We found out last week what the WARN act is. If you don't know what it is then you're one of the lucky ones. The WARN Act is the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Essentially, it's a fancy way of saying that a lot of people are very likely going to lose their jobs in a very short period of time. The Act requires employers to give 60 days notice prior to a job shutdown of 60 or more employees. Well, while they do have to pay us until the end of May, the job shutdown is actually scheduled to occur on April 8th.
As the powers that be look for more money to keep us open, the employees have to scramble to figure out what to do. I'm an IT employee is a town with pretty weak IT employment options. It so happens that my sweetie works at the same place. So while the idea of losing my job is tough, the idea of both of us losing our jobs borders on terrifying.
When we first got the news, we had a quick conversation about what we would do. There are so many scenarios to consider. What if one of us loses the job and not the other? One if only one of us can find a job in this city? If one of us has to move, do we both move? If we move do we get a place together? (We don't live together now.) If we live together, is that temporary or does that mean that we're working toward a wedding day? I know that living together doesn't mean that for a lot of people, but I don't like the idea of living with someone without marriage so there are even more decisions to make. Argh!
There are meetings scheduled all morning to discuss options (or lack thereof). I guess we find out about severance and vacation pay, blah blah blah. This is really the first sleepless night I've had so I'm doing better than a lot of people.
I know I'm fortunate. I am employable and I have options - even if I can't see them all right now. I'm scared of not being able to pay bills and take care of myself. I've spent a fair amount of time questioning my career choices. So for now, I'm just waiting to see what comes next. I have resumes out but it's all very unsettling.
I'm a planner and there's just no way to plan this. I just have to wait and see what happens next and have faith.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
40 Things
A couple of weeks ago I decided to use the Lenten season to record things for which I am grateful. I mentioned that it would be 40 things and I was nervous about coming up with that many. It isn't as though I don't have 40 (or more) things to be grateful for, it's just that I take so many things for granted, I wasn't sure that I could come up with them.
Since then I have realized two things. First, I actually have to come up with 46 things that I'm grateful for (I'm not taking Sundays off). Secondly, it amazes me how when I'm looking for it and really paying attention, the things present themselves to me.
Bad news at work shows me that I have the ability to laugh; Rain makes me thankful for my garden; Anger makes me thankful for love.
I know it may sound sappy but it feels right. I hope this is something that I can hold on to. I want to be able to see good things through the bad.
No one knows what tomorrow holds. I just know that it will be another day for me to reflect on the good instead of the bad. Today, I’m thankful for the ability to realize that’s possible.
Since then I have realized two things. First, I actually have to come up with 46 things that I'm grateful for (I'm not taking Sundays off). Secondly, it amazes me how when I'm looking for it and really paying attention, the things present themselves to me.
Bad news at work shows me that I have the ability to laugh; Rain makes me thankful for my garden; Anger makes me thankful for love.
I know it may sound sappy but it feels right. I hope this is something that I can hold on to. I want to be able to see good things through the bad.
No one knows what tomorrow holds. I just know that it will be another day for me to reflect on the good instead of the bad. Today, I’m thankful for the ability to realize that’s possible.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Riding High
Nearly ten years ago I started riding in a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans called the Krewe of Tucks. I had resisted it for a long time due the expense of it all, but once I was convinced to do it, I was hooked.
It's really hard to explain the experience to someone who has never done it. I enjoy the fact that we roll the Saturday before Mardi Gras, during the day and on the uptown route. Those three things mean that the route is heavily populated from start to finish. What that really means is that for a couple of hours a hell of a lot of people treat you as though you are a rock star. Now, I'm not usually the type of person who likes a lot of attention, but somehow this is different. Maybe it's the mask, maybe it's the fact that I'm part of a larger group, I don't know. I do know that people will tell you almost anything to get the $1 pair of beads.
You would be amazed at how many people love me. I know it must be true because countless of them tell me that all along St. Charles Avenue. They wouldn't lie to me, right? You would also be amazed at how many people are in desperate need of toilet sunglasses, plungers, squirting toilets and special toilet paper. As a matter of fact, one gentleman was also in desperate need of a small stuffed turtle that I was about to toss off of the float. I would hate to deprive someone of their much needed turtle fix.
Truth be told for both the float riders and the spectators, it's a moment in time when nothing else matters. All of the problems that we deal with in our every day lives fade away. I find myself smiling for most of the ride and I love the look on someone's face when eye contact is made and the throw is delivered. Kids are the best. They aren't picky like adults are. They are happy with anything that you throw them and they pick up anything that drops on the ground. It's a good feeling because everything that leaves my hands cost me some amount of money and I'd rather not see it left for the street sweepers.
