OOB

“I’m sorry to tell you this...We’re out of business.” That’s what we were told on Friday at an emergency company meeting. Friday would be the last day for all employees (me included), save for a small skeleton crew to close things out, notify customers and partners, and place calls to creditors and suppliers who, I suspect, will be very unhappy to hear the news. (As you may guess, I’m glad I’m not on the skeleton crew.)

In the back of my head, I tried to sort out my own situation. [As a favor to company owners, I had been working as a contractor. My first “official” day (e.g. payroll, benefits) was to have been March 1st. It appears my paperwork had not been processed. So, this posed some interesting challenges for me with regard to unemployment.]

Other than that, I took it pretty much in stride. I took notes, listened to my co-workers questions, and watch the dejected CEO, dark circles under his eyes, lay out the specifics. I watched him nervously play with his hair and fiddle with his glasses. I certainly didn’t envy him. He was out of a job too.

I suppose I’ve learned to take this kind of news in stride. This seemed like a cakewalk compared to the twenty some layoffs and nasty Chapter 11 I’ve been through. (Did I mention the Chapter 11 company fired employees by e-mail and walked away with our paychecks, vacation pay, bonuses, and expenses? And no, it wasn’t Enron.)

I think I want to be a file clerk. I can alphabetize. I like the smell of card stock. Paper cuts don’t bother me. Frankly, I can do without drama for a while.

Nevertheless, I’ve already had interviews with several companies that won’t need me to a file clerk. We’ll see how it goes.

Thanks for sticking with me. These have been some crazy times.