Well! As the title of this post may suggest, this summer has been full of surprises, twists, and turns. Some of them I am not sharing openly with the world but on top of those private challenges, there haven some cherries on top, let me tell you!
As you may have heard from Instagram and last week's blog (I mentioned it there quickly), I am now unemployed. I took a week off earlier this month to use up from PTO I'd soon lose and upon my return - at 9am on Monday morning - I had a meeting with my boss and HR in which I was told my position had been eliminated.
YIPEE, right? Well, I cannot lie - it's been a big relief. In April, I was furloughed due to COVID among nearly 1/3 of the company. It was weird and worrisome and hard not knowing if we'd be welcomed back or if our furlough would become permanent. Luckily, after just 4 weeks, the company was able to welcome nearly everyone back. The catch? They had gotten one of those loans the government was giving out during COVID and the money obtained could only promise us 2 months of employment.
Uhhhh....
Obviously, when you hear that, you are immediately on edge and constantly nervous about the insecurity and possibility things could change again. Well, May and June passed by and we heard nothing. July came and went and still nothing! Obviously, though, my job was not secure (as I suspected) and within the first week of August, I was let go along with a handful of others.
Having a tumultuous few months between my furlough and today, you could say I am relieved and a bit happy to be where I am. It has been a very WEIRD 3 to 4 months and I just didn't feel appreciated or welcome there anymore, if I am being honest.
It felt like I was being forced into responsibilities I had no business being involved in and that my talents and skills were going to end up being wasted. I had already started applying elsewhere to see what other opportunities were available so it was not a blow, to say the least.
For now, I am taking a laid back approach to it all. I am collecting unemployment and figure this is a rare opportunity to REALLY evaluate what I want and be a bit picky in what I am applying for or interviewing for. I want to find a company and a job that I REALLY enjoy - not one that I am just capable of doing that I end up tolerating and not really liking it.
Another change I made is with this blog! You may have noticed the comment box is gone. I decided to remove the comment box altogether. I was getting FLOODED with constant spam comments all over older random blog posts and I was getting so sick of flagging and deleting them.
My blog posts haven't gotten a single AUTHENTIC comment since January or February (not sure if COVID has effected how people engage or what) so I decided to just do away with the comments. I figure, if anyone wants a conversation, they can do so on Instagram or email me.
