Thanks for all the comments and the encouragement yesterday and the day before. The joys of lay-offs are manifold. There is:
- The loss of friends.
- The worry if you'll be next.
- The redistribution of work and prioritization of pending projects.
- In a non-union shop such as ours, there is the concern over how people were chosen.
There have been a few positives to help balance this bleak time.
The boss has been supportive. "I know we can't maintain everything we've got going. We'll get through this."
One of the lay-offs was my part-time assistant. She was so classy when we told her, concerned about how we would handle things. She also told this story. "When I started here, I went home and told my boyfriend 'What am I going to do? They're all older and know each other?' But you guys made me feel right at home and it was an awesome experience." Sheesh, she had me bawling.
Dee has offered to help me with my projects. "Hey," she says. "I can stay later. Just let me know what you need." Great friend!
On the down side, Carol, the bookkeeper's assistant, was a close friend. Close enough that she is one of the two people who have read my last year's NANO thingee. I...well, we'll see what happens.
The car turned out to be affordably fixable and I got to ride with Sam, my mechanic, a couple of times. (Unfortunately, it was from and to work and his shop, Susan. *wink*)
So thus ends the week. Time to work on some fun projects and leave the fretting for another day.