Alternative plans

I have no idea why I feel this way, but I've made the grand assumption that I should not expect a job offer from the last set of interviews. So, I'm thinking of alternative plans.

No other interviews are on the horizon but I do have work for another 5 weeks. I haven't heard anything from my current employer regarding additional projects, so I'm assuming there's no follow-up work right now.

What I think I'll do when my current contract ends:

Take a week to visit an old friend in Sante Fe. There have been some good air fare deals to get out there, so if all goes well, I can get out there without spending a fortune. Once there, I don't expect to spend a lot of money. My friend is on a fixed income and lives very simply. She's also a very centered, down-to-earth person who seems to be very content with her life. Overall, a good influence for me right now.

Once I'm back, I'm going to register for some type of education program. Either the online Masters program for Technical Communications at Northeastern (they have courses that can help me get a foot in the door with medical writing) or a database development certificate. Signing up for an educational program will also help to extend my unemployment benefits. (actually, I might do this before I take my mini-vacation). I'm beginning to suspect I'll need them.

And of course, continue bugging the recruiters and anyone else I can think of about a real job. Right now, that future is exceptionally uncertain. I'm really at a loss as to who to contact or what type of networking to do at this point. Need to think about this some more. A former colleague is offering free life coaching/career counseling services for the unemployed. Maybe I'll see how he can help out.