Onward and upward.
I was laid off last Wednesday after five years at my job in the PR department of a large insurance/membership company. It's actually the best possible thing for me, I think. Basically it's a chance to move ahead full steam with my back to school/career change plan. I did manage to get the algebra night class at CCSF, and now this frees up my time to try to pick up a morning anatomy class at SF State this week. I'll work a few more days here and there through mid-Sept, then "work from home" till my official last day on Oct. 16. I have severance pay through mid-Jan. I'll have my school loans and credit card paid off this month or next, so my expenses will be minimal. My rent is pretty high, but our lease is up in mid-Feb, so we can downsize if we need to. This means I don't have to move with the company; in late Oct the office is moving to Pleasant Hill, and my commute would have been three hours a day (a big change from a nice 30-minute walk each way). Also, my official last day is two days before Squidz and I had booked our trip to Thailand, so I'll be able to extend that vacation - Thailand is incredibly cheap once you're there.
I'm very optimistic. I hope to keep doing the freelance writing, and unemployment will pick up the slack where needed.
My manager had a very hard time telling me, and everyone's making it clear that I do a great job and they'll miss me and it's just massive budget cuts that are forcing them to let me go. Morale is pretty low there right now. I'm actually far more positive and hopeful than they are, I think. It was kind of like attending my own funeral on Thursday. Everyone seemed to feel the need to tell me how neat they think I am and how much they'll miss me. Very strange.
I think the money stuff will mainly work itself out. My main worry is that I'll slide into a nonproductive blue phase like I did during my other layoff in 2001. I'm a person who does better with a structured life. I know that about myself. I admire those who, released from a nine-to-five job, can write novels, paint their apartments, take up sailing or yoga, and in general use that time to the utmost. Somehow, if I don't have any place to be, I also can't find the will to get anything done. Time only seems valuable if outside forces make it necessary for me to budget it. I'll be talking to my shrink about this - for a while at least, until I decide I can't afford it (though she will probably let me slide back down her sliding scale) - and I hope that the classes keep me structured, but it's still a concern. Plus the days will be getting shorter and colder and darker soon, and it's always easier to get bummed out in the wintertime, I think.
I have a lot of resources and a lot to look forward to. The only very sad and worrying thing in my life just at this moment is that my cat had a couple of seizures this morning. She's 16 and otherwise in very good health. I am far more emotionally invested in the silly creature than I ever thought I'd be, and the thought of watching her go downhill and then eventually having to put her down is something I truly dread.
I'm very optimistic. I hope to keep doing the freelance writing, and unemployment will pick up the slack where needed.
My manager had a very hard time telling me, and everyone's making it clear that I do a great job and they'll miss me and it's just massive budget cuts that are forcing them to let me go. Morale is pretty low there right now. I'm actually far more positive and hopeful than they are, I think. It was kind of like attending my own funeral on Thursday. Everyone seemed to feel the need to tell me how neat they think I am and how much they'll miss me. Very strange.
I think the money stuff will mainly work itself out. My main worry is that I'll slide into a nonproductive blue phase like I did during my other layoff in 2001. I'm a person who does better with a structured life. I know that about myself. I admire those who, released from a nine-to-five job, can write novels, paint their apartments, take up sailing or yoga, and in general use that time to the utmost. Somehow, if I don't have any place to be, I also can't find the will to get anything done. Time only seems valuable if outside forces make it necessary for me to budget it. I'll be talking to my shrink about this - for a while at least, until I decide I can't afford it (though she will probably let me slide back down her sliding scale) - and I hope that the classes keep me structured, but it's still a concern. Plus the days will be getting shorter and colder and darker soon, and it's always easier to get bummed out in the wintertime, I think.
I have a lot of resources and a lot to look forward to. The only very sad and worrying thing in my life just at this moment is that my cat had a couple of seizures this morning. She's 16 and otherwise in very good health. I am far more emotionally invested in the silly creature than I ever thought I'd be, and the thought of watching her go downhill and then eventually having to put her down is something I truly dread.