A not so great First, continued

This layoff is turning out to be a Good Thing. Especially when it was not by choice. Here is what  I mean:

1. I was starting to question senior mgmt and some of the decisions they were making. They seemed a little shortsighted wrt engineering quality. I felt like I was fighting an uphill battle to write unit tested, injectable code. It was starting to piss me off. 
2. I kept on getting hit up by really cool companies. Names changed to protect the innocent, but rhymes with Macebook, Glamazon, Noogle, and SplinkedIn. When those companies come knocking, it's really hard to not be curious. And then feel guilty about being curious because I really enjoyed the guys I was working with. 
3. Now that  I have the time to practice, phone screens are not pure torture. The day I was laid off, I ordered Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakman. This has proved to be a Freaking Godsend. Not because people ask questions directly from the book (although...that _has_ happened), but because working through all of the problems really got me thinking about how to solve hard problems by relying on C.S. fundamentals, i.e. data structures, algorithms, etc. I would have never had the time/energy/inclination to work through this book had I actually been employed. Bottom line, I'm way sharper than I was 3 weeks ago. 
4. Timing. Once again, I lucked out with timing. The market for software engineers is strong, super strong. I'm currently juggling 10 companies in various stages of the interview process. This is...way harder than showing up and working my ass off at one job. But on the other hand, it's very interesting. 
5. Personal Reflection. I'm not one to think deeply. Unless I've got no other alternative. While I don't quite know what I want to be when I grow up, I think I'm getting a good sense of where I don't want to be, and what I can and cannot tolerate. This should help (unless I choose to ignore it) when choosing the next position. 
6. Family Time. I'm around a hell of a lot more, even when running around to onsite interviews. I feel way more engaged with Lopa and the Kids. Me and Shadow have a lot of alone time, which is also great. 
7. Fall bike rides. I haven't done these since I was in college! A nice midday ride in crisp fall weather is pretty unbeatable. 

I may have a different opinion of all of this if I'm still unemployed 3 months from now. But right now, the sky is the limit, the world is my oyster, in other words no one has kicked me to the curb because I've massively fucked up an interview. Fingers crossed!