My son doesn’t sugarcoat his words. What’s worse, he didn’t phrase it as a question but as a statement. As in, it was a long time coming and he knew it.
The truth is, I knew it too. For everything he lacks in subtlety, he makes up with his (selective1) steel-trap memory.
For most of the past two years, I’ve been letting them slip — those little joking-but-not-joking quips you mutter under your breath to your spouse about how work is going. You keep it vague enough that you’re pretty sure even if the kids hear it, they won’t catch on.
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They lured me out of a cushy job one year, 11 months, and 25 days ago (but who’s counting?). My boss was happy with me. I’d just bought my first house. I did not want to rock the boat. But a recruiter cold-emailed me about an opportunity. I’ve had nice opportunities fall in my lap before, so I usually agree to take the next step until some detail shuts down the whole thing.
An email turned into a screener. A screener turned into a call with the hiring manager. That call turned into a panel interview with several key stakeholders. Then the offer came: a 40% raise. AND in the video game industry. The proverbial boat was about to capsize.
Nearly two years later, I got laid off by email.
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I’m staring down the barrel of an endless procession of job listings, dead-end recruiter solicitations, and EDD bureaucracy. I’ve got my hands in the air and would like to request a blindfold and cigarette.
But I’ve been here before. I will tell myself that I can’t control what I can’t control. And that I will bounce back.
In the meantime, I guess I’m blogging again.
Talk more soon.
- “I don’t know what assignment my teacher is talking about.” ↩︎
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