#007 Corporate Re-organizaShawn

Dodging the Corporate Restructuring Bullet is not easy. I was successful today. Thankfully.

I've seen about a dozen small to large lay-offs in the company I work for, in my 7 1/2 years so far. Knock wood, I've made it through all of them. 

When you see a couple upper management types walk into your department and close the door, you know the axe is falling. The question is 'where'?

As much as you feel bad for those that are gone, you have to hold on to the fact that you're still there, you still have a job. And you have to not dwell on the nagging question that want's your undivided attention... 'could I be next?' 

The truth is, any of us could be next and there's very little you can do to be avoid being one of the next unlucky drones. You can pour your heart and soul into your job, be a model employee, be with the company for 3 years or 18+. It makes no difference. I've seen that today.

Most cuts, when you really look at it, make sense. Today was not the case. I'm sure if you did a poll in the office, no one that was escorted out would have been on the list. Not that you would wish this on anyone, but knowing looks and water cooler fodder quickly provides an alternate short list.

But for now I'm going to have to put all that behind me, as I'm being called into Mr Vodka's Office... 

#004 LibaShawn

Well we're done. 

The halls have been un-decked, and now I has a sad. 

My boyfriend Marcel seems to be coping much better. See, he's more of a minimalist whereas I  come from a long line of chotchkie loving, clutter bugs that will cover any surface that doesn't have pigeon spikes on them.

While my festive powers have over the years worked more than mere magic on Marcel; he now not only loves to decorated for the holiday, he thinks about and plans this in advance. Even as we were packing up the decorations today, he was talking about decorating for next Christmas. But being a muggle, my powers have their limits.  By about New Year's Eve he starts getting fidgety. Ticks start to become noticeable. He starts hallucinating about clean surfaces, and empty rooms. 

After four and a half hours, everything was wrapped and boxed and waiting on the stairs to be transferred to the storage unit in the morning, and Marcel is happy.

On the other side of the coin, I am depressed. Looking about where once there were Christmas trees, nutcrackers, wreaths, candle holders, and countless other festive bric-a-brac; staring at empty table tops and empty mantels, I am but a crushed shell of a man.

My only option at this point is to hit the liquor cabinet. In fact I'm already on my second Bloody Caesar, and I very well may have a third.

Here's hoping the sweet sweet haze from the Vodka Gods will soon blur my vision and cause bright lights to flash across my eyes...