Wednesday, December 17, 2008

I guess you're wondering why I called this meeting today.

The HR department had a meeting at work on Monday to discuss the topic of the companywide meeting that was held on Tuesday. This is why it's good to be in HR...you find out everything the day before. The topic of the meetings happened to be the significant downsizing of our company as the result of closing a line of business. This time it impacts what we call "Shared Services." This is what you might call IT. And Finance. And HR. And Accounts Payable. And Accounts Receivable. And and and and. You get my point. The line of business closes at the end of March. Another reason it's good to be a part of HR? Someone has to lay off all the people, turn off the lights and lock the doors. This means I would expect to lose my job around mid-April. We were notified that we'll know where we stand by the end of January. I fully expect to be told in January I'm losing my job.

Maybe I'm in shock, maybe I was expecting this, maybe I don't care, but to tell you the truth what upsets me the most right now is that I will not be able to adopt PJ and Snoopy right now. If they were younger, I'd do it. The fact that they are almost 10 worries me about potential health problems. The cancer ordeal with Truman cost me almost $3,000. If I can't guarantee my current salary, it worries me. I have to remind myself that they are in a foster home and thus good hands.

I have plans. I have long term plans and I have short term plans. Some of these plans I am not yet ready to tell you about. Some of these plans are still in the works. Overall, I am not that worried. I can take care of myself. Would I like to have more money in savings? Oh yes, although I would probably say that even if I had oodles of cash in savings. My rent and bills are minimal. There are tons of restaurants around, so if I have to wait tables, I can. I mean, getting mad isn't going to give back to my company the $35 mil we lost and the $9 mil we were supposed to have made this year. (Seriously. I can't wrap my mind around that.)

In short, I'm cool, baby. I'm cool.

6 comments:

Kristina P. said...

Oh, Meg, I am sorry. It still sucks to lose your job. But, I'm glad that thing will be OK for you. I know for a lot of people, they aren't/

Meg said...

Thanks, man. The truth is I am in a better position than most people. I am single and don't have kids, therefore I have no one else to worry about feeding, clothing, etc. I rent an apartment that is $615 a month and my only utility is an electric bill that's never more than $30 or so. My other living expenses are also small. And if worse comes to worse, even though I would rather pluck the hairs on my head, I can go to my parents if I ever need help, even though I'd rather not. Ever. But I can. Because I am in this position, I can afford to take a leap that maybe some others can't. I am fully aware of how lucky I truly am.

CailinMarie said...

oh hell Meg.
I just read this! I am so sorry about Snoopy and PJ. I totally get it. I just found a dog Tim agrees on and we are hit with similar uncertainty so we are passing. Very sad. I am glad you time to think and plan. Kisses.

CailinMarie said...

p.s.
put in your backpocket
if you can handle the 'burg {and serious lack of work non restaurant related} we have room. As you may have noticed ;-)
be warned we are a bit loud sometimes... but you can even have your own bathroom.

Meg said...

Ohh, wait...are you guys hiring a live in nanny? Cuz I might be free real soon. I can put a sleeping bag in the hall. I'm great with kids, they don't always behave well around me, but they have fun!

For real though, I do have a plan and once it's more solidified, I'll announce it in January.

FoxyMoron said...

Meg you are totally doing the right thing re the cats. You have enough to worry about.
Hope everything works out for you, but I am sure it will.