January 11, 2010
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Looking Ahead
Today was my first day back at work after an extended Christmas break. I was checking emails and voicemails daily but that’s the price to pay when you’re working in a small team. In the past 12 months, I’ve been survived a couple of “workforce reduction”, lived through a “realignment” of my team, watched my workload gradually grow and watched my stock options expire worthless. I did however received a very small bonus so that’s better than a kick in the butt.
I have no idea what this year will be like at work. There are lots of rumors but no one really knows. If they give me a “package”, I just hope it’s big enough to pay off my mortgage. It’s unlikely I’ll get a job in I/T again. My skill set is not technical – it’s all the “soft” skills. I was chatting with someone the other day about surviving all the layoffs . He remarked that I must have a lot of special skills. I shook my head – it’s a combination of luck, hard work and fate. Maybe someone likes me. I’ve been on the side that selected people to be let go – I try not to dwell on it.
If something does happen to me at work, I’m not all that stressed about that anymore. I now see it as an opportunity to do something else. I’m a lot more calm about it now than before. It won’t be a smooth road. I should do more preparation (finances, education…) in the event that does happen. If it doesn’t, then that’s fine – I’ll have more security and hopefully some new skills.
In the meantime – anyone want some desserts?
I got these from Nadege Patisserie. You can read about it here as their website isn’t up yet.
http://www.blogto.com/bakery/nadege-patisserie
http://www.torontolife.com/daily/daily-dish/opening-daily-dish/2009/08/05/just-opened-nadege-patisserie/This was caramel tart with salt crystals on top. I was surprised how well
the salt matched the caramel.
They called this the Marie-Antoinette. I liked it but my bf wasn’t crazy about it.
I’d chop off my head for more of it.
Comments (30)
Nice. No cracked macaroon!
It sounds like you have a plan and are prepared to meet whatever comes up next – without too much stress. That’s the best way to be. No sense worrying about the unknown. I bet one of those caramel tarts would go great with this coffee.
Sounds yummy.
That place looks good, like a place I’d try out.
As for your work and IT… I have to ask, do you actually enjoy working in IT? The reason I ask is because I used to work in IT also…
You should have WRITTEN those options instead, then you’d be SUPER HAPPY that they are expiring worthless =P
What I don’t get is how people in a corporation gets let go due to layoffs, and yet these corporations are still able to increase the bonuses of these executives who insisted layoffs are needed, when the amount of savings from these layoffs are offset by bonuses paid out to these executives. Are they really THAT valuable, or can someone else with more common sense from below replace these executives?
Random rant comment….
Sometimes it is better to not think about how things will be… that’s what I am trying to do now.
@yang1815 - yeah, it was yummy and it leapt into my tummy.
@dikdoktor - well, I still need to flesh out the plan a lot more and start executing it.
@arenadi - the IT portion is not something I’m passionate about. I like working with the people, solving business problems, using my judgment, talking with the clients…. stuff like that. I had no idea you were in IT. I know you wrote once that you did quite a few things but I’ve always assumed they were in the food / restaurant industry.
@inchyguy - bonuses comes in many different flavors. Some are retention bonuses (if you stay for x years, we’ll give you some extra $). Most are based on financial targets and letting people go is one way to meet those targets. I better stop here or I’ll go into a rant.
@Dezinerdreams - yes that’s true. I still want to be prepared for the eventuality.
Now you know sweets are my downfall!! Do not underestimate yourself. You have some natural skills that you may not notice. There is always a reason for the boss to hold on to someone who has those. I always support continuing education and if you do it in line of being prepared for anything sure why not.
@Fatcat723 - thanks for the comment and support Rob. Now it’s off to work I go! Hi ho, hi ho…
The caramel tart looks amazing!
Wishing you the best going forward.
Who knows really what our future will hold for us.
Now I want something really sweet..
Be well, *~matthew~*
Good luck with it all Matt. Welcome back to the world of work (as if I was there…) and I do hope that whatever happens with your job, that you’re able to find some satisfaction and comfort in the outcome.
