Let's call it a restructuring

When I got to work Monday morning I was called into an office. And that usually doesn't mean good news. It turns out that the Eagle is eliminating eight positions across the entire company and mine is one of them. After I got the news, I was given the option of going home for the rest of the day. I elected to go home, even though it was very hard for me to leave considering someone else was going to be stuck staying late working the shift that I was supposed to work. On top of that, there was a vendor working on one of the servers that hasn't come up since the power outage last week. Those of you who know me understand how hard it was for me to leave and let someone else deal with the responsibilities that were mine. But I knew I was going to cry and I didn't want to do it on the premises. So I left. I am happy to say that I got out of the building without shedding a single tear...but not very far down the street before the dam burst.

By the time I got home I was doing much better. The tears dried up and I decided to escape from everything for a while and I met some friends at the Sedgwick County Zoo to keep my mind off of work or lack thereof. I learned some things while I was there.

There's nothing like advice from a couple of three-year-olds to help me keep things in perspective. Hailey and Bella showed me how to keep on hanging in there, even when things get tough and I want to let go.

The giraffes taught me that it's OK to stick your neck out and try something new. This job elimination will open up new possibilities for me if I just have the courage to step out of my comfort zone.


This goose with the slightly off-kilter beak shared with me the finer points of begging for food, which might come in handy if a job doesn't materialize soon enough.

And the chimpanzees, well, they showed me some things that aren't fit to print. Trust me, they're things I'd never do and didn't even want to photograph.

I went back to work on Tuesday with a new attitude. So many people in the building have offered me their support. It's humbling, really, to have so many co-workers stop and ask how I am or tell me how much they'll miss me. I won't forget any of you and I take all of those wishes and those words of encouragement with me as I move into this next chapter of my life. Honestly, I'm optimistic about my future. I will have some time (thanks to a severance package) to re-charge my batteries while doing some jobs around my house. I really would like to step out of the technology field and get into something else. I'm not sure right at this moment what that is, but I'm positive that I'll know it when I find it. So after May 2nd, I'll be looking for my next adventure. Thanks to my friends at the zoo, I'll know just how to go about it.