The Fallout

This week, my company truly laid down the gauntlet with a mandatory meeting. We all sat around wondering what it could be -- a. layoffs? b. furloughs? c. job changes? Well, our answer was d., all of the above.

It was a terrible feeling to listen to the bosses announce to the entire workforce that they would have to let some people go. It was even worse when they gave us all lists of the laid off folks, and we were asked not to look at them as they packed their desks, and give them a moment of privacy. It hurt to see my Partner In Crime given a brown paper bag to put his stuff in, then ushered out the back door. Two of my supervisors were also given the heave ho. I was in shock until Bill, a sweet guy who'd been working there 28 years, came around to say goodbye to all of us. I gave him a big hug and we all started crying. Ugh. Sometimes, work sucks.

We later learned that we were getting five furlough days this year, the first one starting on Presidents Day. The others are to occur once a month after that. It's truly been a miserable work week. But while my colleagues have been gathering at the bar to commiserate, I've been going straight home to make sure my resume is on point, then searching for whatever jobs there are out there. The problem? There aren't too many.

In the meantime, my new supervisor is a grizzled Vietnam Vet who is rumored to carry a knife in his cowboy boots. He works 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and no one has ever seen him do regular human functions, i.e. eat and drink. So these next few months will be interesting.