11/28/10

Ouch

Hossmom got fired.

Bam, there it is. There is the bottleneck. There is the subject that I haven't written about but also the one that I can't get around. Hossmom was given her walking papers.

But to be more PC about it, it actually wasn't a fire. She was layed off along with a whole lot of other people at her advertising company. The reason being is that they lost their big client, they lost thier big Scooner Tuna, the Tuna with a Heart. And when that happened, eventually my wife lost her job.

As you can imagine, for a stay at home dad, this is a problem. This is a very serious problem. I could understand more I think if Hossmom got fired because she sucked. But that wasn't the reason, she's freaking awesome at what she does. She got let go, along with 1/3 of her company, not based on performance but something completely and totally out of her control.

Now our one income? It's down to no income. This is going to seriously affect me.

We knew it was a possiblity when the client left her agency. That was right about the time that I started posting only once a week. Now you know why. It's hard to be funny when you get dick slapped.

But atleast they told her before Christmas, because that's always the best time to tell people that they are going to be let go at the end of the year. It makes the holidays oh so special and upbeat.

Hossmom didn't want me to write this one. And even now, she is a little nervous about what I might say. She was happy with the company and considered many of her superiors professionals and good at thier jobs. She was worried what I, a Texan, might write about this. She thinks that I can't be subtle and it might look bad on her.

So I agreed to shelve the idea but I couldn't get around it. What's the big deal anyway? I wasn't going to go on my blog and call her company a souless pit of dispair that uses people only to piss them away once they've gotten everything out of them. I wasn't going to go on and on about how we moved our whole family away from our own family to take this job. I wasn't going to call them a big bunch of twatwaffle dicksuckers (is that one word?) that have brought ruin to my little domain? I am way more subtle than that.

And besides, I don't blame them really for what happened. I know that it was a business decision. The money that was coming in to employ my wife left. So my wife had to leave. And as much as I am encouraging her, she is absolutely refusing to steal any office supplies.

I sympathize with the company. I know that it cannot be easy to let such a huge portion of quality asskicking staff go. That's got to be a difficult decision to make. And they said so, as they fired them in big groups. They told her that it was a difficult decision and that they feel so terrible about it. That it wasn't easy to cut off the arm that had given them an "iconic" advertising campiagn. Then they went home to thier paid mortgages and food and struggled with the decision even more.

I won't say who the client is that they lost, that wouldn't be cool. And when it comes down to it, it is because the client left that my wife lost her job. The company can only react to what the market does. So even though I feel like the client screwed us big time after all the hard work we put in as a family, I won't mention who they are. I might spit on a carhop though. I'm sure that will make me feel better.

The truly sad part of this whole thing though is that Hossmom will no longer be a part of a company that she really liked. As corporate gigs go, this one was a pretty good one. They gave mother's and father's day presents, they had a beer garden, they threw pretty good holiday parties. And she is going to miss being part of all that. She is going to miss being part of that culture. It was a good setup, both there and at home. They paid my wife and in return, she busted her ass for them.

Having a stay at home dad in the house allowed my wife to work long hours without hesitation. She could take the last minute project or fly to another part of the country without worry. The company got her best and I took care of the home front. It was a good system.

But here's the kicker. Since she got fired, in a sense, so did I. The family needs health insurance. The family needs dinner. So the whole stay at home dad gig might be coming to an end. And I thought I was doing a pretty damn fine job. How many 4 year olds can sing along to David Allen Coe or head bang to Black Sabbath?

The hope is that she will get a job before me and that we can continue this ride we are on. She's interviewing and there are some positive signs. Maybe it will work out, maybe it won't. But I've done my resume. The first one I've had to do in 10 years.

In my professional life, I worked for a single company for a little over 8 years. They kept promoting me and the "resume" was nothing more than a paragraph of why they should promote me. I haven't done a real resume since graduating from college.

So I ask you, the working people of the world, is it still ok to put "ASSKICKER" under qualifications?




11 comments:

  1. That sux the big one, Hoss. I would recommend using your readership and network with daddyshome.org to get the word our on you and your wife... If you can't take some value from this thing we call a Daddy web and blogging then what's the point? I'm on the other coast and don't have any Seatle connections, but I'm sure others do. Good luck on the job front, for either or both of you.
    The only help I can think of at the moment that I could provide would be to look over your resume' and help make some suggestions (prior to my full-time father days I was a hiring manager then an executive in the insurance investigation industry). As for Asskicker as experience, not sure, but you could certainly list B.A.D.A.S.S. In all seriousness, you could and should mention your writing during your "down time" (unfortunately, that is what many companies will view your Daddy time as... yeah, I know, screw that but its the truth).

    May the winds of circumstance take you to your next great adventure in life and may this hurdle become a launching point for a new situation that is even more rewarding for you and your family!

    Dad-On-The-Run

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  2. Bummer Shannon, sorry to here about this! I know somehow things will work out. Just because you wife's company sucks and has no gratitude for what she has done for them and didn't bother to consider relocating her to another account egg, opps! sorry I forgot they were depending on that only egg in the basket for income...Doesn't mean it won't work out for her in the end.

    Seriously, things have a way or working out, it may be a challenge but I wish you and your wife the best in overcoming this obsticle.

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  3. I have said out before but it bears repeating. This plain sucks....for all of you. Praying that something new comes together for Hossmom soon so h you can show another company what a great team you two make

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  4. Hossman's stay tough! I won't say suck it up man, a little sniveling is OK. But you got a substantial void to fill in the file and by putting ASSKICKER on that resume thing would turn heads and get you noticed. Thumbs up and a 'Like' on being an ASSKICKER!

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  5. I know what you're feeling. Been through something similar and I'm only starting to come out of my "writer's block" as well. Stay the course man. Good things ahead.

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  6. For every cloud there is a silver lining and I think the support you are getting is a part of that lining. Take everyone up on their offers - you never know where they will lead

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  7. I'm so sorry. Here's hoping the interviews breed great results.

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  8. Much love to everyone and their support. But more importantly, was this post funny at all? If I can't laugh at myself and my situation, then I'm pretty much dead in the water.

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  9. Funny, yes.
    And I think you already have a B.A. in something, right?

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  10. Yes, your post was funny but as a SAHD I empathize with you. Good luck, you all are in my prayers. If you want to read another's blog post that is funny to read but not funny to the writer check out Three Lees in a Pod: http://threeleesinapod.blogspot.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-day-balcony-photo.html Scary as all get out and just as funny, in retrospect.

    Keep on truck'n,

    Al

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