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The long kiss Goodbye

I suppose i will be making an epilogue entry to the "India or Bust" blog saga. For now this is sort of a real time update. The saga has really taken in a life of its own. For most, especially the new employees who-- to use a baseball term-- only had a cup of coffee (some started two days before the fateful day of the layoff announcements), understandably have ventured off to greener pastures. For myself and several others who've been with the Company longer than 5 years are faced with a somewhat tantalizing deal. You see, unless we stay for the duration, were not entitled to the entire severance package. The package is Not excellent by any standards but it is good enough to get us by for several months.

The advantage of being provided ample time (3 months) is, well, self-explanatory-- there is ample time to look for another job if you choose not to stay until the bitter end. The disadvantage is the difficulty of timing. Ideally, what we, the pioneers of this Department want, is a job that starts after September 30th. Unfortunately though, Companies generally post jobs that are immediately available within weeks, not three months. So you can understand our plight. Some of the Pioneers, despite the somewhat alluring severance package, have opted out too. You can't really blame them. A lot of them have family and serious financial responsibility and would rather secure a job instead of sticking it out. I, on the other hand, have not attempted to look for a job until last Thursday lol. One of the senior Techies here, in contrast, whose got 8 meritorious years of service under his belt, and have applied and interviewed with several Companies, have not gotten a single offer. He is so stressed out that he's called in sick a couple of times in the last couple of weeks citing high blood pressure due to the stresses of not securing a job. I don't mean to be insensitive but that's about the lamest excuse for calling in sick, isn't it? In a reversal of Fortune, Victor, my buddy from the old Earthlink Tech Support days, who joined me here a couple of years ago, needed but 1 application-1-interview to land another job. Its like he's charmed or something...

As mentioned on my last "India or Bust" entry, i might go to India. Well i actually am not going anymore. The Company has decided to only send one body. Very scary if you ask me, not to mention boring. But anyway i got a free US passport as a consolation and they still want me on standby mode anyway, just in case. Just in case of what-- i really don't know.

Last Thursday evening, without our picayune bosses, we as a Department, convened at the local Apple Bees. Its the day before Carlo (our India representative) extricates himself from the land of milk and honey to consort with the enemy. This is sort of a goodbye of sorts although were going to spend a weekend in Rosarito, Mexico the weekend after our last day. Last hoorah so to speak. We've been together as a Technical Support group for so long it would seem a shame if we didn't at least commemorate it with something. So from Apple Bees to Mexico, indeed, a long kiss goodbye.

I am going to miss this God forsaken place. This place i like to call "The land of geeks" where the mere mention of the movie "Star Wars" is a cause for debate. Where HTML, CSS, Flash, SQL and the like are as easy as Pie. Where gadgets aren't only toys but life itself. Where sports is almost non-existent. Where women are a figment of imagination (okay this one is a stretch). Okay okay i'll explain why i just said that-- this a true story. One of the guys here asked me if i liked the new girl in sales. I said "yes i think she is cute". The new girls cubicle incidentally is in plain view to his cubicle. "Well i'm trying to get her to look this way but she wont Look" he added. Weird way to get a girls attention i thought... "Why don't you go say Hello" i suggested. "Well because i want to Email her" he retorted with a hint of annoyance like i was suppose to understand his intent. In an attempt to make sense of it all, despite my own idiotic mistakes with women, i gave him my best advice "You do not Email-- you go say Hello and have a conversation". "But I want to Email okay?" he scowled at me. This is pitiful you might think but at least very amusing haha... Okay this next one is very true... Where a broken "PC" is lamented more than a Techie losing a love one. Seriously...

Posted by: Marc Gabay
Friday, August 25, 2006