Oh sh*take mushrooms. I'm sorry. Any chance it might be a good thing, in a way?

Crap. . .

Oh no. Oh, fuck. That fucking sucks, mgl.

Yeah, it sucks but also I think it's a good thing. I think it is the kick in the pants that I've been needing for a while to get the hell out of here and really do something with my life. I am kind of freaked out but kind of really excited. It's weird - I had a choice, I could either be laid off and get unemployment or we were going to do this rotating series of unpaid furloughs or a cross the board pay cut. I thought about that and realized that frankly I'd rather be home getting unemployment and really having some time to devote to a job hunt than trying to do this same job, which already doesn't pay enough, for less money. So I said this morning, okay, lay me off. And my last day is probably Friday. YIKES! YET, MAYBE NOT YIKES! I can't decide how I feel about it, really.

And I just got an email; I have an interview tomorrow afternoon with a local brewpub who is looking for a marketing SMS type designer person. So, huh, I might not be on unemployment long.

Very sorry, dear. You definitely made the right decision! Getting money to not go to work is pretty awesome; I thoroughly enjoyed my uenmployment this summer. Great time of year to be out of work!

Ah, well with those options, than yep, you did make the right decision!

mgl, what a rotten surprise and how great that you can greet it with some positive feeling (as well as the expected OH YIKES feeling). I'm sending you good vibes and hoppy bunny thoughts.

:(

:(

You told us many horror stories about how clueless your boss was. Perhaps not having you around will make them realize how valuable you were? Perhaps?

Whaaat? Damn, sorry about the suddenness, but I think you're right that this is going to be good for you. That job didn't treat you very well most of the time, it seems.

I'm sorry you've been laid off, but it sounds as if they've taken the piss for too long. This will be the stepping stone to something awesome for you, my dear.

What BP said, mgl. I can't wait to see how great this will be for your writing career. Srsly!

Think you made the right choice, definitely.

At least you get to feel you have some control over the process.

And I hope you find a good job that is worthy of your skills and energy in short order!

I don't know if I'm even considered unemployed anymore, that's how long I've been out of work.

But if there's such a club, we're happy to have you as a member! You can come commiserate with us in IRC. ;)

mgl: as someone who was in your shoes a few years back, and wound up deeply in serious financial straits when my entire department at the university got eliminated, I can safely say that I've since come out well ahead, and that in hindsight it was really the best thing that ever happened to me. Without that kick in the ass, that would have been a super easy low-paying, minimal effort expenditure, zero career building type of job that I could easily have seen myself coasting along in for years.

And, there's just nothing crappier in the moment than that "oh shit!" sinking gut-clench when you all walk into the conference room, and the manager goes "this is a very hard decision bla bla bla..." and you all look at each other and get that sort of silent, unanimous "yep, this is exactly as bad as we expected it would be" expression on your faces.

A word of caution: Don't let yourself fall into a blamey, self-critical blackhole of financial and employment procrastination. I did that, and I have only myself to blame for it, too. Rather than be proactive (as it sounds you are doing - the brewpub deal sounds EXTREMELY promising), I simply curled up into a ball and hid under the covers for a couple of months. The fact that it was Christmas and we had 3' of snow the following day, and a subsequent blizzard roughly every 5-7 days for 2 months after that, which made the thought of leaving the house extremely distasteful? Nah, that had absolutely NOTHING to do with it. :P

So I guess the lesson there is: don't let the bastards get you down; be it the weather gods or the depression monkeys, or simply the bastardly bastard-flavoured bastards that inhabit nearly every HR department I've ever dealt with.

*hugs*

Without that kick in the ass, that would have been a super easy low-paying, minimal effort expenditure, zero career building type of job that I could easily have seen myself coasting along in for years.

You could say the same about the job I had before I was informed that my position had been eliminated from the budget and would only be funded on an as-you-go basis. It was about to run out when I got a better job. I almost wish I'd had time off on unemployment, but the crisis made me work very hard to get a better job, and I was lucky enough to find one. Hope this is the positive, life-changing ass-kick for you!

a super easy low-paying, minimal effort expenditure, zero career building type of job that I could easily have seen myself coasting along in for years.

Almost four years, actually. ;-) Almost four years and now it's time to try something new. I'm cleaning out my bookshelves and thinking I'll miss my orange office but oh man is it time and past time to leave this place.

whoah. good luck, mgl! i hope this turns out to be, as Miko says, a positive, life-changing ass-kick.

Past lives are often best left in the past.

Ah bummer on the sudden change, but yeah, I'll agree with others that you will no doubt find something great to replace this job.

