." And I retorted: "Because it's easier to change your job than it is to change your country!" Well, now I'm worried that my words might be coming around to bite me on the butt. =/

Also, the Bechtel opportunity in San Francisco is no longer a possibility for me.

Doors open, doors close. Everything happens for a reason. All these bad things that happen are blessings in disguise... Ughh, I have to keep telling myself this stuff to stay sane. =/

*sigh* If I could do it all again, I think I would have chosen to be a dentist instead of an engineer.