Depression II, the sequel no one wants to see, has finally premiered at a business near me. Meaning that 13 of my coworkers, including some people I consider friends as well as colleagues, got laid off today. I personally escaped the ax, and I feel reasonably safe given my position and current workload, but damn it’s been a lousy day. The way these things are handled in this liability-conscious and paranoid age tends to drag out the process over several hours, and the constant sense of dread, the wondering if your phone is going to be the next one to ring with the call to come up to HR, is utterly exhausting. The metaphor that kept coming to my mind is the Curse of the First Born scene from The Ten Commandments, when the Hebrews hunker down in their homes while the evil green fog slinks through the streets outside, killing unnamed extras by the dozens. If another round of this seems imminent, I’m seriously tempted to paint my cubicle with lamb’s blood.
After a day like this, nothing is really very funny, but this LOLcat struck me as… appropriate:
more animals
I imagine a lot of my coworkers are in this condition right now. Me, I’m just worn out. Off to bed…
My empathy goes out to you, Jason. We had a similar day around here last week, and I fear there are more to come.
But take heart – it could be worse. At least the President of the United States didn’t call you shameful today…
That’s awful news, Jason. I’m sorry to hear that the bombs are falling so close to the barracks.
Oh Geez Jas. I’m sorry to hear that. I’ve been hearing of friends getting laid off too. It really bites.
Thanks, everyone. The good news, of course, is that I still have my job. But in case you haven’t noticed, I’m a tremendous bleeding heart, so I’m aching for the good people who lost theirs, and of course there’s now the fear that another round might be coming and I won’t be so lucky.
I don’t understand economics very well, so I really don’t have an opinion on the president’s stimulus package. I have no idea if it will actually work or if it’s the best approach. All I know is I hope it does some good, because this living-in-fear shit really sucks.
Heh, I have to think of all the times you’d stop by my desk and have to reassure me about the current economic situation! Even though I’m now jobless, I still believe what you told me: “We made it through one depression, we can make it through another.”
Yes we can!
We just went through a round here as well. All of our IT guys (nationwide) were laid off. We only lost one person here (in Utah), but he was an important part of our team. It really stinks.