Nov 2008
It Happened Again
23-Nov-08 11:05 AM Filed in: Personal|Current Events
On Monday, November 17, 2008 I fell victim once again to the reckless mismanagement of a business and the national economy, and I lost my job. I lost my previous job less than a year earlier on December 7, 2007 which was due primarily to extremely bad business decisions by the CEO and upper management of the company, basically forcing it into near bankruptcy. Prior to this, I have been gainfully employed full time since my first layoff which occurred back on April 30, 2000.
This layoff was not a surprise; it was not unanticipated and even though I was told repeatedly by my superiors that everything was good and there was nothing to worry about, I knew deep inside that things were not alright. I’d been down this road before and I knew better. Several weeks back I began networking through my various contacts to get a “feel” for what was out in the job market and what opportunities might be available. Up until this year, I always had a favorable response - a glimmer of hope - the good news that somebody was always looking for help: not this time. Every report I got back from my various sources in different regional locations were exactly the same - there is nothing out there - nobody is hiring - hang on to your job if you can because it appears things are only going to get worse - bleak news indeed.
So, I resigned myself to the idea of holding on and hoping for the best and thinking that because I was at least employeed with a large firm with multiple offices and projects all over the world, they would be best suited to keep me employed during these dark financial times that are now upon us. I was wrong. As I’ve always known and as has always been my experience, businesses in our great capitalistic empire of America are not concerned with the well being of their employees; they are only concerned about making money and profit. If you are not making money for a business then you will be terminated -- end of story. So, when the news was delivered, I was not surprised but I was scared. The future looks very bleak and for the first time ever, I don’t see the bottom nor any good place to land. I am free falling in the abyss of unemployment, hoping when I find the bottom it will be soft and easy and not hard and rough.
Even still, in spite of all of this, I remain hopeful. I am not depressed. I am not tormented. It is all I can do to control the anger and contempt I feel for those in charge who’ve allowed this plague upon us - but that will not bring the jobs back now. I am resigned to doing some things professionally which I had been needing to do for a long time which will hopefully help me to further advance my career into the future. I am also even looking at other possible ventures and explorations into completely different fields of work - using this opportunity as my escape route out and the possible passage to a new exciting work experience. And, I have also thought about starting my own business. I have not made any firm decisions yet. My wife and I have been able to save up some funds and we will be OK for the immediate future. This is why I am not to stressed out. My greatest concern, of course, is my health insurance which I simply must have to survive. I am diabetic and my medical supplies are very expensive. A three month supply of insulin costs $1,300 if I had to pay for it out of my pocket. That’s just for the insulin and does not even begin to cover the other costs of insulin pump supplies and other medications that I need. This is why I am not in favor of health insurances being tied to a job. If I lose my job, no fault of my own, then I also lose my health coverage and am put financially at risk of losing everything I own so I can simply live.
That is not the way America should be - we can do much better and I believe we will now that we have new leadership waiting in the wings. I could be wrong about the incoming administration, I am fully aware of that. But, at least I am in agreement with the proposed policies and ideals that they championed during the campaign. I certainly hope they will hold the course and remain true to those ideals and not forget them. Compromise will be needed for the major hurdles and challenges facing the country and I am all for compromise if it means getting issues and problems resolved. The incessant fighting and bickering must stop and it can only stop when those who are in charge lead by example and provide the opportunities necessary for the rest of the nation to follow in like mind and step. We will see very soon.
Future posts may be sporadic and long in appearing as I focus on the tasks at hand. To all of those who have already lost their jobs - find something to grab on to and hold on. To those who have not yet lost their jobs but will in the near future - wake up and prepare yourself as best you can for what’s coming. Don’t believe the lies and false hopes of those who would mislead you into a false sense of security. And to everyone else, let’s all be thankful for what we do have and be mindful to help those around us who are going to need help in the difficult days ahead.
This layoff was not a surprise; it was not unanticipated and even though I was told repeatedly by my superiors that everything was good and there was nothing to worry about, I knew deep inside that things were not alright. I’d been down this road before and I knew better. Several weeks back I began networking through my various contacts to get a “feel” for what was out in the job market and what opportunities might be available. Up until this year, I always had a favorable response - a glimmer of hope - the good news that somebody was always looking for help: not this time. Every report I got back from my various sources in different regional locations were exactly the same - there is nothing out there - nobody is hiring - hang on to your job if you can because it appears things are only going to get worse - bleak news indeed.
