About 9 in the morning on January 30th, 2015, my world caved in all around me.
Earlier that day, as I was walking in with my fellow vanpoolers, we noticed quite a few black towncars parked out front with their drivers standing next to them. Jokingly, one of my more seasoned riders said that there must be some kind of layoff going on somewhere in the building.
We all got a laugh out of it and proceeded up the elevators to our cubes unaware that those cars were for some of us to go home in later on that morning.
I go through my routine, start up the computers, grab a cup of joe while I get my oatmeal heated up for breakfast. After eating, I throw away my dirty cup and visit with a couple of the guys to see if anything needed to be looked at before the regular part of the day was to begin.
I get a call from my boss (I did not know he was in town) asking me to come back to my cube. No problem, get this over with and then get on to business. He didn't even let me sit down in my chair. I was led to a team room where the hatchet dropped and I was cut loose from my job.
This event, as simple as it was, left me reeling internally and physically.
I was about halfway home when the reality of the situation kicked in and I let it wash over me like a tsunami. I mentally came up for air and fought off the feeling of doom that was beginning to rear its ugly head.
What was I going to tell my Wife? Did the kids need to know as well? How was I going to make ends meet if I couldn't find employment? What would my future hold?
A whole lot more questions were swirling about my brain with no answer in sight.
I couldn't even call my wife ... the company phone was confiscated before my hasty departure. I had to wait until I got to my local coffee house near the vanpool starting point before I had good wifi to text her with the terrible news. In hind sight, I should have driven to her job and told her about it, but I just needed to tell her, so bad judgement took over and I let the cat out of the bag without thinking how she would react. Needless to say, she took it worse than I did ... at first.
This past year or so have been hard on my psyche and I find that it is hard to maintain a upbeat attitude. My Wife has been a source of strength for me and has bolstered my mental state enough to keep me positive.
So now, as I have been doing for a while, I hunt for a job.
More later,
Ciao!
Darrell
