On April 7th, I was up at work till 3AM trying to get the one up on a deadline…April 8th, after my last class, I got on my laptop real quick to check my work email in case I needed to come up and help the team out. I couldn’t log in. I thought, “maybe the exchange server is messed up…”, then the thought crossed my mind, “did my account get killed?”
Regardless, since no one was answering their phones, I had drive up and make sure everything was in order to meet the deadline the following day. It was a long drive, or at least it felt like it. After I found a parking spot, as I am walking towards the building, I see one of my coworkers shaking his head…”Hey, you hear what happened?” he said. My two bosses had been let go. Not soon enough or surprising, but the timing was, odd….
So, I went in, and tried to log in. No luck. I knew I had been let go as well. That took me off my feet. I went and talked to my project manager and she told me that the VP of the company was looking for me. So I went down to his office just wanting to get it over with…He said that my log in was a mistake and that I should keep working on the project, and that we would talk tomorrow, so I felt a little relieved and went back upstairs to get some stuff done. Shortly after I got upstairs and on the universal log in, the call came that I was to go down to the conference room. Shit. So, I walked down there, saw the VP and the woman from HR. I knew what was coming. From the time I sat down till the time I went to my truck was kind of a blur. I just remember shaking during all the paperwork….And that was it. The job I absolutely loved, lived for, was gone.
Oh well, you don’t do well to dwell on things that are no more, right? Time to move on…
So, looking ahead, there are actually some great advantages for me being laid off.
1. More Time.
It was not until I gained it, that I figured out how little I had. Today I spent an hour at the bank waiting to get some stuff cleared up, and I had no where I had to be, no stress, I sat their waiting it was nice. Amazing stuff.
2. No Stress.
The anxiety of knowing my job was on the line was actually a ton. I was cut in the 7th round of layoffs, and after I was let go I was really relieved. I am far less stressed out about stuff nowadays, it feels great! Besides school that is.
3. Physical well being.
When my schedule was crammed and I had 484 thousand things going on every day I developed some nasty habits. I got hooked on energy drinks, I stopped exercising, and I ate a lot of junk food.
Now that I have more time I have been able to lay off the energy drinks (they are expensive too, btw, another benefit) and junk food. And, believe it or not, I actually went for a run today, it only lasted 15 feet, but its a start. Haha!
4. Career re-evaluation
I love doing 3d visualization, however I have to ask if viz will be a viable career path. My job ended up getting outsourced to china, the once very profitable field of arch viz is starting to look like grunt work. Is this something that will be around for 10 years? 25? 40?
5. Focus
Having all of this time really allows me to focus back on school and my 3d projects at the house, I spent the better part of last week doing math work, I would have done so bad on the test if I had not spent all day 4 days of the week studying. I got into a rut where I was so burnt out from doing work that when I got home I had no ambition to do anything. Being laid off has kicked me in the butt and made me get back to work on the stuff I wanted to do.
6. Re-examination of priorities
When I had a check coming it, I really didn’t notice those $10 lunches and the $5 I spent on energy drinks and snacks a day. That adds up quickly! Those days of spending are LONG gone, its PB&J time for me!
Another thing I need to do is reconnect with friends, in the two weeks I have been laid off I have gotten in touch with so many people that I have just kinda let go by the wayside, its great hanging out with people again, again, with the free time!
7. Income sources.
There is one thing that this lay off has taught me, income is awesome. Now that my paycheck is gone, I realize that I should diversify my income sources.
8. Starting my business agian.
I am very excited that I can now re-open my website and my freelance opportunities, its something that has just kind of sat there on the backburner, now I get to do something with it!
I am over being laid off, as far as I am concerned they have no clue what they lost!
To the future!
This Day We Fight! by Megadeth