The Bad News

Posted on December 5, 2002 in Whines

I yelled at God last night. Gave him a piece of my mind, like Job did. “They’ve got the wrong guy in the frozen lake at the bottom of the pit,” I informed Him. “You should be there.” I’m in no mood to die after Wednesday’s news, but things will be tight, very tight for the time being at least. We’re cancelling plans for Christmas.

Lynn’s been on the phone continually for the last two evenings, taking calls from and making them to relatives. She revealed the first intimations of the news to me on Tuesday night. Raymond, the office pessimist, predicted yet another lay off. He reasoned that they always preceded a meeting of the board which was today. And, for some reason we still don’t understand, he’d gotten word that the ax was coming down on him and many others. Lynn considered the source, assured me that her job performance evaluations were excellent, and went to sleep.

Raymond was right. Shortly after 11 am, I woke to hear the lurch and grind of the automatic garage door opener. The familiar grumble of the Toyota Tercel engine slid beneath me — six hours early. My first thought: how nice of Lynn, I hope, to come home to assure me that everything was still all right. She usually called, however, so when she came up the stairs and told me “I’ve been laid off”, I was not utterly surprised.

It was a xanax moment.

Twenty one people got the ax even though the company was turning a profit. The board decided that if a department was not fully self-supporting, even if the product was under development, it had to go. Goodbye to Rainbow Technologies Computer Security Division. Lynn and all her coworkers were rewarded for their exemplary service to the company with a lump sum and ninety days in which to redeem their stock options.

So we’re back to being poor, very poor. This is a severe blow to the household, the worst since the advertising market went belly up the day after the year 2000 election. Again, bad economic news follows a Republican victory.

Lynn has a thick stack of recommendations and positive job performances. I’ve been printing out business cards, locating job sites, and installing resume software for her. She will find more work, but the question is when.

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OK, you might want to help. You can be outrageous and send us an outright gift of cash through Paypal:

You could surprise me and send me something from my Amazon.com wish list.

Or you can buy that Proud Rhino shirt that I know you’ve been coveting.

I’d appreciate it if you’d do your Amazon.com shopping through me.

Lynn will have her resume up here. She has worked as a Software QA Engineer and is interested in positions in Orange County, California.