Fears
January 22, 2015
Well, this Mercury Retrograde started off with a bang.
Joe noticed a weird spot on his nose, kinda like a zit but it didn't behave like a zit. I noticed another weird spot on his head, just left and slightly over his forehead.
He went to a dermatologist. It's nonmelanoma skin cancer -- basal cell, I think. He's made an appointment with a surgeon. The surgery -- called Mohs surgery -- will likely be done in two parts, one for each spot. It's highly successful.
Joe is handling it like a champ. I am not scared. (Yes I am.)
In other news, my company had its FY2014 earnings call last night, followed by a company-wide all-hands call today. Guess what?
Even though the company was profitable, a big layoff (10%; 2400 people) is coming the first week of February. Of course, the company called it a "reduction in force" and said it was in the best interests of the business, and flung around a bunch of other business platitudes. The CEO made a big deal of telling everyone how painful it was. It's the most painful thing he's ever had to do! I've heard that statement over and over from executives, and you know what? I call shenanigans. It is way more painful for the poor schmoe getting the sharp end of the axe than it is for the guy swinging it. Our CEO can assuage his pain by taking a nice sail on his yacht; the jobless can assuage their pain by applying for unemployment.
At least we know it's coming. That's better than being called into a conference room and being told you're out of a job. I guess.
The other big announcement was that our part of the company is being spun off, either through sale or IPO. So that's interesting! I have no idea how this is going to play out -- whether I'll still have a job, and if I do, what form that job will take.
But I can't worry about the stuff I can't control, right? (But I still do.)
Good times.