Office Space

In light of this economy, it is true that there is no place like home, given how many people have lost homes in the past two years. I love my house. If I ever lost it, well, it would pretty much be like losing a loved one from my life; my home gives me life, love, and family.

I lost my job almost two years ago, another victim of downsizing and outsourcing. After that, I spent a lot of time at home. It was difficult on the days when I worried, and it was blissful on the days when Iz and I walked along the edge of the Nashua River with Monty and played outside on a school snow day.

This June, I was invited back to work by the company that had laid me off. I was elated because for six month, the period that they hired me for, I wouldn’t have to worry about finances. Then I was somewhat disappointed, knowing that I would have to give up biking on the rail trail at any hour of the day, getting Iz off the school bus, and watching back-to-back Law & Order episodes.

While returning to work was stressful and somewhat of a transition, it became a very good thing. I got the chance to work with old friends again, and I made a whole bunch of new friends. The job made me feel whole again when unemployment and countless job rejections made me feel like I was a quarter of the person I had once been.

In some ways, my new-old job had become a second home to me. It was nice to relax on a Friday night and have a few beers with co-workers. And on some nights, after 6pm, it became a quiet place where I could collect myself without a barking dog, meowing cats, and a seven-year-old; and, I could have easily put this up on the wall in my office.



In two weeks, my contract expires. On the same day, my company also moves from its current building to a new smaller one the same day. I guess you could say the company that did all the downsizing is now downsizing itself as far as office space goes.

Because we're moving, the building landscape has changed. The last week, the cafeteria has been filled with all of these plastic orange moving crates. When I walked through and saw the crates, I thought, “This is the Ghost of the Company Past.”

Then there were all sorts of boxes and containers filling conference rooms and hallways, indicating that we are no longer “in the house.” We were exiting stage left.” But, my big question was, would I be exiting with them?

Given that no one had been able to tell me what my status was, I began to search high and low for signs. When I couldn’t find any signs, I resorted to movies I had seen. So, did any of you see the movie, "Office Space?"

Do you remember the character Milton Waddams played brilliantly by Steve Root? I told my co-worker, who was pretty much in the same boat that I was, that we're going to be like the red-stapler guy (Milton Waddams) in the movie. This was our Fate, though not necessarily a bad one.

Nina: Now Milton, don't be greedy, let's pass it along and make sure everyone gets a piece.
Milton Waddams: Yeah, but last time I didn't receive a piece. And I was told...
Nina: Just pass.

Milton Waddams: I was told that I could listen to the radio at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven, I told Bill that if Sandra is going to listen to her headphones while she's filing then I should be able to listen to the radio while I'm collating so I don't see why I should have to turn down the radio because I enjoy listening at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven.

Milton was laid off, though he never received notification of that fact. The company moved him from office to office until he was in the basement still wondering why he hadn’t been paid in weeks. I told my co-worker that the only way we’d know we had jobs was if a orange crate was delivered to our cube.

I said we’d be patiently sitting at our desks the day before the move. We’d hope an orange crate would be deposited at our cube entrance! If it wasn’t, we’d be sitting there at 9am the Monday after the move saying, "I was told I'd get an orange crate!"

No matter the outcome, I always tried to think wine-glass-half-full. If my contract wasn’t renewed, I’d spend school vacation with my mini me. It wasn’t my preferred outcome; however, it was a possibility. No matter what, I’d be thankful for the old friends, the new friends, and the new-old life my current job gave me. ♥