Feb 21 2008
Limbo
From dictionary.com:
| 1. | (often initial capital letter ) Roman Catholic Theology. a region on the border of hell or heaven, serving as the abode after death of unbaptized infants (limbo of infants) and of the righteous who died before the coming of Christ (limbo of the fathers or limbo of the patriarchs). |
| 2. | a place or state of oblivion to which persons or things are regarded as being relegated when cast aside, forgotten, past, or out of date: My youthful hopes are in the limbo of lost dreams. |
| 3. | an intermediate, transitional, or midway state or place. |
| 4. | a place or state of imprisonment or confinement. |
Funny how, as I sit here on a nearly empty floor in our headquarters in Chicago, the floor that used to house the top executives, the concept of limbo keeps popping into my head. I’m at my desk cubicle looking around 360-degrees. (Whee, spinny chair, and no one to frown at me! oooooh, dizzy. Just a sec…. Okay now.) I see three people in an area that used to seat 45. I don’t know if I’m nauseous from the spinny chair, or the thought of how much things around here have changed.
Another division of my peers have received the news that their positions are being eliminated at the end of March, or April, or May, and that their services will no longer be needed. Or, (albeit a much smaller percentage, but still!) that the purchaser has found “just the position” and that they’ll be offered continuing employment.
Their division? Is no longer in limbo. They’re not wondering what they’ll be doing 3 or 6 or 9 months from now. They’ll either be unemployed and looking for a new position, or they’ll be doing their new job. They have closure to the uncertainty that has been clouding our existence since last April. And Oh Mah Holy Hell y’all. Wouldn’t it be nice to have that closure? (Say it with me, “Amen Hot!” “Yes, sista!” “Can I have your chair?”)
You’re wondering, aren’t you (well, if you love me at all you are…), if I’ve heard anything yet. Um, that would be……no. N.O. with a capital No. And y’know? It’s starting to suck donkey balls. Really hard. (The suckage, not the donkey balls, because, y’know that would just be gross.)
I have no problem with being laid off (preferably in the summer? Think about how wonderful my tan garden would look.) and looking for a new job. Let’s face it, this isn’t the same company that I’ve worked for for the past 15 years. My favorite people are gone or going. It’s a completely different culture. There’s 200 times (no fucking kidding, 200 times) more employees. Small fish in a big pond much?
I enjoyed the fact that my opinion was valued and that the CIO and I could sit down on a patio in Amsterdam, slam a couple of beers or bottles glasses of wine and dissect an important issue. Can you picture your local petshop goldfish swimming in the Pacific? Well, there you go then. That’s the picture I’m looking at.
Being the Hotfessional I am, I’m having problems adjusting to that thought. I could work my way back up, make my mark, and grow into the size of, say, a trout or a largish-tuna, but y’all? I’m forty-four years and 292 days old (Fuck me. When did I get that old?). I’ve been working in this industry for 23 years. Of the eight financial institutions I’ve worked for, eight no longer exist.
Hey, I have a minor in math. I can do that. 8 minus 8 equals not.a.single.freaking.one.
But, let’s face it. With 46 weeks of severance pay, and 46 weeks of health insurance (with no increase in premium) hanging in the balance, I’m not leaving until they kick my ass out. With that much money on the table, I could stay in Michigan, get Shortman through his senior year in high school, and then look for a job in a much larger geographic area. I can negotiate a relocation package. (I bought my house the day before the housing market took a dive. Don’t laugh I’m not kidding. We closed the deal, got the keys, and went out to the house the next day to take some measurements. On the way, the guy on the radio predicted a major downturn in housing prices. I thought Mr. Hot was going to jump out of the car on I-94.)
Anyway, limbo is a crappy place to be right now.
My recruiter did come back with a position that he thought I might be interested in. A Project Manager for GMAC. The pay was actually a bit less than I make now; the incentive plans available were much less that I am eligible for now, but they do give a car allowance. (I’m a Dodge girl. I don’t even like very many GM cars. So, meh.) It’s back in my old neighborhood (um, 2 hours during rush hour?). I said “Thanks but No Thanks”. (Someone out there is clicking their tongue at me and shaking their head. “Beggars can’t be choosers” is being muttered. Shush.)
