“Watercooler Monday! How was your weekend? Did you do a lot? Nothing at all? Was it busy? Relaxing? Let’s chat about it!”
– Sys Admin “Steve Hofstetter’s old school chat board (and all-you-can-eat-buffet)”
I’m greeted by this message every Monday morning. Steve Hofstetter is a comedian and the “old school chat board” is a Facebook group of his online friends. (More than fans, less than real life friends.)
We talk about our lives. We talk about Steve’s comedy occasionally. It’s a private group so we can share details we don’t necessarily feel like sharing on our own walls. I’m an upbeat person by nature. I struggled with it today.
I lost my job on Friday. Things went downhill from there.
It really was a rough weekend.
I didn’t get fired. I got laid off. They look a lot alike and they evoke many of the same emotions. My company, Teleperformance, decided to downsize, and my position was one of the ones eliminated.
I’ve been through downsizing before. I’ve been on both sides of the table. It’s not easy on the ones doing the downsizing. It’s harder, of course, on those being downsized. But, it’s not easy on the people on the other side of the table either.
My manager was there, along with people from HR. It was all via Zoom, or rather Microsoft Teams. We met at 2:00 PM and by 2:25 I was no longer an employee. Oh, and my access was cut off. I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. I wasn’t the only one being let go and they didn’t want me to possibly let others know who hadn’t been informed yet.
I get it. It’s not about trust. It’s business. There’s a severance package information about where to return my computer and name badge.
I really liked this job. I hope I like the next one just as much.
Saturday was the day before Mother’s Day. Many of my daughters are now mothers themselves. We decided we’d meet at our house on Saturday and then the girls could meet with their own families on Sunday. Great plan, right?
Well, it was a good plan until three of my daughters decided a weekend in Vegas was more important. And a son decided that a weekend with his girlfriend’s family in Idaho was more important.
Yeah, Saturday was bittersweet. We had some family at our house, but more were gone than home.
Sunday was Mother’s Day. My lovely wife got up and ready for church. . .and then her oxygen levels crashed to 85% and she passed out. Our neighbor is a nurse. She suggested we take her to the ER. Four hours later she was feeling better, but no closer to knowing what caused her symptoms.
“I’ve seen 100 patients with these same symptoms. A year from now, we’ll know more. Until then it’s just “post COVID” symptoms.”
– Dr Likes, Timpanogos Regional Medical Center Emergency Room doctor
She’s doing much better today. Thanks.
So, I lost my job on Friday and that wasn’t even the second worst thing that happened this weekend.
The great thing about IT is that there are are a lot of jobs in IT. I’ll be fine.
Hope your weekend was better than mine.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.
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