On February 27, 2020 my company announced a layoff (a.k.a. displacement) of 330 IT Staff and moving to an outsourcing company. Some were laid off that day. The rest were given 90 days to transfer our knowledge to our replacements. In the first week after the announcement, I went through the anger, depression, and resolve stages. I had been with the company nearly 6 years and really thought it would be "the last company I will ever work for." I decided to make the most of it and simply do my best to make the transition as easy as possible. The next three months were of diligently documenting my job, how I packaged software, my patch management process, managing ticket escalations. I even went to the extent of making "immediate Zoom meetings" and recording them to explain some of the more complicated tasks I have done over the years.
To say the least, the knowledge transfer was painful and challenging due to lack of skills, knowledge of the tools, bad network connections, and in some cases, a language barrier. Our counterparts were not prepared for the amount of knowledge that needed to be transferred. We also started working remotely in mid-March. I found that this made it a bit easier to get documentation done as there were little to no distractions. Regardless of the circumstances, I did my part to the best of my ability and have no regrets on the outcome.
My initial thought right after the layoff announcement would be that "this is the time to relocate". But then, COVID-19 happened and delayed that plan. I job hunted, but, at the time, it was half-hearted because I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay or relocate. We started working remotely in mid-March. By May, my work from home routine was set and it was working really well. My last day was May 29, 2020. My severance would last me 3 months, so there was no rush to find another job.
Once that last day happened, I decided, if anything, I would get my house in order should I decide to actually move or not. The house has been lived in for 29 years. My father worked out of the fairly large garage for mail order services. He passed away almost 5 years ago and I had not done anything except shift things around in the garage. Without having work as an excuse, it was time to get things done.
My younger brother and I started clearing out what we knew would be trash or junk into the driveway. We tore down a small fenced area in the backyard that was no longer needed. We loaded up my trailer with the fencing. We went through all the shelves of cleaning, lubrication, and solvent bottles my dad used for his business and put them in their own boxes to be taken to a recycle center. We stacked up the cans and cans of paint that was saved from when the house was being remodeled about 10 years ago. I separated latex vs. oils and popped all the latex ones, filled them with kitty litter, so they could all be dried out. My older brother came over and started rummaging through the drawers and cabinets to help identify a lot of the parts and pieces and if they were worth keeping or not.I scheduled a 10 yard dumpster to be delivered a couple days later.
When the dumpster arrived, I started it filling it with everything from the trailer and what we had piled up in the driveway. In two days, it was half-full already. We tore down shelves and cabinets that were no longer needed. My nephew, niece and her husband helped out over the next few days. My older brother had friends interested in some of the equipment and they came by to take it and help move some heavier things out of the way. By day 4, the dumpster was already full and we still had stuff to throw away. Thankfully, the dumpster company was willing to empty it and bring it back. I still had 3 days left on the rental.
My feet aching from the multiple trips in and out of the garage, three new shelving units were installed, a workbench cleared and relocated, a heavy metal cabinet was emptied and moved. We were now able take down everything from the loft in the garage and go through all of that. A good chunk of it was empty boxes saved should they needed for shipping. It ended up being two truckloads of broken down boxes that I took to the recycle center. There was even a third row seat that came out of a minivan we hadn't owned for 20 years. Only a fraction of what was in the loft went back up, mostly holiday decorations. We were again able to completely fill the second dumpster by pick up day.
In the aftermath, the questionable chemicals were disposed of properly and another family friend was invited to see if he wanted anything we were able to find/salvage. Three more fairly large items were taken out of the garage as a result.
I'm now at the point of organizing the piles of stuff we are keeping or putting up for sale. Aside from all that's already been done, I still have a storage unit to go through as well. A third dumpster will likely be needed.
A few days ago, my best friend arrived in her RV. These last few days have been actual "vacation" days since I stopped working. This weekend, I will get back to finishing up the garage and tackling my storage unit. There will then be a yard sale. Whatever doesn't sell, I'll give away or throw away.
Once that it is done, the job hunt will be my focus. It's been almost a month already and I'm ready to start working again. At this point, I'm hoping for a remote position. I'll be attending webinars and training on AWS and Google technologies and maybe manage a few certificates.
This first month flew by. The next two will probably go even faster. :-)