I mean, just this morning you were bemoaning being stuck at work, unable to get coffee. Now...you can get coffee at will! Whenever you want!

Just trying to see some upsides here! :-D

*HUG*

Aw man. I'm so sorry to hear that, MGL. But from what I've learned about you over these past few years, you'll find a way to make this work for you. You're super resilient and pretty damn good at riding the whims of fate.

You're going to make it work mgl! ((hugs)) Good luck at the interview!

Big ups, mygothlaundry. Most of my metaphors involve knives and tigers; suffice to say you're a champ, you won't be out of work long, congratulations on getting out of the wearying shit-vat hamster-wheel of your old job and into the rejuvenating breath of life you deserve. Knives and tigers for your upcoming interview, rock their socks off! Solid gold!

Gah, mgl! *hugs*

I was going to say "Ohhhh noooooooooooo!", but after reading your explanation, it definitely sounds like you made the right decision. But it can certainly still be scary.

Hugs big time. It sucks when it happens - even if the former job sucks and you're better off out of there. You're such a survivor, you'll be OK, but it sure is a shock. Take care of yourself.

Welcome to the club - we're pretty nice and you've already finished most of the hazing ritual!!!! To fit in you'll have to abide by the dress code of jeans/lounge/sweat/pj/pants and t-shirts, unless you have a function to attend. Doing laundry is optional unless the aroma becomes unbearable from one block away.

File online w/ NC - don't even try to call - I've been on hold for over 45 minutes to get someone. If you have questions, go to the local office and see someone in person. They were amazingly nice at the one here. Oh, and make sure your former boss signs the paperwork ASAP.

Thanks, y'all. I'm still sure it was the right decision - my boss was all, "Oh you're being so selfless!" and I'm thinking, "well, I leave and get unemployment and get to stay home as opposed to continuing to do the same job I've been doing for LESS money? Um, no." But I said, yes, oh yes, saintly, that's me and I tried to look noble. But now, man, there's a ton to do to get out of here. Yesterday I was kind of freaked out by it all, packing up my photo cube and thinking about taking down my lolcats but today I'm just much more relaxed about everything.

this may in all honesty be because apparently my love life had not died after all but just gone into hiding and I would appear to, ahem, be seeing somebody. Weird, life. Awesome, sometimes, but definitely weird. ;-)

Woo!

Sorry to hear, though it does sound like positive change in the long run.

I have a bit of layoff anxiety myself, even with a union and contract that's supposed to make me layoff-proof. Now, with budget shortfalls in NYC and NYS, they're talking the possible layoff of 8,500 teachers in NYC alone (I already have as many as 30 kids in a class). With tenure and eight years seniority, I should be fine, at least under the terms of our now expired old contract, which remains in effect until there's a new one (negotiations have gone to mediation). Our lovely billionaire mayor, however, would like the state legislature to change the law so that more senior, and more expensive, teachers could be laid off first. So much for tenure. I don't think he'll get his way, though, especially in an election year (for the legislature, not him). One hopes (and socks away as much money as possible, which isn't a lot, just in case).

Yeah, work hard, show dedication, work your way up the salary scale to a half-way decent salary after years of small incremental increases, and then, goodbye. Meanwhile, no tax increases on the rich. Heavens no. We'd rather lay off teachers, cops, close hospitals and senior centers, and stop picking up trash. You're a "socialist" if you want millionaires to pay a little more, and NYC has a lot of millionaires (the average price of a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan is still about $800,000).

But who says life is fair, right?

(sorry about the rant -- enjoy your time off, mygoth; everyone needs a chance to breathe now and then)

mgl: as someone who was in your shoes a few years back, and wound up deeply in serious financial straits when my entire department at the university got eliminated, I can safely say that I've since come out well ahead, and that in hindsight it was really the best thing that ever happened to me. Without that kick in the ass, that would have been a super easy low-paying, minimal effort expenditure, zero career building type of job that I could easily have seen myself coasting along in for years.
Yeah, me too. Six years ago, I was in a very similar situation when I got laid off. A year later, I was working in an awesome job that I loved and which paid much better. After five years, I'm in an even better job and earning over twice what I was in my old job, with all sorts of career prospects and opportunities.

That 9 months or so out of work was hell, but well worth it in many ways. I'm sure this will turn out the be one of the best things that has happened to you.

Oooh. Yeah. Layoff in theory and somewhat in practice = sucky. Bonus goodness for needing, deserving, and getting time off. Extra super bonus for seeing someone. What fun that is! You'll rock your job search, I'm sure. Meanwhile hugs for the scary parts, ok?