Laid OFF that is. (You didn't think Derrick would actually get laid did you?) *sigh*

So anyway, I should probably start from the beginning. It was a usual Monday morning, or so I thought. Typically I'd be reconnecting employee PCs moved over the weekend, or work on problem tickets left over from the week before. Mondays are usually the buisiest day, so I was making my rounds in the office building with the problem tickets on hand, troubleshooting whatever happened to be next on the list.

I was maybe 30 minutes into my work when a most unusual thing happened. I get a numeric page on my beeper the extension of my Assistant Supervisor who is about 5 levels from the top of the food chain (I shall refer to him as #5). It's unusual because if it's a trouble ticket or work assignment #5 usually leaves it at my desk rendering my beeper an almost useless piece of equipment hanging off of my belt. Seriously, during my 4+ years of tenure at that job, to my recollection, I could barely count on two hands the times I was paged on that thing for work which was wierd because the company provided that thing for me.

It was not only that though, on my way back to my desk (to return the numeric page) I get paged again, this time over the intercom system. At first I was figuring it's one of those raging infernos that needs to be put out with my uber technical skills. Then I finally get to my desk, dial #5's extension. He answers and tells me I need to see our Supervisor (#4). So OK, I'm thinking it's time for my employee review so I get up to go see him. I'm assuming he's by #5's desk which is right outside the Tech Stock room where I work at, but then #4 is coming in the Tech area to see me. O.o He tells me I need to go to the Human Resources Department (HR) right away.

From that moment I knew what he meant. I've seen it before with other employees. This was the equivalent of asking the Renegade Cop to turn in his gun and badge, except I had no gun (which was probably a good thing) and my badge was actually an Employee ID Card which granted me access to the building. I was basically going to get canned. So I did the "Dead Man Walking" routine all the way up to the HR.

Waiting for me in one of the meeting areas was the HR Executioner guy and my Division Manager (#2 from the top of the food chain). #2 starts off by saying the company is an unfortunate position where they have to begin severing critical people from the workforce and this order has come straight from the top (The CEO and Executive Managing Partners of the company which all count as #1). He assured me that this reduction in workforce (a.k.a. downsizing) has nothing to do with my work performance. He asked me if there were any questions before he turned it over to the HR Executioner guy.

I basically told him that it was a pleasure working for the company and I specifically thanked him for approving all of my tuition reimbursement requests, which was basically the only time I ever interacted with him. My only question to him was whether the tuition reimbursement for my current would go through as the term is almost up. The HR Executioner guy said he would take care of it, so I shook the hand of #2 and he took leave.

The HR Executioner guy basically was there to close the deal on my layoff. I got 2 week's severance pay in lieu of the customary 2 week notice. I also had some vacation time left over from last year, combined with my accrued vacation time of this year counted up to 2 weeks plus a few odd days. There were a few other mundane details like the health insurance, 401K, collecting unemployment etc. I then turned my Access Card over to the Executioner guy. He let me keep my keys so I could clean out my desk etc.

So I made my way back to my desk for the last time. Word had gotten around, so my co-workers started coming by to say their goodbyes. The #3 guy happened to pass by there for something else but I wound up saying bye to him too. #4 told me to take all the time I needed to clean out my things. My desk had quite a bit of junk the drawers which I wound up recycling/throwing half of it away. It must have taken me 2+ hours but for the most part I got everything straightened out. I wound up taking home quite a bit of stuff like my technician tool kits (what #4 gave us techies for the past couple of X-masses) and some various office supplies that were in my desk and one of those hardhats with the company logo (what the contract engineers in my company use on the construction sites) as a memento of the company.

Perhaps the biggest loss in terms of objects is that I had to turn in my trusty office-issued laptop which contained everything from my software development tools to my school projects, assignments and data. I also had Office XP on it which came in handy for doing papers as well as a built-in wireless card which came in really handy as I could access internet from many areas on campus. While I was cleaning out my desk I had to backup my data onto CDs and later wipe everything out before I turned the laptop back over to the company. Damn I'm going to miss that thing. It helped me immensely with my studies. Needless to say until I find a replacement I may be quite scarce (much more scarcer that usual) in terms of e-mail access and making diary entries. =/

By the time I got back to my apartment I felt pretty knocked out. My mind was exhausted with the days events and thinking what the fuck I was going to do next. I collapsed on my recliner and napped for a couple of hours until it was time to get my ass back to my school. We had to meet in one of the computer labs. I went in a little early to make an entry, but for some reason the entry didn't save right on my USB flash drive. *DOH!* So I just waited, did the class thing and headed home.

I guess all in all this whole layoff ordeal is not such a terrible thing. I mean yeah the timing is a little bad considering I only have 7 courses left after this quarter which approximates to one year left of school at the my current half-time attendance rate if I take one odd class in the summer. Still, I could totally use the downtime. I can tell you that I was on the brink of getting burnt out with both work and school especially since it's been a madhouse as of late at work.

Although they couldn't technically afford to keep me, I don't think they could afford to let me go either because the work load was already high and with one guy on paternity leave I was doing crazy amounts of work for the past few weeks. I was a fucking machine, I was a one man PC repair factory, I was one of the best troubleshooters and in terms of technical knowledge I was among the best in my department. I totally gave 110% in that job.

Aside from me wandering in late in the morning (which I usually made up by staying late after hours) they had absolutely no reason to complain about me. In the next few days they are definitely going to feel the lack of my presence, especially #5 who constantly pours work on me and I never complain when I get it. #4 is going to feel it too when he sees how fast both the trouble tickets and the un-repaired PCs are going to pile up without me actively taking care of them.

My guess is somewhere down the line if the budget ever equalizes, they are going to have to find 2 really cheap and inexperienced guys to replace me whom they have to train and it will take a few months before they can perform even close to my capacity or they have fork over serious cash for an experienced consultant to help fill the void. Any way you put it my department is going to be in a big hurt. Oh well...

If anything, it has been a good run. I managed to dodge around 5 rounds of layoffs and stayed alive at that place for 4+ years. Unfortunately I was the low man on the totem pole (#6 on the food chain and the lowest, most junior member left in my department at that) and despite my taste in black clothing and my tendency to say *Woah* a lot, I am not Neo from the Matrix. The 6th bullet finally caught up and hit me. I'm fast, but not that fast.

Aside from learning and being very proficient at troubleshooting and fixing PC's and various software problems, my company's tuition reimbursement program was a total blessing. I managed to knock of a big chunk of my coursework under that program. Without it I may not have gotten this far.

And like I said before, I could totally use the downtime. Doing the work and school thing has been taking it's toll and it was nice for the first time in a very long time not to have to wake up to an alarm on the weekday. I've been doing the grind for the last 4+ years. I'm considering this whole layoff thing a vacation of sorts. I just need to be careful my slacker nature doesn't revel in all this free time. =p I'll use the extra time to get ahead with my class work. I also need to update my resume and start looking for another job, preferably in the career path that I am studying for E-Commerce/Web Design. I'm also considering taking out another student loan and just gung-ho-ing it full-time. With only 7 courses left after this quarter, I could finish this by the next 2 quarters and I'd be graduating after next Fall.

Despite the extra time on my hands, it seems I have a hell of a lot of things on my plate. The sense of urgency is still mounting and I alas am only human. Still, I see this as yet another opportunity to evolve. I'll finish up this quarter, I'll have the 2 weeks severance and 2+ weeks vacation pay and then I have unemployment to ride out and a spring break to work on getting a student loan and getting my resume out there to prospective employers. Anyway I should take things one step at a time and start working on my assignment at hand. I'll keep things posted here when I get the chance...