The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The good (or actually GREAT) news is that Ryan has finished his Masters degree!! I took last Friday off to sit-in on his thesis defense. He did a great job, though I had no idea what he was talking about as I sat amongst a group of highly intelligent professors and students. The last few months have been busy for him and especially the last few weeks as it came down to crunch time. I was amazed at his ability to pull all-nighters several nights in a row with 2-3 hours of quick naps in between, while still managing to work 8 hours a day! Let's just say I don't know what we would do without Red Bull. So, the weekend came and it was pure heaven. I got to do some much needed spring cleaning and re-organizing while Ryan slept and slept. It feels so good to have him reach this milestone. He has worked so hard and put in countless hours of study and research. It will certainly open up more doors as we continue to shape our future. I'm so proud of him and his accomplishment. Graduation will be May 8!

The bad news is that in March, my work pulled all divisions in to tell us that lay-offs would be inevitable and that unfortunately no one is safe. We were told they would be looking at all job functions and the number would be significant--anywhere from ten to twenty percent. Since knowing this, it has been a difficult and emotional time for everyone. I know for me, my mind has been overwhelmed with thoughts of losing my job and all that goes along with that including how it will affect my family, special friendships I've made with co-workers, and perhaps even a bit of my self-esteem. I am glad to have friends at work who are all going through this together. We talk a lot, cry a lot and also laugh a lot in order to deal with things. The other day, we had an ice-cream party where we made sundaes and sat around telling jokes and listening to Bob Marley (hence, the music on my blog currently). We also had a jackpot where for $.25 we could write our name in a time-slot. The one whose guess came the closest to date and time of lay-offs would win the jackpot. Guess who won? ME! $10 at least. So when is the big day, you ask? We were pulled into a meeting yesterday and it was announced to be Next Wednesday beginning at 9:00. Talk about heart wrenching! Many were crying. We were told "Wednesday is going to be very hard and that there is just no easy way". Today (Friday) we decided to clean out our desks of our personal belongings just to make things easier. I cried the whole way home. So, as we wait I guess all we can do is try to be somewhat productive and realize it's just a job and that everything really will be alright.

I will keep you posted. Until then, Happy Easter! I am hoping to get some pics posted as soon as I can.

Deseret News Article
Salt Lake Tribune Article