His golden locks Time hath to silver turn’d;
O Time too swift, O swiftness never ceasing!
His youth ‘gainst time and age hath ever spurn’d,
But spurn’d in vain; youth waneth by increasing:
Beauty, strength, youth, are flowers but fading seen;
Duty, faith, love, are roots, and ever [purple]
Today was a rough day.
I got to work and immediately procured my coffee. (Caffeine was necessary this morning.) I sat down and plugged in my laptop while I was reviewing my ever expanding to-do list. It was going to be a busy day.
The computer screen went blank. A swirling hour glass reappeared, along with a dialog box informing me there had been an error installing the latest updates. Interesting – I hadn’t installed any. Regardless, I followed the typically failsafe method of fixing all technological issues – I rebooted.
Nothing.
The rainbow swirly wheel continued to taunt me. So after five minutes, I scooped up the computer and marched its misbehaving shell down to the IT walk-up window. “Yeah…” the tech guru mused after punching multiple buttons, “this thing’s toast.” Yay me. I had successfully blown up my computer. My day was being eaten away. And my to-do list was not getting shorter. A sympathetic technician sent me back to my desk with the world’s slowest loaner PC. I sat down, only to discover the power cord wouldn’t register. So, the loaner died.
It was going to be one of those days.
As I was fiddling with the computer, plugging and unplugging, musing the pros and cons of simply pushing buttons until the machine worked, my manger asked me if I had a quick second to chat.
Throughout my entire professional career, that exact request has sent my pulse racing. And for the first time, my fears were founded. My company had made the difficult decision to eliminate 1% of its staff in an effort to enhance revenue growth and margin expansion. My job was eliminated.
I lost my corporate job today. Today, I became a temporary stay at home mom. And I was so close to making it through the entire recession…
I said my goodbyes with tear-filled eyes. When I got home I hugged my muppets who grinned and giggled back at me. Mommy’s home!
My heart goes out to all my fellow Yahoos who lost their jobs today. But mooning and mourning will do no good; we will all move forward. I loved my job and I will miss my team dearly. But I’m going to take this opportunity to spend the time with the boys that I wasn’t able to enjoy during my maternity leave (what with the wires and medically “tiny” diagnosis).
I’m going to focus on writing the next great American novel. And blogosphere fans – please have any and all literary agents contact me as soon as possible.
I initially accepted the job at Yahoo! because I saw a change in societal norms – a new direction for people to consume media and content. I still see that there; sooner than later, I’d like you to be able to find my content there.
Today was a sad day. I came home and hugged the muppets. Boy, will Search and Destroy’s first year be one for the record books.
Seriously though- agents? Columnist contracts? I’m here and best of all – I’m available! You’ll find me at home, enjoying a sunny January with my five favorite guys.