/users/peteyboy/phlog/03-14-14 on sdf.org

	My Time Unemployed, This Time: Part 1. Late Start, and the Way of
	the Last Day
	Friday Mar 14 10:20:50 2014

	[I am also posting this to my MOTD blog, but I figure, may as
	well increase the content in gopherspace]

	(I was going to start this a week ago, and I was going to catch
	up all in one post, but it hasn't been happening like that, so
	I'll just part it out into a few posts, and see where it goes)

	So, I have been meaning to make a record of this latest unemploy
	of mine. It--unfortunately--feels like I'm getting a real feel
	for the progression to finding a new job after being laid off. I
	feel like I know the pattern, although every time I sort of doubt
	it will hold this time.

	I don't know this ending yet, but so far, it feels very similar.
	It starts like this:

	First, you get laid off. It's a crummy day. You may or may not
	have seen the signs, like other people slowly getting let go
	around you, or talk of a slowdown in income or traffic for your
	team's project, or, you know, your project being canceled or
	something. Maybe you saw the signs and figured you were
	safe/lucky, or maybe you started tentatively putting out
	feelers--but too tentatively. Maybe you just went on, oblivious.
	However you mentally prepared or didn't, POW, here's the sit
	down with your manager and HR, where you aren't ready, and where
	they try to maintain a little decorum by being icy, icy cold. You
	will probably follow along (I've laid a couple people off,
	myself, not fun). It's like an unexpected slap in the face, whap!
	You don't really respond, so you act like a gentleman (or a lady)
	and that's what they are really hoping for, instead of the crying
	or the anger flash that you would do if you were in a movie ("I
	say!"). You knew right when you sat down, by the setup, with the
	people, and the big envelope of stuff for you to read over after
	they've told you about it. There's no plea bargaining or
	anything, and anyway, how would that even work? So you just
	listen, maybe don't listen, maybe put yourself in your poor
	manager's shoes, maybe wonder how the HR person is able to be so
	nice the rest of her day. So you don't stomp out or anything. You
	just take your envelope and slink back to your office or desk.

	I personally, have been lucky, and at the places I've been let go
	from, they have each let me collect my things at my leisure,
	taking as long as I wanted (sort of). However, where I was
	working where I had to let people go as a manager myself, I had
	to help them get whatever they needed together ASAP and walk
	their sad bottoms out the door in "30 minutes or less", telling
	them to schedule a later time for them to pick up the rest of
	their stuff from boxes at the front desk. That seemed pretty
	brutal, but I guess it's just two ways of pulling off the same
	bandaid. In retrospect, when I've been laid off, each time, I
	stayed too long before leaving, like as a micro-defiance, like I
	didn't want to go right when they said to or something.

	This last time, I think I at least tried to motivate myself out a
	little faster, but I still dragged it out.