I walked back in December.

But, I waited until the dire end. I had received my furlough notice and was just about to miss Christmas at home for the second time in a row, only to come back right after the new year to be displaced to a different base (IAH) and sit reserve after I had been a line holder for over a year, just to be thrown onto the street three months later while working for one of the worst regionals in the business who was shedding airplanes like no tomorrow, shrinking left and right with no end in sight, coupled with the infamous alter-ego stepsister hiring off the street simultaneously.

I crunched the numbers and came to the conclusion that it was time to bail. Plus, I wanted to catch the spring semester back at school to better myself a bit outside of aviation instead of waiting until after the furlough to start six months later in the summer. Plus, if I got a callback anytime soon, I'd be smack in the middle of a semester (likely) and would probably have to either quit school for another go at the carrier or turn down the callback anyway.

Despite all this, though, I am patiently waiting on the sidelines. If this industry ever turns into something worth pursuing, I might give it another go. But am not afraid (in fact I am doing it now) to do something else. I am not their b$#@!. Life is too short.