The economy seems to picking up. Work is busier than it has been in almost 2 years. Orders are coming in better than forecasts and the hourly workers are getting plenty of overtime. I can see in the stores as well, more people shopping. People also seem to be a bit more optimistic about the future as well. We are not out of the woods yet, but, as long as this is not a double dip recession, I think we will be ok. I have been getting more calls from headhunters aka recruiters as well.

I have to agree with my wife, you can only go so long cutting people and inventory before things have to be ordered and building has to start again. That being said, I don’t think the real estate market is going to bounce back for a long time, if ever. I think the boom of the early ’00′s was a one time bubble, and it really can’t be repeated. We just can’t afford to have homes go up 20% a year with incomes going up 3%. I wish the recovery was faster, but we are dealing with trillions of dollars of debt accumulated over a long time. People are scared of spending money, but, you eventually have no choice. You can only patch stuff together for so long. Most people who have a job now will probably have still have a job in the foreseeable future.

I feel bad for all the people laid off. I would pursue the headhunters more, but there are other people out there who are out of a job. I actually like my job, and more money would not make my life that much happier (as strange as that sounds.) I really do believe, once you get over the $50,000 to $60,000 mark, the extra money does not buy happiness. Some of the happiest moments of my life were when I was making half of what I am now.

I really do believe things are picking up, but whomever thought Obama would be a magic man and make the economy turn around in months, not years, was deluding themselves. I know it is going to take a while. We just have to very careful not to create another bubble, or we will end up in 2008 all over again. I just know 2 solid years of recession is a long time. I also feel more hopeful about the year ahead than in the last 2 years.