It’s been two years since my friend Joi died. As they say, it does get better, but I miss her every day. Just wanted to remember her today. We miss you Joi.
Here’s a great picture of my friends all together and much younger.
From left to right: Me (with very bad hair), Susan, Joi, Michelle, and a random baby.
The past week has been a mixed bag. I’ve done the normal job hunting online. I’ve found about 10 positions that fit my skill set, so I’ve applied for all of them. No call-backs yet but you never know how quickly or slowly a company will respond to the hundreds of resumes they receive. Yup, I’m 100% sure I’m the best person for their positions, but so are the other 99 people who applied. The difference? I’m right about it!
This week I did lunch with everyone. I met with Willie and Teri and heard the dirt about the workplace I left behind. They’re struggling, which is understandable given the number of vital people that were laid off in this last round of releases. I also heard stories about some of my unemployed brethren. Because we were all escorted out of the building when we heard the news, most of us had to arrange a time to return and pack-up our belongings. In the process of packing, we all had to be escorted by a manager or an ITG employee. Apparently the process of packing was very emotional for some people, and tantrums were displayed. My packing was a few weeks ago, the same week that I was laid off. I did it before most people were in the office and it was kind of fun. I packed what I needed and threw away what I didn’t… mostly copies of documents that I was in the process of reviewing or used for reference. Peter and Han sat with me while I packed and we talked and laughed a lot.
I also had lunch with “The Ladies who Lunch” (i.e., Susan, Michelle, Lauren, & Amanda) which is always a blast. I love these ladies! They make me laugh, cry, think, and keep me up-to-date on the latest trends. This meeting, we all made the trek to Susan’s house in Arcadia and had lunch at a cute little Italian restaurant in Sierra Madre called Zugo’s Cafe. The Panini was yummy, but we had a few laughs about the waiter, who for some reason didn’t ask us what side we wanted (salad or home-made chips) or what bread we wanted for our Panini. They also didn’t have the granny smith apples to make a sandwich that Susan and Michelle ordered, which required them to make another sandwich choice. What came out was still very good though.
I spent Friday decompressing; of course I didn’t realize it was Friday until 3pm, which means I missed lunch with Ken and Mike (sorry guys). I did get some household things done and some grocery shopping. Also did a bit of cooking. I baked up a batch of brownies, prepared strawberries and baked one of Norm’s favorite dinners… tuna noodle casserole.
I’m still enjoying my hopefully brief period of unemployment, although I do have quick twinges of panic about finances. I know we have enough money to make it quite some time, but you never know when the next employment opportunity will occur. Mostly I just take a deep breath, take a look at all of the great things in my life money (great friends, wonderful husband, supportive family), and relax. Things always work out.
A few weeks ago, I had a few of my friends over lunch. We try to meet once a quarter these days, which proves to be a little difficult since they all have kids, husbands and very busy lives. But when we do meet, it’s always a blast. We’ve known each other since we were 10 or 11, about 35 years. Yikes.
Random Thoughts and Musings 