I am one of 71,000...
...people who just lost their jobs this week.
I've been laid off from the neighborhood bookstore.
Nothing to do with me as a person, or my work ethic. No conflicts with management. Nothing shady.
It was a numbers decision that came from the home office. And I am no longer gainfully employed.
Holy shit.
I kept it together when my DM told me. I had the presence of mind to make it clear that I want to stay with the company and I'd like to transfer to New Jersey. If I had a dollar for every time I said, "I'm OK," or "It's OK," I'd be able to fill my gas tank.
I lost it when I was told I couldn't go back the next day to do story time or work a planned event.
I've been very good so far at looking finding silver linings and keeping a stiff upper lip. I even pulled the ultimate Bree Van De Camp and took my sister out for her birthday dinner (to Legal Sea Foods) without showing a hint of something being wrong.
But today...
I want to be angry. I want to be pissed off at the hand I've been dealt. I want to rail against everything that's been going on from the mortgage crisis to the bank failures to the shitty weather that kept people from shopping during the holidays. But I'm not angry or bitter. It was bound to happen sometime, and out of all the people I know, it would most likely happen to me.
So what are these silver linings that I've found?
-I have the opportunity to move to a different position within the company and do more of what I really want to be doing.
-I'm moving back to New Jersey sooner than I thought I would be.
-By moving home sooner, I'll get to see West Side Story on Broadway, eliminating the need for a purchase of plane tickets to fly home and see it.
-I'll get to hang out with all of my friends back home on a regular basis.
But the sucky things about this are evening out the scales:
-I'm moving back home during the back half of winter (and possibly during the ill-fated President's Day Weekend)
-I didn't get to go to Walt Disney World or Key West.
-I'll be leaving all the friends that I've made down here (and an old friend that I've reconnected with).
-I'm leaving the best store family that I've ever had the privilege to be a part of.
-My sister (even though she can bug the hell out of me) will be down here by herself for a few months.
So this is all bittersweet. And I'm still getting over the shock. And I'm trying to stay positive, but I can't shut up that voice in the back of my head that keeps telling me that I'm now unemployed. I literally went from having the best week ever (Birthday, the inauguration, insane birthday party) to having the worst week ever immediately follow it.
I'm just numb, I think.
Updates to come as they come. There's still plenty of people around to tell the (great/shitty) news to, and boxes that I have to pack. I'll be leaving South Florida just as fast as I moved down here, but this time I have plenty of free time to pack. It's not like I have to be at work or anything.
Har dee har har.
I've been laid off from the neighborhood bookstore.
Nothing to do with me as a person, or my work ethic. No conflicts with management. Nothing shady.
It was a numbers decision that came from the home office. And I am no longer gainfully employed.
Holy shit.
I kept it together when my DM told me. I had the presence of mind to make it clear that I want to stay with the company and I'd like to transfer to New Jersey. If I had a dollar for every time I said, "I'm OK," or "It's OK," I'd be able to fill my gas tank.
I lost it when I was told I couldn't go back the next day to do story time or work a planned event.
I've been very good so far at looking finding silver linings and keeping a stiff upper lip. I even pulled the ultimate Bree Van De Camp and took my sister out for her birthday dinner (to Legal Sea Foods) without showing a hint of something being wrong.
But today...
I want to be angry. I want to be pissed off at the hand I've been dealt. I want to rail against everything that's been going on from the mortgage crisis to the bank failures to the shitty weather that kept people from shopping during the holidays. But I'm not angry or bitter. It was bound to happen sometime, and out of all the people I know, it would most likely happen to me.
So what are these silver linings that I've found?
-I have the opportunity to move to a different position within the company and do more of what I really want to be doing.
-I'm moving back to New Jersey sooner than I thought I would be.
-By moving home sooner, I'll get to see West Side Story on Broadway, eliminating the need for a purchase of plane tickets to fly home and see it.
-I'll get to hang out with all of my friends back home on a regular basis.
But the sucky things about this are evening out the scales:
-I'm moving back home during the back half of winter (and possibly during the ill-fated President's Day Weekend)
-I didn't get to go to Walt Disney World or Key West.
-I'll be leaving all the friends that I've made down here (and an old friend that I've reconnected with).
-I'm leaving the best store family that I've ever had the privilege to be a part of.
-My sister (even though she can bug the hell out of me) will be down here by herself for a few months.
So this is all bittersweet. And I'm still getting over the shock. And I'm trying to stay positive, but I can't shut up that voice in the back of my head that keeps telling me that I'm now unemployed. I literally went from having the best week ever (Birthday, the inauguration, insane birthday party) to having the worst week ever immediately follow it.
I'm just numb, I think.
Updates to come as they come. There's still plenty of people around to tell the (great/shitty) news to, and boxes that I have to pack. I'll be leaving South Florida just as fast as I moved down here, but this time I have plenty of free time to pack. It's not like I have to be at work or anything.
Har dee har har.
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