I got laid off from my paper...

What was the paper that let the go the writer when he was in China covering the Olympics?

 

Stix,

Take it as a blessing in disguise. Get as far away from this business as possible.

Most of us are just waiting for the same thing that just happened to you to happen to us. At this point it's inevitable.

 

That's the way I'm looking at it.

I mean, I enjoy sportswriting, so I'm still trying to do a lot of freelancing. But I kind of view that as more of a hobby that pays me a nominal fee. Not enough to make a living, but at least something for my work. Plus, freelancing allows me to do everything I enjoy about sportswriting, like covering games, interviewing athletes/coaches (well, that's not always enjoyable) without having to do all the stuff I hate, like answering phones and laying out the agate page.

In the meantime, I'll probably bartend and continue to work at a warehouse for a guy I know who I've been working for a couple times a week for awhile now. Nothing glamorous, but I'm sure I'll be making more than I did as a sportswriter.

Long-term, I'm thinking law school. I just grabbed a couple manuals to help me study for the LSAT, but I'm getting married next August, so I don't think I can really commit to law school until after the wedding.

Anyways, I'll be alright. The paper I work for is fucking going right down the tubes, so I more than likely just got a head-start on a lot of co-workers who will probably be laid off eventually.

 

Great attitude, stix.

Good luck with the marriage and law career.

 

It sounds like you're still young enough to start over without any problems... Trust me, you're going to look back at this as a good thing.

Best of luck.

 

Fuckin' voicemail ... Can you imagine the rip jobs they have for employees who resign via voicemail or e-mail?

 

I still think Tampa letting Carter Gaddis go the day his kid was released from the hospital might be the all-time worst.

Doing it by phone is bad. Doing it by voice mail is beyond comprehension.

 

Stix, I wish you the best. I was in these same shoes about a year ago, and it was not a fun experience.

I almost want to say that I think I know where you work. If it's the same joke operation that I'm thinking of, you deserve much, much better.

 

My mom's former company was doing a bunch of layoffs. No one knew who was getting the axe (and it wasn't a newspaper...it was actually a corporation) but it was all of the high, high ranking people (presidents and VPs and the such). The way they found out they were gone? Their e-mail was turned off. People were checking their e-mail every five minutes and when it suddenly wouldn't connect, they knew they were coming down the hall for a little chat.

That being said, I'm glad you appear to be handling it well Stix, and that you have a plan of action. Best of luck to you in the future and with your marriage.

 

I think the whole idea of not letting people collect their belongings is the most cowardly, disgusting aspect of layoffs. What, are they really going to set the building on fire as they box up their local press awards, family photos and old clips? Is the saddening, sometimes tearful act of saying goodbye to coworkers going to incite a riot?

Fortunately, the places I've been, there are always enough friends to collect things and drop them off at the residence of the terminated employee, but it's still a despicable, disgusting practice.

I don't know where this HR idea that pushing people out the door immediately would reduce workplace confrontations came from...if anything it pisses people off even more and increases the chance of an immediate confrontation and future retaliation.

 

I feel your pain, Stix. When I was in the Guard, I returned from a deployment after 9/11 to no job.

 

Man, that really sucks. Hang in there, Stix. Better days are ahead.

Best of luck to you.