A Tough Day at the Office
The reason I had to be at work today was that we were laying off one of our Staff. Originally planned for Monday (which was why I had to be at the office that day, even though Marilyn and I don't go in on Mondays in December normally), it was moved to today.
It's especially hard to be Marilyn, doing the actual laying off. It really weighs on her. But it's an important part of management, of course. This happened in the afternoon at 3:00 p.m., after a busy day.
People were pretty down about it, of course. It's never pleasant when this is necessary. It was a financial decision (as it has been many times in the past). And I'm convinced that she's going to go on to bigger and better things in the future. She's a very determined young woman.
Anyway, Marilyn and I were pretty done in when we got home tonight...
On another subject, tonight we were watching Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" (released in 1968). It was one of our very favorite movies from our teenage years, and we knew it by heart -- and recited it CONSTANTLY! We still know it perfectly now, and immediately started reciting it again (smile). Yes, I realize a lot of people know Shakespeare -- and especially Romeo and Juliet. But this is a different version that does not follow the play as written exactly. So how did we learn it? We had records from the film, and we'd listen to these over and over -- and we memorized the Zeffirelli version! Marilyn did Juliet, I did Romeo and we both learned all the other roles, as well...
I can remember many of the places we'd be when we'd recite the lines. We not only learned the words, but we learned the exact way they were spoken in the film! I remember one Fourth of July being on a large embankment with a huge group of people, and we just started reciting it. People were applauding when we finished! It was pretty cool...
Aside from this fixation with reciting lines from the film, it was just beautifully done. You can read Roger Ebert's review of the movie HERE. It was perfectly shot. And though it strayed from the original Shakespeare, it did so in wonderful ways. The casting was excellent! Teens could certainly relate to teen lovers, and the nudity was really inoffensive and lovely. The two leads were amazing, but they weren't the only amazing actors in the film. I'm rather shocked that we don't OWN this movie, considering the huge impact it had on our lives at the time. (I took drama in school for several years, and this is one of the main reasons I did so...)
We just got back from dashing back down to the office. It was cold out, pouring down rain and the driving was a mess, due to street closures, heavy traffic and police activity! But I somehow left my iPad there.
It was exactly where I expected it to be, lying on Rich's desk. I sat in his chair (he's not in on Fridays) to be with Danielle as she was packing up her desk. I didn't want to sit right on top of her (as I often must), and I was holding my iPad and mostly pretending to look at it as I followed our protocols for out-going staff.
Anyway, we're back home, safe and sound! And glad this day is over. We're both wishing the best for Danielle -- and hopeful things will go well at the festival, moving forward. We've been through a lot of personnel changes in the time we've been here, and it never gets easier. (In fact, it might just get more difficult, over time.) But we should FEEL SOMETHING when it happens, because it's only human to care and have emotion about it.
Well, we're both looking forward to our three-day weekend -- and the chance to hopefully continue to get well! Rest is the main thing we have planned. But we need to shop at least a little, and go for both manicures and pedicures. Plus I should finally color my hair! I guess we'll see how all of that goes!
And that was Friday, pretty much...
I should mention that I had one heck of a time blogging today -- or even trying to look at my blog during the day! I guess service was down on and off. What a mess, LiveJournal!