Retirement vs. Laid Off - not much difference

I've got a number of friends who received STRONG suggestions that they take "the company's" early retirement package. These are people in their 50s, who still want and/or need to work. The Turk came to visit them too. But they didn't get a choice: take the package OR wait and see if you win/loose the layoff lottery. Not a good choice any way!

We all knew that "the company" was going to do a layoff. I guessed it last year several months back. I knew that when they announced the early retirement program starting in December, with a deadline of acceptance of January 23rd, that a layoff would follow. I just didn't know THE DATE of it.

Well, the retirees have had a couple of weeks (at least) to say their good-byes. I didn't get an hour to say mine. I really wanted to be able to say good-bye to my dear friends and co-workers at "the company" where I worked for TWENTY years of my life, Dec 1988 to Jan 2009. I got my freaking GOLD badge and parking pass in December 2008. It got ripped away on January 27, 2009. Rather ironic that I really wanted the privelege of having the stupid gold parking pass to park a few rows closer to the building. VERY IRONIC.

"The company" will not be the same place, ever again. Too many GOOD PEOPLE are walking away or were booted out the revolving door. I keep hearing more and I'm starting to be glad that I was shown the door. At least the anxiety and stress of worrying about when the layoff would come is over. So is the stress of the current reorgs at "the company". It's a totally different place.

Yes, I miss my GOLD BADGE. I freaking earned that little piece of plastic. I gave them at least 15 good years and 5 not so great ones. It averages out to a pretty good career there. But so many of the retirees and laid off people were EXCELLENT folks that were put out the door before their time.

PS. I kept the DART pass. F*** them! I deserve it.

PPS. Remind me when their stock goes up. I need to SELL all my stock in "the company" as why be an owner of a company that kicked me to the curb. SELL SELL SELL!!!

When the Turk Comes to See You...

Here's the excellent article about our layoff that my DH (dear husband) had published in the Dallas Morning News local options section today...
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/opinion/stories/east_bloom_0201edi.286ce78.html

Friends are the Best

I've had some really nice emails and phone calls from my friends. Lots of sympathy about my job loss. Today one of my BFFs bought me lunch. Two friends came to lunch and both wanted details about my "package" and shared info about what was happening at my former office. It's like a jigsaw puzzle. Bits of information keep popping up. The names of people no longer there. The new jobs that people have been slotted into. I'm not sure that I would like working there any more. It seems that people have been haphazardly tossed about into different teams and positions like so many mix and match Legos. The new reality of corporate IT hell. IT wasn't the only area with major cuts. The denizens of bldg 2 who produced a brilliant product that hasn't totally worked out suffered the same or worse cuts than bldg 1. That's just the location that I worked at. There are many more buildings on the sites in Dallas proper.

I'm getting used to being an outsider (to my former company). It's different but the stress and anxiety of wondering what was going to happen and when have all vanished. I'm hopeful that my job situation will work out for the best. I'm not one of those people who say, "Everything happens for a reason." I don't believe in that theory of life. I guess I'm more of the school of chaos theory. There is no such thing as fate or good/bad/mysterious reasons for things to happen. We make our own way in the world. The future happens one day at a time. It's up to me to determine my course of action. I can do it. I'm a survivor and veteran of many crisis' past. So, I'm optimistic that I'll learn some new lessons along the way and somehow things will get better. And I'll be happy that I have friends who care!!!!