A Victim of the Economy... Again

So amidst all of these good times with friends and family I've been having, a major downer was sent my way. Once again, I was laid off.

This time, however, I was given early notice (which I've now decided is a bad thing... I'll explain why later in this blog). Last week, after a major announcement from the company on Tuesday about needing to make cuts of all forms (due to an international debacle, basically - my opinion), I was called into a meeting with the head of HR and my boss. As soon as I saw who was calling me, I knew what was happening. This wasn't my first time. Sure enough... though I was surprised I wasn't leaving right then... I figured boxes would be waiting for me. But they wanted to smoothly transition things over. I understood. And I wanted my clients to be taken care of, not screwed over.

This turned out to be a very hard thing to do. Not the transitioning, but the coming in everyday, knowing that in less than two weeks you wouldn't be there. I couldn't tell anyone in my department - I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the questions, the sympathy, etc. I'd start crying at the thought of it, let alone being prompted! So it was kept quiet, only being shared with those work was being transitioned to. Everyday, I took a few things home to avoid having multiple boxes to take home today. Last Friday, one of the big bosses called me upstairs - he was completely torn up about the situation. He even teared up a little talking to me and offered whatever help and support he could give. And again today, another one of the top guys called me up... and he, too, teared up. It's hard seeing the bosses tear up - though you definitely get the sincerity of how they feel in the situation. That meant a lot to me, though it didn't make it any easier. I got similar sympathy and support from the few others that knew the past week or so.

Once I came to grips with the situation and the fact that it was happening to me for the second time in this crappy economy, I started to see the silver linings and bright spots to the whole situation. I'm good at that. For one, I'll be able to get fully packed and moved out of my house in Fishers... FINALLY! This is what I needed - a big chunk of time to just spend up there, making it happen. It also came to light the type of connections I have made in my industry. Pleasantly surprised by that. In fact, there are a couple of prospects due to these connections, so maybe it won't be as long before I'm employed this time. But it's scary to see how little is being posted out there...

So keep your fingers crossed for me. The good thing is I have someone to back me up this go around. Eric has already been a big support for me the past couple of weeks. And since we're married, I won't have to lose insurance coverage or completely lose an income. We'll just be a single income for awhile. Plus what little unemployment will give us.

Here I go again!