Yes. My job at my company was “dissolved” over the summer. That was the actual phrase that I was told. Like an Alka-Seltzer in a warm Sprite, I was dissolved. I can handle that. I’ve been laid off before. Several times actually.
My first time (you always remember your first time) was when Montgomery Ward Credit was purchased by GE Capital back in 1990 or so. I worked in the Montgomery Ward credit office as the guy who would decide if you could get that credit extension to buy a new washing machine on your MW credit card. Yes, that was me. When the cashier would call on the special direct line credit hot line phone, they would get me, a 20 year old college student who could work a computer and frequently showed up to work sober. When GE came in, they made some changes including eliminating any sense of humor, which meant me. Oh well. I was moving to the beach in 2 months anyway.
Then there was Bullwhackers’ Casinos. I’m not supposed to tell you this, but if you ever went to one of those events where there was a bull mascot for Bullwhackers’ named Lucky, there was a good chance it was me. I was the Art Director, but I always go the extra mile or 6, and had a blast putting on the bull costume and playing up the role for everyone around. Thankfully, I did not have to be in the suit when we were at the Boulder Air Show on a 120 degree blacktop tarmac. I get to be Lucky (TO BE Lucky, not get lucky) when we gave $1,000,000 to a woman in Aurora when the Broncos won the Super Bowl the first time. That was a night in a bull suit to remember. But eventually they had to cut the art department to “save money” and let me go, so I went. They hired me back a few years later when they found out how much ad agencies cost.
Next up was the post-Sprint-non-merger WorldCom collapse. Yep, first round layoff, I was. As we went down the crapper, I was making websites and videos saying how cool it was to be working for such a great, forward thinking, trend setting company. Considering Enron, maybe they were trendsetting. WORLDCOM: Leading the world in fail.
Blah blah blah who the hell cares? Let bygones be bygones. The point is now I am “between jobs” again. (got any freelance needs? www.giesemedia.com) I can’t quite figure out why if I’m “between jobs” I’m so freaking busy. Every day, I wake up, apply for jobs, hope for freelance opportunities, run to phone interviews, do anything I can do to make some cash, fill out reams of paperwork for unemployment, spend a few hours on the phone with unemployment people, not to mention cook, clean, pick up dog crap, and all the other things that I can’t afford to pay anyone to do anymore. It’s freaking exhausting with no apparent payoff in sight. Much like parenting.
As I look for jobs these days, I’ve found an entirely new perspective on the super amazing start-up community here in the Denver-Boulder area. I love start-ups, the amazing work, the cutting edge tech, the energy, and the excitement, but I can’t feed my family with company equity. I swear, I would love to work with you for the next 2 years for free until the company takes off, we get huge investment and we can all retire, but I’m not sure my family can avoid eating for that long. Or living in a building. We had a family meeting and voted, and we all want to live INSIDE a building. A safe building. Sorry. I feel like a wimp for saying it, but I like to eat. And live in a building.
So as I am “between jobs”, it seems that every day I am constantly running between my thousands of other tasks which are now my jobs. It’s yet another great learning opportunity to figure out new skills in time management, cooking, and situation juggling. As I figure it out, I’m be sure to share.
How do you manage your time in our crazy maniacal world? Do you have any tools or techniques? I could use the help.