The Month of May...
...it always seems to be a month of change and growth for me. Like the double digit years, May seems to be the time when courses change in this river of life of mine.
I was laid off from my last job in May of 1981.
I left my 1st wife on May 30th 1983 and filed for divorce shortly thereafter.
I moved out from living with a lover I was infatuated with in May 2003.
I "retired" from a job I had for 25 years in May, and I have moved forward on a long-coming divorce to wife#2.
I'm rather enjoying, maybe too much, being unemployed heading into summer for the first time since 1981. Yes, with the new fiscal year at the company (May 1st) they decided to do some "cost-cutting". I had a heads up as I left on Friday, April 28 as the supervisor said she "had to talk to me" before I leave. That walk and talk was joined by one of the catberts from HR. They couldn't say anything as it wasn't going to be announced until Tuesday May 2nd, but I was off for a (so I thought) 2 week vacation. I got on my mobile and gave a co-worker a heads up about 2 minutes later, so goes the rumor mill. Anyway, I called them on Tuesday as I wasn't going to show up in the midst of my vacation, and I got the "official" notice.
I was paid 25 weeks severance, my outstanding vacation time, paid medical benefits until the end of July, the services of an outplacement company, plus one week pay for my 25th year anniversary with the company. Also, I should be getting a bonus check for last fiscal year sometime in June, which is ironic since I and about 80 others were let go as a cost-cutting measure. Welcome to the new business plan of the new mellinium! Its the bottom line and job mobility that they want! People don't work for the same company for a whole working career anymore, and hense that was why they wanted to change the retiremnent packages a couple years back. They touted the fact the new one was more "portable" but most of the folk vested in the old one didn't change. But that was the writing on the wall warning of future events and after that we expected such treatment to come along. The old original corporation used to see after their people, but they were bought out in 1997, and the suceeding 8 years was like a slow assimulation by the Borg... resistance was futile and they now are slowly remove the old vestages of folk who remember "the old days". Basicly they wanted younger, cheaper people. So for now I'm getting about $400 a week from the state in exchange for looking for three jobs a week. I can live with this for now. Of course there are a couple places I'm not going to apply at yet as I know they will give me a job and ruin it. Maybe in July or August...
The first two weeks of this month I was enjoying hiking and the company of my ladyfriend whom I love, and when I had to take her finally to the airport I was seriously bummed. That day we had 3 points of ale to drown our sorrows of parting, and after getting to the airport we had a tussle with the airline because we arrived in barely enough time by pre 9/11 standards to make an international flight. After some bitching out by one of the airline counter supervisors, she was able to make the plane, and her bags even made it. I on the other hand was bumming and so returned to the alehouse and had 7 more pints! I was well wrecked by the time they closed, and I managed to navigate the 2 miles to my folks place to crash. I had a thick head for three days afterward!
Ah yes... May.
I was laid off from my last job in May of 1981.
I left my 1st wife on May 30th 1983 and filed for divorce shortly thereafter.
I moved out from living with a lover I was infatuated with in May 2003.
I "retired" from a job I had for 25 years in May, and I have moved forward on a long-coming divorce to wife#2.
I'm rather enjoying, maybe too much, being unemployed heading into summer for the first time since 1981. Yes, with the new fiscal year at the company (May 1st) they decided to do some "cost-cutting". I had a heads up as I left on Friday, April 28 as the supervisor said she "had to talk to me" before I leave. That walk and talk was joined by one of the catberts from HR. They couldn't say anything as it wasn't going to be announced until Tuesday May 2nd, but I was off for a (so I thought) 2 week vacation. I got on my mobile and gave a co-worker a heads up about 2 minutes later, so goes the rumor mill. Anyway, I called them on Tuesday as I wasn't going to show up in the midst of my vacation, and I got the "official" notice.
I was paid 25 weeks severance, my outstanding vacation time, paid medical benefits until the end of July, the services of an outplacement company, plus one week pay for my 25th year anniversary with the company. Also, I should be getting a bonus check for last fiscal year sometime in June, which is ironic since I and about 80 others were let go as a cost-cutting measure. Welcome to the new business plan of the new mellinium! Its the bottom line and job mobility that they want! People don't work for the same company for a whole working career anymore, and hense that was why they wanted to change the retiremnent packages a couple years back. They touted the fact the new one was more "portable" but most of the folk vested in the old one didn't change. But that was the writing on the wall warning of future events and after that we expected such treatment to come along. The old original corporation used to see after their people, but they were bought out in 1997, and the suceeding 8 years was like a slow assimulation by the Borg... resistance was futile and they now are slowly remove the old vestages of folk who remember "the old days". Basicly they wanted younger, cheaper people. So for now I'm getting about $400 a week from the state in exchange for looking for three jobs a week. I can live with this for now. Of course there are a couple places I'm not going to apply at yet as I know they will give me a job and ruin it. Maybe in July or August...
The first two weeks of this month I was enjoying hiking and the company of my ladyfriend whom I love, and when I had to take her finally to the airport I was seriously bummed. That day we had 3 points of ale to drown our sorrows of parting, and after getting to the airport we had a tussle with the airline because we arrived in barely enough time by pre 9/11 standards to make an international flight. After some bitching out by one of the airline counter supervisors, she was able to make the plane, and her bags even made it. I on the other hand was bumming and so returned to the alehouse and had 7 more pints! I was well wrecked by the time they closed, and I managed to navigate the 2 miles to my folks place to crash. I had a thick head for three days afterward!
Ah yes... May.