I wonder if he’s taken that Project Manager job off his list to recruit for.
—- So, I pack up to leave the office and head out to O’Horror once again. And I realize that there’s another definition of Limbo: “a dance from the West Indies, originally for men only, in which the dancer bends backward from the knees and moves with a shuffling step under a horizontal bar that is lowered after each successive pass.” Hey, don’t they drink rum in the West Indies? Well, hell, fuck a duck and count me in. —-
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A 46 week vacation? Not all bad. Waiting to “get” to take it. Sucky.
Dawn’s last blog post..Home
i hate being in limbo. we have done this with mark’s job x 3. i’m like just tell us something…anything. they never did. he is still there. that’s the fucking state of michigan for you. needless months of worry. i hope you hear something very soon. i’m thinking of you.
zoe’s last blog post..The Vector
I’m just too tired to talk dirty to you, sorry, Hot. I know that whatever happens, *you* are a happening woman, and will do just fine.
witchypoo’s last blog post..It’s All About Him
Half way through, I asked my self, “Self, why doesn’t Hot just leave now and find a new job?”
Then I got to the 46 weeks severance. Oh. OK that’s why. Good answer.
Candy’s last blog post..Jaundiced
The upside indeed is a nice summer off and look for a job while getting paid at your leisure.
And a big hell yes to a few Detroit Tiger games girlfriend.
I have to get my butt to A2 and meet up one night!
I’m there more in the summer when the streets are fun and U of M empties out for the most part.
Nancy’s last blog post..Upside Down
Almost a full year of PAID vacation? TOTALLY sounds like it’s worth sticking around for!
Good luck!
marlee’s last blog post..Shocking Discovery!
Mmm, yes, let’s all go someplace rummy and do the limbo! I’ll meet you there!
barbra’s last blog post..scenes from a back yard
This job uncertainty stuff sounds sucky… but I know the right job will come along for you. Until then… 46 weeks severance?!?!? HOLD OUT!
Laurel’s last blog post..I Heart Julie
Man - I would kill for 2 weeks severance and, from what I hear around the walls of this place, that would be generous. 46 weeks - you sure you don’t need another assistant??
I’ll brave the cold.
Rum - now THAT sounds good right now. Hope you are having fun in Chicago - somewhat.
Lys’s last blog post..Guilty of Idiocy: Priceline.com
46 weeks of severance and insurance? I’m with you - - if I had that much on the table, they would have to throw my ass out the door, because I would not be leaving otherwise!
Good luck - - hope you are out of limbo soon!
Liz J in Illinois’s last blog post..By Popular Demand . . .
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.
Helen Keller
My best friend in the entire world’s husband (that is a mouthful) ended up with almost 2 yrs of severence along with paid education and relocation expenses (or they could have chosen to take the money for their house - they wanted to move though.) Severence packages can be wonderful, Martini filled things. LOL
I would soak up the sun, and V~A~C~A~T~I~O~N for as long as they would let me. You can always fill the boredom with work if it becomes necessary.
The forty six week severance package sounds great, the what to do after is more than daunting. Good luck.
Vanessa’s last blog post..Hair-Part two
Corporate life sucks. What you’re going through sucks.
Watching your friends / colleagues go through it sucks.
Little petstore goldfish in the Pacific sucks.
That’s a lot of suckage.
Here’s to hoping The Golden Job of All Golden Jobs gets pulled out of the proverbial hat for you.
MMDesigns’s last blog post..Happy Blog-i-versary to Me!!
Well, if and when the effluent hits the airconditioner you can holiday down here with me and my ever growing wine collection.
Yeah, they are empty, but I can start up again.
And Moo can take Shortman out partaying.
*snigger*
Smootches and a big lick for you babe. Major suckage you are living through. I hate limbo.
