After months of saying things like, “I just feel thankful to have a job at all,” I joined the ranks of third world America when I was laid off today. I guess it was bound to happen eventually. It seems to be happening to everyone. I guess I get now why they break the news to people on Fridays. At least I get a long weekend.
My parents got married during a pretty bad recession. Both of them have degrees, and both had trouble finding work for a long time. My dad was laid off from tons of jobs during that time, and he says every time it happened, it turned out to be a good thing, because he ended up somewhere better as a result.
It has not been a secret to us that our company has been struggling over the last year or so. So it was not a total shock for me. I guess the timing was a little shocking because I didn’t realize it had finally come to that. Everyone else is getting pay cuts and hour cuts, but the creative person is always the first to go completely. Art is expendable, you know.
My boss is being pretty cool about it. He’s offered to keep me on contractually part-time, so that will at least contribute to what little I”ll get on unemployment. I could tell he felt bad delivering the news. I still find it hard to understand how he can pay more than I make in a year for just one of his two kids to attend a posh private school and not have any moral issue with that. But I guess when you own the company, you can do whatever you want. Doesn’t make it right. But it does make it possible. And hey, his kids’ overpriced education is way more important than my ability to not be homeless. Apparently. Let’s face it, when you grow up with money, private school versus public school doesn’t make a shit ton of difference. But, I digress.
I guess it’s kind of a good thing. I didn’t want to stay at that job forever, but I have a hard time pushing myself to make big changes. I probably would have had a really hard time quitting unless presented with a miracle dream job doing something philanthropic and making more money. And I really never saw myself staying in this city indefinitely either.
Now I feel a certain sense of freedom that I can go somewhere new and start over. Although I have no savings with which to do that. But maybe within the next few months I’ll be able to save some by cutting expenses. At least I won’t be using as much gas. Ha.
I feel fortunate that I don’t have a spouse and/or children tying me to the area. When I answered the question on the unemployment application of, “Are you willing to relocate?” I just thought, “Willing? YES, PLEASE!” I’d like to move to a bigger city. For years I’ve struggled with the simultaneous desire to live in the country and to live in a huge, bustling metropolis. Lately the need to be around more open-minded individuals and diversity has led me to choose the latter. It’s boring meeting the same person over and over again in a different costume. I like people who are weirdos and freaks and different and unique and individual. Usually you can find more people who fit that bill in big cities.
So thus begins my quest for “the next step.” I’m glad when things happen in my life that propel me to move forward. Sometimes you need a push. Or a swift kick in the ass, as the case may be. FORWARD!
She's Crafty! 