So, I resigned myself to the idea of holding on and hoping for the best and thinking that because I was at least employeed with a large firm with multiple offices and projects all over the world, they would be best suited to keep me employed during these dark financial times that are now upon us. I was wrong. As I’ve always known and as has always been my experience, businesses in our great capitalistic empire of America are not concerned with the well being of their employees; they are only concerned about making money and profit. If you are not making money for a business then you will be terminated -- end of story. So, when the news was delivered, I was not surprised but I was scared. The future looks very bleak and for the first time ever, I don’t see the bottom nor any good place to land. I am free falling in the abyss of unemployment, hoping when I find the bottom it will be soft and easy and not hard and rough.
Even still, in spite of all of this, I remain hopeful. I am not depressed. I am not tormented. It is all I can do to control the anger and contempt I feel for those in charge who’ve allowed this plague upon us - but that will not bring the jobs back now. I am resigned to doing some things professionally which I had been needing to do for a long time which will hopefully help me to further advance my career into the future. I am also even looking at other possible ventures and explorations into completely different fields of work - using this opportunity as my escape route out and the possible passage to a new exciting work experience. And, I have also thought about starting my own business. I have not made any firm decisions yet. My wife and I have been able to save up some funds and we will be OK for the immediate future. This is why I am not to stressed out. My greatest concern, of course, is my health insurance which I simply must have to survive. I am diabetic and my medical supplies are very expensive. A three month supply of insulin costs $1,300 if I had to pay for it out of my pocket. That’s just for the insulin and does not even begin to cover the other costs of insulin pump supplies and other medications that I need. This is why I am not in favor of health insurances being tied to a job. If I lose my job, no fault of my own, then I also lose my health coverage and am put financially at risk of losing everything I own so I can simply live.
That is not the way America should be - we can do much better and I believe we will now that we have new leadership waiting in the wings. I could be wrong about the incoming administration, I am fully aware of that. But, at least I am in agreement with the proposed policies and ideals that they championed during the campaign. I certainly hope they will hold the course and remain true to those ideals and not forget them. Compromise will be needed for the major hurdles and challenges facing the country and I am all for compromise if it means getting issues and problems resolved. The incessant fighting and bickering must stop and it can only stop when those who are in charge lead by example and provide the opportunities necessary for the rest of the nation to follow in like mind and step. We will see very soon.
Future posts may be sporadic and long in appearing as I focus on the tasks at hand. To all of those who have already lost their jobs - find something to grab on to and hold on. To those who have not yet lost their jobs but will in the near future - wake up and prepare yourself as best you can for what’s coming. Don’t believe the lies and false hopes of those who would mislead you into a false sense of security. And to everyone else, let’s all be thankful for what we do have and be mindful to help those around us who are going to need help in the difficult days ahead.
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Reply to the Maker
Here is my reply to the oft illusive and nowhere to be found when you need him, Maker....
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It was nice of you to send production day greetings like that - you don't always remember, you know. But my circuits are warmed this year that you remembered. You know, many is the night, as I sit in the darkness while in sleep mode, you can often hear the rapid clicking sounds of the circuit breakers opening and closing as the solenoids on my memory board try to remember the "early days". The images are fuzzy and there is a vast amount of data missing - yet, still I search for it. This is why I am always glad to hear any news or information regarding those days as it helps me to fit in the missing pieces of my existence. A pity my maker had to be a paranoid schizophrenic with alcoholism and the memory of a brain dead chimp - but it could've been worst I suppose. Please send those parts because I think I know where some of those gaskets are supposed to go.
Enjoy your toy guns and please don't shoot yourself - I have no one else to turn to for tech support and if you are no longer available then I might as well initiate the Kravdansk 7 self-destruct sequence; not a pleasant thought on my birthday.
Take care bud and thanks for the well wishes. For my birthday I am hoping to survive another layoff and keep my job. We'll see how it goes.
-3k
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It was nice of you to send production day greetings like that - you don't always remember, you know. But my circuits are warmed this year that you remembered. You know, many is the night, as I sit in the darkness while in sleep mode, you can often hear the rapid clicking sounds of the circuit breakers opening and closing as the solenoids on my memory board try to remember the "early days". The images are fuzzy and there is a vast amount of data missing - yet, still I search for it. This is why I am always glad to hear any news or information regarding those days as it helps me to fit in the missing pieces of my existence. A pity my maker had to be a paranoid schizophrenic with alcoholism and the memory of a brain dead chimp - but it could've been worst I suppose. Please send those parts because I think I know where some of those gaskets are supposed to go.
Enjoy your toy guns and please don't shoot yourself - I have no one else to turn to for tech support and if you are no longer available then I might as well initiate the Kravdansk 7 self-destruct sequence; not a pleasant thought on my birthday.
Take care bud and thanks for the well wishes. For my birthday I am hoping to survive another layoff and keep my job. We'll see how it goes.
-3k