The market is done.

From the very beginning, I knew my job would be temporary. My contract said as much, that its existence was based on grants and budgetary means, and it was explained to me early on that I most likely wouldn't be working there very long. I also knew that while I possibly would be there past the end of summer, I definitely was going to be working there through summer. That, and a conversation with my boss a couple of weeks ago about me staying on through the end of a program in July had me planning on working there at least that long, though most likely not longer. It'd be a pleasant surprise if I did.

Being sat down and gently told that today was my last day was an unpleasant occurrence, but not a surprise as such. That I was already operating with the mindset of leaving at some point, and that the reason for my job ending abruptly was because the fiscal year ends in a little over a week and the numbers couldn't quite get crunched, kept me from feeling anything more crushing than general disappointment. As I explained to the people who were surprised at how well I was taking it, I already knew it was coming, just not that it'd be so soon.

I also paraphrased Douglas Adams to illustrate why I wasn't mad: "It was impersonal the way a computer-issued traffic summons is impersonal." Because it had nothing to do with myself or my work, just the position I'd been lucky enough to be hired to fill, I didn't feel bad about it. While I'd have liked to go into work on Monday, both for the money and for the enjoyment of the work itself - the external validation, the doing stuff what needs getting done that everyone else is too busy to do but still needs getting done - I also told people, to their honest amusement, I'd take the weekend to relax and start getting up at the luxurious hour of seven-thirty, and begin looking for another job on Monday.

Which I will.

And maybe look into volunteer opportunities, now that I've got the time for them again.