Job Gone, Stress Gone, Gone, Gone...

So I was laid off yesterday. Kind of expected. I have been working as a recruiter for a growing company. For the past two weeks they've been laying people off, so I pretty much thought the need for this awesome recruiter was probably not there any more. When they let me go, very nicely explaining all the cut backs, I was like, "No problem, I was expecting this." The look of shock on the bosses face was priceless. Was he expecting tears? In the past few months every department was crying about money.  A few of the good people quit, others suddenly let go and in their place unqualified people were placed. Everyone was walking around saying how tense the place was getting. A few people confided in me how unhappy they were in their jobs. The clues were there, saw them accepted them. I worked for a company years ago that fell into bankruptcy so I knew the signs. (not that I know that this company is headed there...who knows what goes on in upper management?)

Surprisingly, I feel great. My coworkers were texting me like crazy yesterday as the news spread telling me how sorry they were about it. I spent the afternoon reassuring them I was fine. I hope they believed me. The stress of dealing with the tension of that office is gone. I'll miss my coworkers, there were a lot of great people there. Superstars that were slipping into the void the company was settling into. I hope they find another great place to work. That place was great for a while. I don't know what brought the moral down. Was it money? Or something else? Either way, I'm out of there!

Hello future! Let's go on an adventure! 

Cubes, Writers, and Work

I fear the cube. I did it for a while, sat in the cube processing papers and managing nonsense for others.

And it ate my soul.

I know we need day jobs. I know the day job supports the real joy of our souls but I think it also works to stop the flow of creativity.

I think the brains of writers and artists are wired differently. These brains need space. They need room to breathe creativity in and out like most need oxygen.

Cubicles suck the creativity out of the brain. Its like the cube is a crushing box pushing and shoving the brain into a cramped square where no words can escape. No art can flow. It's where the voices in your head stop talking.

I have an interview tomorrow. I fear the outcome but not for the reasons most would think. Does this make me crazy?

Painting & Used Books

When painting a straight line you don't look at your brush. You look at where you want the line to end. Then your hand (and the tip of the brush) will go there. Easy. One straight line.

While painting last night I forgot this little rule. Then it came back. Oh yeah, eyes on the goal, not the process.

That made me think about other goals.

In five days I'm unemployed and I face this mixed emotions.

-More time to write!

-Scary money issues...

-Time to paint!

-More scary money issues (I have no idea how unemployment works.)

-I have control of my life!

- um...or do I?

So my daughter and I were talking about working, high unemployment and the slumping economy. And she suggested combining our love of books with work by opening a used book store.

Questions: Would you/do you go to a used book store? Are there any in your area? Have you ever visited a used book store?

I found this one on the net. It looks like fun.

Cat raises puppy!

This is a cat in an animal shelter in NJ. That little guy snuggled up next to her is a puppy. The puppy was brought in without its mother. So the ingenius people at the shelter gave the little pup to the cat to see what happened.

I'm still not writing. Just can't wrap my head around anything right now. But I am painting so thats something.

I'll be unemployed two weeks from today. I wasn't worried about that before but now...

I've been at this job for ten years...TEN YEARS! That's the longest I've ever stayed in one place. It was a crazy, interesting and incredibly stressful job. But never boring! (I need things to stay interesting. Too boring and I bail.) So, unemployment here I come.

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road....

The cat adopted the pup and nursed him for a few weeks until he moved to solid food. She was a good mama all around.