Hi all,
Thanks so much for virtually keeping me company tonight (although I'm fairly certain the majority of you are asleep at this hour)! I really needed to get my mind off of RL for a bit, and catching up on tens of pages of DDA chatter was refreshing. So, even though I didn't respond, thank you so much for being there, and a huge dose of

for all, particularly for all of those fighting sickness. And, a happy birthday to Glynis!
I'm sorry I've been away again for a few days. I was determined to get a lot of things done around the house before I left for FL, and my computer is still not fixed, so that ate up a lot of time shuttling it back and forth to the Geek Squad.
I got to Florida Wed. evening, and am here in my grandparent's old home with my parents. Unfortunately, today was not a good day for us. Jonathan called me this morning, and said the sales force in his division received a 20-second voice mail from their VP that they were to have an "office day" today, and wait by the phone for further direction - i.e., layoffs were beginning. This came out of left field (although some things have happened with a drug they were certain would be given FDA approval, and it seems indefinitely stalled at this point), and needless to say, it was a harrowing morning. I felt so bad that this was happening to Jonathan while I was 1300+ miles away, and could do nothing but offer support over the phone and get down on my knees and pray.
The good news - he was spared (although you certainly wonder if you should add the "for now" to that statement). Our hearts just break for all those that lost their job - they had almost 300 people in their sales division, and there are only 160 left - it affected all levels too, from managers on down - the field level managers had no clue either that this was going to happen. Of the 10 people that covered the DFW metro area, there are only 3 left - 2 others got reassigned to other sales divisions in the company, but 5 were let go.
The irony was not lost on us that it was 1 month to the date of my lay-off. I've never been a suspicious person, but I think I've decided I do not like the 22nd day of any month.
Here's hoping that the days ahead will be better for all - I'm beginning to wonder how much worse the economy can get, but I have a feeling we're about to find out. For now, I'm staying in FL, although I feel like I should go home. I know Jonathan doesn't want me to, but it doesn't feel right to stay here when all I want to do is give him a hug - I know that's all I wanted after my ordeal last month. We'll see how things go in the next day or so. At least the weekend is coming up - nothing bad can happen workwise then!
Thanks for listening, DDA, and I'll check in tomorrow. I hope everyone has restful nights' sleep.