I wish that everyone could see the good side of Mardi Gras. It doesn't have to be all about boobs and alcohol. Don't get me wrong, plenty of people drink on the floats, but that's not the part of the experience that makes you do it over and over again. As a float rider, you get to put smiles on the faces of countless parade goers and as a spectator, you truly get something for nothing. How often does that happen in our day-to-day lives?
I'm already saving up for next year.
It's really hard to explain the experience to someone who has never done it. I enjoy the fact that we roll the Saturday before Mardi Gras, during the day and on the uptown route. Those three things mean that the route is heavily populated from start to finish. What that really means is that for a couple of hours a hell of a lot of people treat you as though you are a rock star. Now, I'm not usually the type of person who likes a lot of attention, but somehow this is different. Maybe it's the mask, maybe it's the fact that I'm part of a larger group, I don't know. I do know that people will tell you almost anything to get the $1 pair of beads.
You would be amazed at how many people love me. I know it must be true because countless of them tell me that all along St. Charles Avenue. They wouldn't lie to me, right? You would also be amazed at how many people are in desperate need of toilet sunglasses, plungers, squirting toilets and special toilet paper. As a matter of fact, one gentleman was also in desperate need of a small stuffed turtle that I was about to toss off of the float. I would hate to deprive someone of their much needed turtle fix.
Truth be told for both the float riders and the spectators, it's a moment in time when nothing else matters. All of the problems that we deal with in our every day lives fade away. I find myself smiling for most of the ride and I love the look on someone's face when eye contact is made and the throw is delivered. Kids are the best. They aren't picky like adults are. They are happy with anything that you throw them and they pick up anything that drops on the ground. It's a good feeling because everything that leaves my hands cost me some amount of money and I'd rather not see it left for the street sweepers.
I wish that everyone could see the good side of Mardi Gras. It doesn't have to be all about boobs and alcohol. Don't get me wrong, plenty of people drink on the floats, but that's not the part of the experience that makes you do it over and over again. As a float rider, you get to put smiles on the faces of countless parade goers and as a spectator, you truly get something for nothing. How often does that happen in our day-to-day lives?
I'm already saving up for next year.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Lambs and chocolate
Earlier this week I had the chance to put a little perspective back in my life. My 4 year old niece lives up north and I spent 4 days with her. I love spending time with her for a lot of reasons - of course I love her, but it's more than that. She's smart (I know everyone says that about the kids in their lives) and she's a blast. She's a comedian without meaning to be, gentle and a lot of fun. Also, thanks to Charlie and Lola, she now speaks with a little bit of a British accent.
In her world I am a really important person. It feels good to be held in such high esteem by anyone and her NiNi, that's me, is what my Dad would call "the bee's knees." I provide her with Andes mints. Not the hottest commodity in the adult world, but it's the one thing she always requests from me so of course, I always provide them. She's also addicted to stuffed animals. Any type will do, but she has a special affinity for lambs. So on this visit, I brought the lamb and the mints.
This process all takes a lot more planning than your would think. I have to make sure that I have a few small surprises planned for each day of my trip. Anything will do. This year, in addition to the lamb and the mints, she got some Mardi Gras beads, a couple of little bracelets and a small pink purse that I caught from a float.
I like the subtle way she lets me know which surprises are keepers and which aren't. I gave her a small pile of beads and she sorted through them letting me know which ones it was okay to bring back to Louisiana with me. I can take a hint.
On Wednesday it was hard to say goodbye. It's been tough leaving her since the first time I met her as a tiny little person, but it's harder now because she feels the loss as much as I do. She cried on the way to the airport which makes it that much harder for me to hang on to my own tears. At one point she told me "I can't talk to you right now because when I do it makes the tears come out." That was really tough.
I miss her already. She's my little sweet pea and I'm proud to be her NiNi.
In her world I am a really important person. It feels good to be held in such high esteem by anyone and her NiNi, that's me, is what my Dad would call "the bee's knees." I provide her with Andes mints. Not the hottest commodity in the adult world, but it's the one thing she always requests from me so of course, I always provide them. She's also addicted to stuffed animals. Any type will do, but she has a special affinity for lambs. So on this visit, I brought the lamb and the mints.
This process all takes a lot more planning than your would think. I have to make sure that I have a few small surprises planned for each day of my trip. Anything will do. This year, in addition to the lamb and the mints, she got some Mardi Gras beads, a couple of little bracelets and a small pink purse that I caught from a float.
I like the subtle way she lets me know which surprises are keepers and which aren't. I gave her a small pile of beads and she sorted through them letting me know which ones it was okay to bring back to Louisiana with me. I can take a hint.
