Year of Hell

In roughly 12 hours, it will be exactly one year since I, and a number of my friends, were "transitioned out of" The Company in its first wave of layoffs. Although I eventually found employment in a much less stressful job at a much higher salary (making the layoff ultimately a Good Thing for me, as my friend DrHeimlich says it was for him), it took a six-month-long trek through dense clouds to reach that silver lining. It will be a while yet before my finances recover from the double whammy of living on unemployment insurance while having to pay the full freight on my medical insurance, and I don't think I will ever forget the punched-in-the-gut feeling from getting that figurative pink slip on Black Monday.

That said, I know that many of the others caught in that layoff and the two later rounds (not to mention those who pre-emptively departed for greener pastures before they could be likewise unwillingly "transitioned") had their lives disrupted a great deal more than I did, having to pick up and move, some with houses to sell and/or babies on the way. I'm thankful that I was able to find a new job locally, and that I didn't have to worry about the impact of my unemployment on anyone but myself.

To all of my former colleagues, here's wishing y'all a peaceful and truly happy new year in 2006, sans pink slips, job hunts, moves, or any of that bullshit. I miss you all.