Shocking

 A personal update:

DH came back from his business trip to China two weeks ago to be told that thanks to his employer going in a new direction, his position was being dissolved, and he no longer had a job.  Effective immediately.  On literally his first day back, he drove in as usual, then called me about an hour after he’d arrived to let me know he was coming back home.

 “Why?” I asked, worried that he was ill. 

“I’ve been laid off,” he answered quietly.

Now, if this has never happened in your family (and I fervently hope that it both hasn’t and never does) you can’t quite imagine the sudden terror that grips you at this sudden news.  There is a quick moment of panic—what will we do?  What about the bills?  The mortgage?  Groceries?  Aaaaaaaagh!!!!!!!!

But it has happened to both of us, both together and separately, before, so reason quickly re-asserted itself.  You make a plan to survive.  You stop spending any money at all that is not ABSOLUTELY necessary, you contact the bank and ask to skip a couple of mortgage payments, you start making a list of things you can sell if you must, you check into unemployment benefits, you thank whatever deities you hold dear that you began storing food and preparing for disaster a few weeks ago, so you have at least a small cushion of food to fall back on.  And so on.

DH started making phone calls to everyone he knows in his industry (micro-chips) on his way home that day, and has spent a lot of time since emailing more people, applying for jobs, and sending out resumes.  As I told a friend recently, I myself am simply trying to be supportive.  Together, we’ll be performing a ritual on the full moon for a new job.  (“When the moon rides at her peak, then your heart’s desire seek.”)  In the meantime, we’ll try our best to stay positive.

It’s not that hard, really.  There are a number of silver linings to his losing this job.

• He and I will have more time together, something we’ve sorely been missing the last two and a half years.
• He really, really hated the job.  Besides the long commute (an hour or more one-way) and the even longer hours, there were conference calls scheduled to start at 9:30 pm on some nights, and phone calls at all hours of the day and night, even on weekends, even on supposed vacation days.
• I really, really hated the job.  We got to spend very little time together, as I mentioned above, and he was often answering phone calls or email in that little time.  Thanks to the company’s quasi-human rights violations attitude, I wound up spending Thanksgiving alone one year and Ostara alone this year—both times because of last-minute trips to Asia that couldn’t or wouldn’t  be postponed.  He was even asked to come in on Yule itself, in the middle of a three-week “vacation” last year.  And he was always depressed and/or stressed out, and always, always sleep-deprived.
• We will no longer have to pay $500 in toll-road charges every month.
• His embarkation on a job search gives us both motivation to start diets and an exercise program.
• Even though we may be forced to sell the house at a loss, we will finally sell the house (if we need to move)!!!
• The possibilities that come with a new job and a move to a new place are always interesting and exciting.

 And, finally,

• CHANGE IS GOOD.

 

I remain confident that an experienced engineer such as my DH WILL be able to find a job.  And if not, then at least with our Permanent Resident status we won’t be forced to leave Canada again.

Anyone know of a good Product Engineering position?