The snow caused the branch to shut down early. I was the only one to show up.
The Boss said to me, "Hey, don't tell anyone, but I've heard from the owners and we're struggling. I'm probably going to have to lay you off on Friday."
He seemed a little teary eyed. I don't usually see much emotion in him.
"You see," he continued, "it's either reduce everyone to 32 hours, in which case Billy quits and I'm screwed, or cut one guy."
My first thought was: poor Billy. The last time I left, supposedly for good, he nearly started balling. He's an emotional guy. Since I don't drive the big truck, the new driver beats me on the driving side. Since, despite having been there, on and off, for three years, the others still beat me on seniority, I'm beaten there, too.
Go on unemployment, take two weeks to finish the novel, not so bad. I still had an emotional reaction, and I'm not sure why. Sure, there were financial concerns, but also because a job becomes homelike after a certain amount of time, and you begin to see it as part of what constitutes you.
I've also gotten, after a long period of silence, a few nibbles, maybe even bites, at potential jobs just in the past few days, including a small, freelance writing gig and a marketing position.
*
After a few, brief, early morning runs, the Boss closed the branch and sent me home.
When I started on my way, the radio dj's were joking about "the horrible storm of a mere three inches of fluff."
And so it was.
By the time I got to Route 119, people were starting to skid off the highways, and I even began skidding, despite my snow-friendly car and conservative driving speed.
Snowstorms, like whiskey, make music sound better.
Since I bought Jess one of those single cup brewers for Christmas, I began to wonder if my mom would give me her ancient drip coffee maker, since she never uses it. Two weeks of solid writing. Sixty-thousand words. That's a lot of fresh ground coffee. Balzac, the great French writer, used to go into debt to get enough coffee to write. No need for that, here.
*
I'm going to make the most of having a near free day by turning to the novel. It's been slow go for the past four days because there's been so much going on around the house. Still, it's better to be inspired and have little time than to have lots of time and jackshit to write about.
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yeah, even if you hate a job (which you obviously don't), its still a little like getting jilted. Never makes sense, and makes you feel a little out of control of your own destiny and frankly like a piece of meat.
ReplyDeleteBUT... You're right. Its an opportunity, and you'll probably find, like everything, really good stuff can't happen while mediocre stuff is taking up all the oxygen.
I gave up coffee a while back (except if I'm in a restaurant or a guest, which is a fairly rare occurrence). I did it because something that isn't great for you shouldn't also cost 10 dollars for 12 ounces of whole beans. I love it, I love the taste, and I have been a speed freak since pre-teens, but damn its just too expensive now. I drink about a gallon of good tea every day (which still costs a fraction of what coffee would).
What beans are you drinkin? I did have a line on a Viet brand that was pretty good and very cheap. I drank Bustelo all through grad school, but I don't have the stomach lining for that battery acid anymore. I wish I could just grow it. If there's a decent whole bean out there that isn't foul, I'd love to get right back to my burnt richness...
PS, you know there's a free 1 1/2 hour long Hold Steady show on a podcast from npr right? (through iTunes Store) I dunno if its any good, but for the price it can't be too bad...
ReplyDeleteLet's see. Coffee? Whatever I can get. I haven't had the money to buy beans recently, but I will if unemployed. I used to get them for seven bucks a pound at a market in Watertown and they were good.
ReplyDeleteI like, tea, too. It just doesn't have the body and the kick, though.
I'll have to check out that Hold Steady show. Thanks for the heads up.
Sucks about your job man. I hear what the both of you are saying... even tho I left my last job for greener pasteurs (and at the very end of my tolerance for it) I was still very upset when I found out that my ex-bosses were telling people that I didn't leave, but that they had fired me. WTF? And after all the sweet sweet PC-tech lovin I gave that place they claim to have been faking it? Well no sir, what we had was real, and I'm sorry they weren't mature enough to see that... I heard the place gained 30 lbs after I left and went back to their old tech guy who their mother never approved of...
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness though, that really does suck. Sure it presents an opportunity to focus on your main passion but if it were me I'd be shitting a little...
Free Hold Steady show on iTunes? PLEASE get that for me! You know how I DESPISE iTunes...
todays word: rechin