On Wednesday it was hard to say goodbye. It's been tough leaving her since the first time I met her as a tiny little person, but it's harder now because she feels the loss as much as I do. She cried on the way to the airport which makes it that much harder for me to hang on to my own tears. At one point she told me "I can't talk to you right now because when I do it makes the tears come out." That was really tough.
I miss her already. She's my little sweet pea and I'm proud to be her NiNi.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Blessed
I read a blog today about a woman who lost her 31 year old husband to Lymphoma 10 days after he was diagnosed. Ten days! Her posts from early February talk about her son and regular mundane events and next thing you know, there's an announcement that her husband has passed away. She has a baby on the way as well and now her children will have to grow up without their Daddy and a very young woman is faced with the task of raising her two children by herself.
This kind of story always puts me on the path of how ungrateful I am for what I have. Too often every day life gets in our way of realizing how blessed we are. We walk through life counting on the fact that there's always tomorrow or next week or next month when, in reality, there may not be. I want to have children but I'm trying to accept that may not be part of the plan for my life. Whew - that's a hard thing to say, but I know I've been blessed in many other ways.
It's the Lenten season and there are a few things I've resolved to do during this time. I think I need to add one more. I think that every day I need to write down one thing in my life that God has blessed me with. I'm a little nervous about this because just sitting here, I'm not sure I can come up with over 40 things, but there must be.
Today, my thoughts and prayers go out to the McKay family.
This kind of story always puts me on the path of how ungrateful I am for what I have. Too often every day life gets in our way of realizing how blessed we are. We walk through life counting on the fact that there's always tomorrow or next week or next month when, in reality, there may not be. I want to have children but I'm trying to accept that may not be part of the plan for my life. Whew - that's a hard thing to say, but I know I've been blessed in many other ways.
It's the Lenten season and there are a few things I've resolved to do during this time. I think I need to add one more. I think that every day I need to write down one thing in my life that God has blessed me with. I'm a little nervous about this because just sitting here, I'm not sure I can come up with over 40 things, but there must be.
Today, my thoughts and prayers go out to the McKay family.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Whew
Well, I made it through another Mardi Gras. I'll admit it was touch and go there for a little while. I thought I was going to have to hurt a few people along the way but the good news is that everyone made it out alive and no relationships were ended in the process.
It's interesting that such a fun time can have the potential of causing huge problems, but it's true. It usually has something to do with alcohol and loss of patience, but the truth is that, in general, Mardi Gras can be stressful. I always want to make sure that people have fun and stay safe and those things don't always go hand in hand. We all survived, though, and that counts for something.
Now it's time to return to worrying about what happens next with what's left of my retirement savings. Thank goodness I wasn't looking to call it quits any time soon. I feel sorry for my parents and other people their age who had hoped to earn some extra cash in the stock market before turning in their notice and taking things easy.
Work isn't stable and that's stressful too. Add to all of this the recession and the general direction we're headed as a country. I'm not talking about Pres. Obama, I just think we're on a slippery slope and I'm nervous about what happens next. If history repeats itself things will have to get worse before they get better. The last time the world was in this kind of shape we needed World War II to pull us out of it. What will it take this time? So many countries have atomic weapons now that I'm really scared about where all of this is headed. People are doing horrible things to themselves and their families because they can't deal with the stress of it all. Where does it end?
All of this is a little weighty for my first post in almost a month, but it's on my mind so now it's on "paper." Lighter fare later.
It's interesting that such a fun time can have the potential of causing huge problems, but it's true. It usually has something to do with alcohol and loss of patience, but the truth is that, in general, Mardi Gras can be stressful. I always want to make sure that people have fun and stay safe and those things don't always go hand in hand. We all survived, though, and that counts for something.
Now it's time to return to worrying about what happens next with what's left of my retirement savings. Thank goodness I wasn't looking to call it quits any time soon. I feel sorry for my parents and other people their age who had hoped to earn some extra cash in the stock market before turning in their notice and taking things easy.
Work isn't stable and that's stressful too. Add to all of this the recession and the general direction we're headed as a country. I'm not talking about Pres. Obama, I just think we're on a slippery slope and I'm nervous about what happens next. If history repeats itself things will have to get worse before they get better. The last time the world was in this kind of shape we needed World War II to pull us out of it. What will it take this time? So many countries have atomic weapons now that I'm really scared about where all of this is headed. People are doing horrible things to themselves and their families because they can't deal with the stress of it all. Where does it end?
All of this is a little weighty for my first post in almost a month, but it's on my mind so now it's on "paper." Lighter fare later.
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