as the dust clears ....

Dragon Mood? -- still sorting it all out

A life event happened to me this week. I was laid off from my job at one of the domestic auto companies, after sixteen years of contract design work.

When I got the call from my contract house rep, I was simply stunned. As I told him, after working for so many years under the Damoclean sword of layoff, I had ceased to worry about it. Now that the sword had actually fallen, severing me from steady work, I was and still am stunned.

When I went to work the next morning, I found out how truly not alone I was. Eighty-six people, counting me, were laid off in our department, virtually dismantling it. The people who remain can anticipate either being shuffled to another department or being laid off themselves. I feel for them. Overall, the company laid off over 550 people ... yesterday ... with supposedly more to come.

I'm trying to focus on the good things that go with this. I am finally free of a company that has never felt quite right to me. They pay you well enough that it's tough to leave; it's commonly known around the company as the "golden handcuffs."

I'm finally free to look at working for a company that I like and to do work that is more resonant with my interests. I still need to make money, but S is encouraging me not to make that my number #1 focus. I'm going to try to do that, at least for a little while.