[aephi alum]

I once quit without a new job lined up. I was an independent contractor, and my contract stipulated that I would be paid X days in arrears after submitting an invoice. My client pretended that he had "never received" (read: deliberately lost) invoices, he had "never received" reports, his clients hadn't paid him so he wouldn't pay me (!) - any flimsy excuse not to cut me a check. Finally, one day, he demanded that I work for him for free or he wouldn't give me a good reference. I walked out the door. I later found out that I'm in good company - there are a lot of people who won't do business with him.

Quitting a job without having a new job lined up is not something I would suggest lightly, but sometimes it's something you have to do, for your own sanity if nothing else.