Ready or not

After taking some time to process, I am now ready to let everybody know that my position at Microsoft was one of the 1400 that the company eliminated in late January.

I disagree with their decision at a philosophical level. With the current economy, I find it unconscionable for a company that has huge cash reserves and that is still making a substantial profit to eliminate jobs. It seems to me that they have contributed to the problem without even attempting to find other ways to lower operating expenses. And, judging by my coworkers' responses to my layoff (which ranged from bafflement, to outrage, to sobs, to one hugely generous offer to jobshare), the employees at the company are more than willing to tighten their belts. I think it's a shame Microsoft didn't give us the chance to try that first.

But that's business. At a personal level, I am certainly sad and stressed that my sweet job is going away. But we are okay. I get a good severance package, plus Microsoft offers lots of resources and networking to help me find a new job, perhaps even within the company.

And we have personal resources, too, not least of which is my comfort with a self-employed/contractor lifestyle. As many of you know, I was very happy as a contractor and took this "permanent" position only because it was Just Right. The agency I used to work through is optimistic about my prospects for finding something new quickly.

Strange as it sounds, one of the things I have been worried about most is telling people about this. I don't want sympathy. I don't want you to worry. Informed of these things, one friend came up with the perfect response:

Well shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!

It made me laugh and spared me the burden of reassuring her that we are okay.

But we are. Frank and MJ and Chloe and I have taken a hard look at the worst-case scenario, and, honey, it just ain't that bad.

If and when there's more to tell, you will see it here. The earliest that I will start a new job is late March. In the meantime, I probably won't want to talk much about any interviews or prospects (unless it's that little fantasy of opening a dive shop on Grand Cayman), but you can rest assured that I am actively looking for work.