Kelley’s last blog post..Um, excuse me, what just happened here?
Can I have your chair?
Limbo = suckiness. Full stop.
Veronica’s last blog post..Packing
You are so funny Hot. I love your sense of humour. 46 weeks vacation……..they would have to extract me from my spinning chair with a crowbar before they would get me out of that job.
Whatever happens, I’m sure you will come out smelling like a rose. Not that you smell bad now…..you know what I mean….lol.
Gypsy’s last blog post..Should I stay or should I go?
Oh you are definitely right to stick it out. Money can make almost anything worth it. (I said almost)
flutterby’s last blog post..Mayor Marty vs Governor Bill
hope your limbo ends soon and you either get that job or get to work on your tan- er garden!
assburgerboy’s last blog post..show your colors?! more like show your sheep wool!
Bossy wants her some severance pay! She just doesn’t want the job and the boss and the paperwork and the politics and the company and the desk and the policies and all of that.
The not knowing would kill me. Lay-off or new job, I’ll deal - but limbo? Sucks.
Fannie’s last blog post..Re-Cap in Pictures, Part I
Uf. Limbo BITES. I hope you square it away with good timing for Shortman and all that jazz. Meanwhile, knowing you’re all computer-y and stuff, you should shoot Mr. D your resume if push comes to shove. Tho he might not like it if you and I got together for drinks regularly then…
Melissa’s last blog post..Pork chops and applesauce
Limbo is real life. Your like the man that has been given the fatal diagnosis that he has 6 months to live. Your waiting, killing time, yet your not going anywhere. You are a relic, a paid lady of the web/net/whatever it is that you provide there. Its great pay, and well, with corporate downturns in the present and future, a skill that you can use in marketing yourself.
Hi, I am Hotfessional, an expert in corporate “right-sizing”, I have endured at companies such as this, how can I help you?
When I was in the oil business, and they were going through their blood letting in mid 80’s to early 90’s, I was laid off 4 times. The severance pay and benies grew smaller at each stop, We were a close knit community of people, and we would find ourselfs like rats in a harbor jumping from one burning ship to another, each one getting smaller and smaller. BTDT.
So I left the industry, or did it leave me, but I was your age when I jumped onto this latest gig, and while I dont get paid as much, I also dont have candy dishes filled with rolaids on my desk!
You’ll do fine, its like this, you know that buttered toast always falls butter side down, and that cats always land on their feet, so your like a cat with buttered toast taped to its back, you will hover in endless limbo, never hitting the ground
LOL
Someone with your skills should be able to find something. Especially with 46 weeks of severance pay.
Solomon Broad’s last blog post..Things I’m Grateful For on Friday 22 February
Ahem. They told me 1 week of severance/bene’s for every year of service.
Years of Service:13
End of day: 8 weeks of sev/ben’s. Plus a contract that I wouldn’t sue their pecuniary asses because I was over the 4-0 mark.
Bitter much? Why yes, now that you mention it.
But getting better and they couldn’t have me back for all the money in the world. I also don’t have candy dishes of Rolaids on my desk.
It’s all about integrity, baby. If you (as a company/boss) don’t have it, I’m not buying in.
Good luck with the 46 weeks. That’s awesome!
I’m right there with ya!
I’m hoping your time in Limbo ends soon and at least you have some closure on it all and can move on, to wherever you’re meant to end up.
Hang in there!
Kristabella’s last blog post..Death Is Gone Fishin?
*I* wasn’t wondering if you’d heard. But not because I don’t love you, but because I know full well that as soon as you do you’re going to accidentally set fire to your keyboard trying to type the news so fast.
imhelendt’s last blog post..Horizontal blogging, better than throwing up?.
46 weeks of vacation and the health care thing? Dood. Wait it out. Try not to eat your fingernails to the elbow in the meantime. Don’t stop looking, but really. That’s a hell of an incentive to suck it up for a little while longer.
Major Bedhead’s last blog post..A Wreck On The Highway