April 4, 2008

another one bites the dust

It was a Friday afternoon and we had just run out of metal edges for our snowboards. We were also out of most sizes of wood cores and a few other random parts we needed in order to be able to build boards. Bryant, an old friend and my boss at the time, called us to a meeting and told us how things were fine and that we would all have a job for the foreseeable future. Even if it meant that we would be sweeping the floors or doing shop cleanup — we would keep working.

At the following Friday’s meeting we were all let go. Identity Snowboards was basically no longer (a couple guys stayed on to build the remaining orders and then they closed up permanently). For some reason nobody bothered to turn off the radio at this meeting and Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust” was playing as he told us the news. I raised my hand and said, “I’d like to point out the irony of this song playing right now.”

Boom boom boom... another one bites the dust... and another one goes, and another one goes. Bryant told whoever was closest to turn off the radio.

That was the hardest lay off I had ever been through. It was close to Christmas, I didn’t want to do anything else, I loved everyone I worked with and the job was great... I made snowboards! How cool is that?!?

When I found out this afternoon that the cabinet/countertop shop I’ve worked for for the past two and half years was closing it’s doors I wasn’t at all surprised. I’ve had several payroll checks bounce and/or be delayed. Our health insurance (it wasn’t even that — Aflac) was cancelled a month or two ago. Supplies were slow in coming and some never showed up. It wasn’t a surprise. At least not to me. And everyone in the shop pretty much knew that too. We’d all talked about it. I can’t help but notice and talk about these things.

I’m down to two previous employers who you can look up in the phone book. All the rest are gone. About half of them went under while I was there or shortly thereafter. A couple are huge multi-national operations. They still operate, although the places of business where I worked are no longer there. Wherehouse music, for example, still a fine place to get music or rent videos in select cities, but Santa Maria and Lompoc, California are no longer one of those places.

I know exactly what to look for. Christina ironically checked out Fired! The Movie yesterday, so that will be good entertainment tonight as I sip my Sparks and wonder about the future...........

posted @ 3:51 PM

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