Hit The Bricks

I found out at the beginning of October that I was being laid off from World Resources Institute. For reasons far out of my control (but which anyone could see coming) our funding was constricted due to world politics and ongoing institutional challenges that weren’t addressed over years of rapid growth. My position, lofty as it sounds, became redundant, and my tenure made me expensive, so it was pretty clear I was on the chopping block. This seems to be a common issue with Gen X professionals in middle management—we’re too experienced and expensive to keep but haven’t ascended to the C-level to become bulletproof. They don’t offer a severance package, but they’re keeping us RIF’d folks on until December 1, and we keep our healthcare until December 31, so I’ve had some breathing room to get my affairs in order, polish the resume, and start blasting it out as much as possible. After speedrunning through the first three stages of grief—I spent all of 30 seconds on denial, five minutes…