Unemployed

Not a very "catchy" blog post title, but it does get right to the point don't it?

Anyway, like it says, I am now currently unemployed.

After 15 years of working for the same company, I was let go today due to economic conditions.

Basically, they couldn't afford to keep 5 salespeople on the payroll when there was really only enough work for 2-1/2. So, somebody had to go.

I've kind of seen it coming and was expecting it to happen right about now.

September was the last month of our fiscal year, and October was the beginning.

If layoffs were going to happen, it was going to be around this time.

I'm not looking forward to my unemployment status (who does, really?), but I'm not all that shaken up about it.

I expected it to happen for a while and if I'd been thinking "Well, it won't be me" I'd have just been thinking like an idiot.

Now it's like a weight has been taken off. I don't have to get up in the morning and wonder if it's going to be my last day or not. I just had my last day.

I promised when I started this blog that I wouldn't gripe about my work, and I think I've honored that.

I'm not going to start now, but I would like to get a few things out of my system.

I'd been there for 15 years. That's along time.

I could've gotten married, had a kid and have that kid in High School this year during the length of time I've been there.

One thing I've been asked alot is "What do I want to do?"

Honestly... I do not know.

What I do know, is that I don't want to work in the same industry anymore.

I'm tired of it. In fact, I never really liked it. But the pay was good and it let me afford my hobbies. I may not have been enjoying it, but I'm not going to rock the boat . That'd be foolish.

On the other hand, I haven't had that many different jobs. The ones I've had have been V-E-R-Y diverse, but I haven't had that many of them. And for the last 15 years, I've been doing the same thing.

Now I've got to go look for another job, and I'm pushing 40 while there are a whole slew of younger bucks out there fresh on the market. That doesn't seem too favorable for me.

I may have to suck it up and do what I know how to do, instead of something different.

We'll see. I'll be sure to keep you posted one way or the other.

One of the downsides is that while I may have had a 'customer / provider' relationship with people I dealt with on the phone, there were quite a few whom I was friends with.

I'm going to miss talking with them.

Luckily some of them have my personal email and I'll be able to keep contact with a few of them.

But not all of them.

On the plus side, I won't have to deal with the same old office beauracracy I've been dealing with these past years.

I get to look forward to a whole new one.

Also, I really didn't want to be there when I turned 40. Now I guess I got my wish.

Now that that's out of my system, I get to start all over.

Tomorrow I'm going into Redmond and Elwood is going to help me with my unemployment paperwork.

It sucks that I've had friends lose their jobs recently as well, but thankfully they can help me navigate this uncharted territory. I'm very appreciative for their help.

I got a pretty generous severance, so as long we tighten our belts and don't do anything stupid, we should be okay for a while.

I'm actually not too worked up about this.

..... and by the way, that stapler in the picture above is mine.

I bought it.

Nobody's keeping my red Swingline stapler!