Stacking the Tea Leaves: When You Know You're Getting Whacked-- Maybe!

Recently I've been writing about a situation years ago when my work teammates and I slacked for 5 weeks knowing a layoff was coming. As I noted, though, not all of us knew we'd be laid off. I was one of the people for whom it could go either way.

During the weeks my team slacked waiting for the ax to fall, other teams were abuzz with speculation and worry about who'd be whacked. "Watch for where there's a big conference room booked solid all month and the windows are taped over," was a common item of rumor around the company. "If you see that in your building, it means there'll be a lot of layoffs there." 

While others were busy trying to read the tea leaves, I was in the unusual situation of being able to arrange the tea leaves... at least for myself. My department had a combination of hardware and software engineers. The hardware project was being canceled and, with it, everyone who was a hardware engineer was being laid off. Software people would likely be reassigned. I was actually a software person— but one with strong (if high level) understanding of hardware design. That left managers above the two on my team uncertain about what my skillset actually was. So they asked me.

Now, when they asked me, "Are you more hardware or software?" I knew the reality of that question was, "Should we lay you off or reassign you?" I had already considered which side of the falling ax I wanted to be on. I had been excited to join the company for the particular project and the particular team I worked on. With that project and at least half the team getting whacked the prospect of continued employment there was frankly uninspiring. I opted for getting laid off. That didn't mean I misrepresented my work, though. I explained to Management I was a software engineer but had worked exclusively on improving the hardware architecture and developing software drivers for it.

"Hmm," they collectively responded. My answer wasn't the strict is-you-is-or-is-you-ain't answer they were looking for. That meant they didn't know whether to lay me off or retain me. And it meant for all I behaved as though I were being laid off I didn't know for sure, either, until the Day of Truth.

Next: The Day of Truth....

I Asked for Rain... I Got a River!

I've written twice in the past month about how it's been a dry winter so far in California. In my late December entry I explained why rain is seasonal and why winter rain is important. Well, I asked for rain... and now we're getting it. ...And not just rain but a figurative river in the sky, an "Atmospheric River", as CBS News Bay Area reported (28 Jan 2021).

Rain poured on Sunday, then again on Tuesday, and then again overnight and into this morning. We've tallied probably a few inches around my home in the past several days. What's falling as rain here is snow up in the Sierras. At high elevations they've gotten several feet already this week, with estimates up to 10 feet (3 meters) by Friday. Back down here in the valley the rain hasn't reached a point of deluge... yet. Localized flooding could come.

Over in the Santa Cruz Mountains, southwest of here between us and the Pacific Ocean, flooding and mudslides already are a real risk. That's especially true in areas burned in lightning-strike fires last August/September. Fire kills vegetation; when it rains heavily after that there's less to hold the ground together so mudslides become a danger. Moreover, fire scorches bare earth so that even if is less able to absorb rain, further raising the risks of flooding and mudslides.

Does this mean no drought, at least? Haha, no. We still need more rain to catch up to normal for the year, let alone to catch up to normal for last year & this one averaged together. We just need gradual rain!

The Day of Truth: When You Know You're Getting Whacked, Part 4

Recently I've been writing a small series about a time when my work colleagues and I knew a layoff was coming weeks in advance (part 1). We partied and slacked (part 2). Except I wasn't certain I would be laid off— though I did stack the tea leaves (part 3). After six weeks it came down to the Day of Truth.

The Day of Truth

The Day of Truth came. It was a Monday. I remember years later it was a Monday only because I remember meeting friends that evening at a local pub, the Duke of Edinburgh, for weekly Monday night gathering. I had affixed a "NOT COMPANY PROPERTY" sticker, intended to distinguish personal items from company assets, to my shirt. It was worth a few laughs among people who knew what it signaled.

Anyway, the Day of Truth. I had a first-of-the-morning meeting with my new director, Fabio. Yes, amid all the wrangling about layoffs the company also reorged me. 🙄

As I've written previously I was in the "maybe layoff" portion of my team. During the long walk to my new boss's office in a neighboring building on campus I legit didn't know whether the conversation was going to be, "Welcome to my team, CW!" or "Hi, I'm your new boss, and BTW you're fired." 😨 This director was the head goofball in the neighboring department of goofballs I mentioned previously, so I hoped it was the latter. 😅

For all that I'd spent the previous 5-6 weeks being nonchalantly non-worried about being laid off, suddenly I felt anxious. The Day of Truth was becoming the Moment of Truth.

The conversation in my new boss's office was mercifully short. Fabio didn't try to get to know me; we barely even made smalltalk. We quickly got down to business, which was my dismissal from the company. I assured him I had prepared for this possibility, was not worried for myself or my family, and held no ill will toward him or the company. I think we were done in less than 10 minutes.

After getting my papers I walked back to my office, packed my things, and hung out one last time with my colleagues. I stayed much longer than I needed to. I know part of me didn't really want it to end.

Staying through the end of the day did bring one unexpected note of closure. Fabio called me again. "CW, please come back to my office."

"Uh-oh," I wondered, "Is something wrong with my discharge?" 😳

Stay tuned... The Aftermath!