LOL on Marie-Antoinette, the name suits it very much so =)
Good luck on your job situation, hope everything works out for you.
Oh honey, I hope and pray that you do not have to go through any heart ache because of work related problems. I never want to hear anything bad about you. God Willing everything will go in your favour.
Those macaroons are to die for.
Hang in there. You seemed prepared for anything.
i want macaroon… never had it before >< DHL me… or treat me a nice one when i fly over to toronto
happy 2010 matt!! wish you would have a great roaring tiger year n_<
hopefully your job will be ok! you work hard and i’m sure your bosses see that. times are hard… i’m glad i’m still a student right now and can ride out the bad times with relative ease.
@TheCheshireGrins - it was very good as my waistline will attest.
@bleuzeus - thanks Matthew… I just want to be prepared.
@secade - I’m trying to be as optimistic as possible too. Thanks for your kind words.
@nutz4walnuts - yeah, I loved that name too… I hope things work out for me at my job too – thank you.
@ZSA_MD - Thank you Zakiah – always appreciate your support.
@Wangium - I’m less prepared than you think.
@lcfu - Hi Fufu – I hope the tiger will be kind to me! I doubt if I can DHL that to you – hahahaha. But you have great food in Germany too!
@kunhuo42 - Aaron, I guess you’ll be joining the workforce in a year or two. But I also know you have to deal with budgets, grants etc… same pressures in different ways I suppose. I hope my job will be ok too – thanks.
just kidding matt!! take it easy
just buy me macaron when i am there… hohoho
Damn that looks good! One or two ,maybe three bites and there goes the abs!!!! LOL…
I wish you so much luck with your job I hope everything goes smoothly for you! If not I have a friend who is a Manager at White Castles! You know how to cook Fries! Lol….. (Kidding)
@ElusiveWords - Aim for Buoyancy
My suspicion is that you’ve survived this long because you have some really good skills. Just extrapolating from what I’ve learned about you over the past few years, I suspect that your hard work ethic meshes nicely with your people skills, a winning combination. Of course that may not be enough to survive another round of cuts but I am confident you’ll land in the right opportunity no matter what.
From what I read above, I think Matt is quite a humble person, and in fact possessed some intrinsic qualities that others in the company don’t have. =P
The macarons, so cute and colorful! The cone shaped arrangement resembles a hat!
@lcfu - ok – will do.
@rickystar1 - hahaha… 2 bites should do it. But I took my time with it. You know, I’ve never been to a White Castle before because there aren’t any in Canada.
@christao408 - gee… I’ll have to ask you to write my annual evaluation next time.
Thanks for the kind words Chris.
@CurryPuffy - oh Gary… that’s nice of you to say that. It can get pretty ruthless as you probably know. There was a guy who had stock options, 2 VPs as mentors, on the fast path but got let go when the industry he was supporting tanked during the credit crisis. None of his clients were buying our stuff so he got let go. I think I’m going to just keep rereading your comment and Chris’s to cheer me up when work gets to me.
(about layoff) That is the way how I should look at live.
Happy New Year big brother.
@vsan79 - Happy New Year to you too Vincent. I hope it’s a good year for you as well.
thanks for stopping by
i actually am going to re do the xanga now and edit a number of past entries
mostly starting anew… maybe just a photo i take and a few words daily
by the way, where did you get this back ground
very nice indeed!
i finally am finding a little time to write an entry again.
love is…
I have wanted to go to this place for awhile but haven’t found the time!
As for work, hope it goes well. I’m thinking of getting out of IT too. Soooo stressful!!
I’m glad you’re not stressing out about the looming layoffs at work, and knowing that there are always more opportunities out there. I’m confident that you’ll still succeed regardless of what happens
You either have a very small mortgage or a very good job! Either way, good luck!
first off, i love salted caramel. second, that macaron cake looks awesome! third, i just got back from vacation and i’m having the hardest time concentrating at work. good luck with your job situation … everything always plays out for the best.