I guess my life is a little microcosm of what is happening in the economy — I left UC Office of the President because the entire unit I worked in was being disbanded and happily found a job working at Kaiser Health Plan before the UC hammer actually fell.
I felt unbelievably fortunate that I found a great job working for a great organization and just a block and a half from my old job. What a feeling ! And now I come back from (ironically) a 2-day New Employee Orientation to find that I am on the chopping block once more.
Apparently, I delayed the inevitable by six months. Memo to self: find out when the fiscal year ends on my next job.
I didn’t even have time pack up my things before I was escorted down to the lobby (SOP for all of Kaiser, though my feelings were hurt by this distrustful action). As I sat in one of the overstuffed chairs, shocked at this turn of events, I realized I had no car — and I was in no mood for public transportation. I started phoning friends and wonderful Stefan took me home.
As the shock is wearing off, I take stock of my feelings. Hmmmm — I am not as upset as I have been in the past. Whether it is because I had less time of myself invested in the job (just a few months) or because I have gone through this before — both as a layoffer and a layoffee — I can’t really say.
The economy is in the dumps and I am out of a job. So why do I feel pretty happy?
Stay tuned — the crash to reality should come soon.