You might have noticed a few enigmatic tweets from me on Friday. I got a few responses of concern but I was okay. Still am.
No, really, I’m good. January 6, 2012 was a date for the books so I’ll just go ahead and kick off this blogpost with what happened.
Somewhere around 10:15 a.m. last Friday, I was told my services at Intersections, Inc. was no longer needed.
If you’re expecting a complete and utter meltdown against my former day job, you’re not going to get it. Never will. I will only say this:
- I wasn’t the only one let go.
- It wasn’t anything I did.
- You learn a lot about people when things like this happen.
Intersections was a terrific place to work. There are some incredible people there; and many of them reached out to me over the weekend, just to ask, “How are you doing?†It was a sincere question, and I answered it honestly: I’m good. What happened on Friday had nothing to do with me or my performance, and I was able to leave Intersections with my head held high. I was able to look the EVP in the eye, shake his hand, and say “It’s been a good two-and-a-half years. Thank you.†I loved my job. I loved what I did. As friends told me, “I was saving the world, one tweet at a time, one blogpost at a time.†The friendships and associations I made at Intersections, I discovered in that moment, were more than just professional. They ran a little deeper.
Granted, one relationship did show its true colors, and I got to admit—it didn’t just hurt. I was outraged.
But how do I feel now, on my first day of unemployment?
When I came home, Pip already had already found seven job openings in Social Media. I have a possibility from Que Publishing that I can pursue. Then there are the fiction possibilities — a steampunk novella, a reboot of Morevi, setting up the groundwork for Volume 2 of Tales from the Archives, and the third installment of The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. Before the end of the weekend, I had applied for fifteen positions in Social Media. A far cry from 2009 when I was lucky to get fifteen applications out in a week. And just now, I got an email from the CEO confirming that a letter of reference was en route.
How do I feel? Wildly optimistic.
I knew, heading into the new year, that something was something. Something big. I’m going to take a wild guess and say, “This…isn’t it.â€
This is the first step in a new journey.
Sure, I’m scared; but that fear isn’t paralyzing me. It’s inspiring me. It’s driving me. In the wake of this, I’m moving forward, undaunted. I’ve got a great kid, and fantastic wife, and amazing friends from Intersections and elsewhere, all rallying around me. I’m truly blessed.
Thank you, Intersections. Thank you for one amazing run.
Onward.