First of all, I want to thank you guys all for being so supportive and cool about this whole job thing. I really appreciate it. Knowing I have friends in real life and in my online life helps make this whole thing seem much less surreal and awful.

So anyway. This is what happened:

Went to work like any normal morning, a little early though because I had some stuff to finish up for closings that day (fridays are busy). Worked a bit, chatted on AIM with Zach and emailed Erika, it was a pretty normal morning. I was sorting through some files when Wendy (our office manager) came up and asked if she could see me in her office.

When I went in there, my department manager Kathy was there also. I sat down next to Kathy. Wendy explained that business had slowed down, and I agreed with her. She said that they had gotten the projected figures from the Big Stupid Bank for next year and they are expecting business in 2004 to be half of what it has been in 2003. Then the ball dropped: "Due to this slowdown in business, it has become necessary for us to reduce staffing levels, and we are going to have to let you go. I'm very sorry." She explained some stuff about COBRA and severance pay, which I don't really remember because for some reason it sounded like a train was running through my head. Finally I gave up, since all I could hear was that wierd whoosh-whoosh-whoosh noise in my head anyway and I told her that I would go clean out my desk and left her office.

I don't know what the expression on my face must have been, but my next-door cube neighbor asked me what was wrong as soon as I walked into my cube. I said, "I just got laid off. I don't have a job anymore, tess" and she welled up in tears and my head stopped making that awful noise so I could think straight again. So I packed my desk and explained what files I had been hanging onto and what I had been working on that morning. I said goodbye to Kathy and Tess - they both cried like crazy, but I think I was still too much in shock to cry. Wendy helped me carry my stuff out to the car (two boxes! how did I get so much crap in my desk?!) and she wished me luck and I left. The clock in my car said 11:28.

I called Zach, and Curt, and Naomi, and Chad, and Andrew. Stopped by World Market to tell Adam - he offered me a job doing overnights there for the christmas season, which I declined but I appreciate the offer. I love that guy, he looked so upset and was so sweet about the whole thing. Went home, talked to Naomi about her temp agency and I went and registered with them.

Curt came over about 2:30 because he had left work early, because he feels awful - his tonsils are horribly swolen and gross looking. He can barely breathe, forget eating solid food at all. But he was nice to me and we hung out and talked until I went out that night with Mitch and Naomi about 5.

I'll write more about the weekend later, but again I want to thank you guys for being so cool about this thing...

I have Sisqo's "Thong Song" in my head. What the hell.