Well, technically speaking I got laid off last night. It was about ten o'clock at night and I got a call from the contract agency through which I work. The project I was an attorney on was cutting back and they got rid of thirty people. My services would no longer be needed so I shouldn't even bother coming in the next day. They would box up my things and I could pick them up after Thursday. Unfortunately, my story is so painfully ordinary these days, it probably doesn't even warrant a diary.
But I feel a need to just talk about how it feels, mainly because so many other people have done it. Needless to say, it doesn't feel good. I didn't even get any warning. Every company expects you to give a couple of weeks notice if you're switching jobs. But those of us who are working? We're lucky if we get a day's notice. I got about ten hours.
I don't hold my supervisor responsible. Lord knows he looked nervous all day yesterday and I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of people at his level were handed their walking papers as well. Odds are the client just didn't want to spend so much money on legal fees so they told everyone to hold back. It's all speculation though since all I know is that thirty lawyers were dropped yesterday and one of my friends who is still there says it looks like a ghost town.
So what do I do now? Well, I've sent my resume to all of the staffing agencies and applied for unemployment within an hour of getting the news. (As an aside, I'd like to applaud the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for making the application process so easy. I'll let you know if they keep up the good work.) I've got the form printed out to apply for jobs with the state government and I'll be mailing it out tomorrow.
I don't have much room to complain. I'm a lot better off than most people. I have enough money in the bank to float for a couple of months even without unemployment. I'll have access to health insurance through COBRA. And my only dependent is a small grey cat named Finnigan who will certainly keep me company. I could be sick. I could have kids to support. I could be flat broke and getting thrown out of my apartment. Thankfully, none of these are the case. Given that, if you have any spare sympathy, give to the people in those situations. I'm getting by.
As for tomorrow, I figure I might as well put this spare time to good use while I wait for the staffing agencies to do their job. I'm heading over to the Sestak campaign office to volunteer and do my part to ensure that we get some proper leadership and representation down in Washington. And if I'm lucky, they'll need a little help from a politically experienced lawyer and I can just work there. Here's hoping.