The Daily Douz

So this post is overdue. This is Way Back When Wednesday.

I remember the date exactly; it was November 12, 2009 at about 4 pm. I was at work, doing things I was supposed to do, trying to whittle my workload down, when I was called in to see the Human Resource guy of my company. I was nervous, as I always am for meetings, and didn’t know why he was calling me in. So when he sat down and said this is something they never like to do, my smile faded. He said they were going to have to let me go….

I sat shocked in my seat, this news came completely out of the blue. I almost didn’t believe this was even happening. Automatically, tears starting pouring out my eyes as I was asking things like: Seriously? Wait this is for real? What am I supposed to do now? Is anyone else getting laid off? So he told me they were removing two other people from my team as well, but that they would still have a job on the call floor. Since I was hired on under Data Entry, I wouldn’t have the option to move to the call floor. He didn’t even offer it. There are 2 other people on our team that got to KEEP their jobs. One is the team manager and the other another team member just like I was. So now the team of 5, including the manager, was now a team of 2. They told me they would outsource our jobs, that they are re-arranging the team and have better resources to use at this point, which meant outsourcing. (I was thinking in my head that was such BS!!! My boss, the team director, has always said he would never outsource our work. I had always held onto the hope he gave to all of us that our jobs were secure. Apparently not, after all.)

I couldn’t believe my company was selling out. Over THREE AND A HALF YEARS I gave to them, worked my butt off, tried to gain longevity and show loyalty to this company and I get laid off as a ‘thank you’. Very nice.

So then as I’m job hunting the next day and filling out unemployment and all that, I saw on Craigslist that this very same company was looking to hire for the position of Social Media Guru and SEO Director (something to that effect anyway). As I read through the description for both job positions I realized I could have applied for either one of them, honestly. I would have probably been perfect for the Social Media Guru position. And get this… they were posted on November 4, 2009!! So this very same HR guy who let me go, had posted these 2 jobs 8 days before! And he told me in the meeting that he only found out 5 minutes before our meeting. Wow. This was a low blow.

A company I spent over 3 and a half years at, bonding with other co-workers, making chit-chat, establishing a “family” atmosphere at my home-away-from-home and now I’m just completely cut off!

And to top all of this off… I thought for sure I would remain good friends with the last two people who got to keep their jobs on that team, but guess who was wrong?! I’ve tried numerous times to contact each of them separately to keep up with them but with no response. Wow. And I thought we were good friends. We were there for each other whenever annoyances came up from our team or whenever we needed a friend and now they both are not there for me.

So as you can see, I’ve been a bit bitter about this whole event. It’s taken me a month and a half to actually conjure up the words to tell the blog world about my lay off. Now you have it. The real story. I had no idea it was coming. I was completely taken off guard. My ex-company has NOT been hit at all by this ongoing economic recession. They were in fact HIRING when this happened. And I keep seeing more job listings even this week for other positions in the company, none that I’m qualified for. They are not hurting for money. They are, in fact, money-greedy and don’t care for each and every employee they employ. Very sad.

So for Christmas, I want each and every one of you who is employed to be thankful you have a good job. I, on the other hand, lost mine a month and a half ago and STILL have no prospects in getting another one like the one I had. Please don’t take your jobs for granted during this recession. I had to learn the hard way. My Christmas bonus was in the form of a BIG FAT LAY OFF. Thankyouverymuch.

There have been some good things along the way too though. I’ve recently moved out from a dungeon basement apartment I was living in for 2 years. Now I’m in a four-plex with nice big windows and I feel really great about where I live, finally. My boyfriend has a great new job with an awesome global company. He’s lucky to have this job and I’m so grateful he landed it. I’m thankful for my boyfriend; we’ve been together over a year and a half now. Going strong. I’m feeling a bit better about myself finally, after letting some time pass, and I’m hopeful for the new year. I am thankful for friends, family and my loved ones. I will keep my true friends near and hold onto family more than ever.

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Well, it’s official. Today, about 12:26 pm, Michael Jackson had a cardiac arrest and was not breathing when rushed to the hospital in LA. They were unable to revive him. Some news reports are saying he was in a coma. But check out all these news articles: TMZ reports Michael Jackson died, Michael taken to hospital, Michael Jackson, and one to confirm his death: Michael hospitalized. Sad. In the span of three days, we’ve lost Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett AND Michael Jackson. RIP to all three.

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Okay, I’m uber excited about this so please bear with me so I can spit the awesome news out…

NO DOUBT is finally getting back together and going on Tour this year, starting in May, and having PARAMORE open the show!!!

Please visit www.NoDoubt.com for details and tour dates. And here’s a little eye candy to get the fans all pumped up…

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I read today from ScienceDaily that researchers are finding new ways to see if someone has depression, by a simple test. Plus, they can monitor responses to medicine therapy and get results within 5-6 days, instead of waiting a full month. That’s awesome!

From: Researchers May Have Found Test For Depression
“ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2008) — Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have discovered that a change in the location of a protein in the brain could serve as a biomarker for depression, allowing a simple, rapid, laboratory test to identify patients with depression and to determine whether a particular antidepressant therapy will provide a successful response.

Rasenick said the discovery could help millions who suffer from undiagnosed depression or receive unsuccessful treatment.”

Amazing new research findings and discoveries! Imagine… just taking a simple test to find out if you have a chemical imbalance in your brain. I’m excited for new technology, future research, and continued progress in the health field.

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ok, brace yourselves for this post, but I want it to get across to the world, so I’m doing my part. Read this article, you will be shocked, horrified and disgusted. http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/256066# – This is a story about a woman at nine months pregnant, being forced to abort her child and 7 years later finally seeing a glimmer of justice from that horrific incident.

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