Well today was D-Day, or maybe L-Day for last day, layoff day, liberation day? All that was left to do was go into the office, turn in my stuff (laptop, security FOB, office key, company credit card, and badge) and say my final goodbyes. I didn't know how I was going to feel as I was driving into the office. I was wondering if I should have brought tissues in case I was a bawling mess as I drove home. Or should I have downloaded Kool & The Gang's Celebration? What was going through my head as I got off the highway and took the backway into the office was "lordy I'm not going to miss this drive and this stupid winding street and it's stupid 25mph speed limit and these people that leave their dog tied up outside all the time and that damn pothole which I swear has been there for 13 years..." Oh you get the picture. So I felt like my attitude was one of positivity (real word? not sure) and looking on the bright side so I took that as a good sign.
It was bittersweet. It was sad. It was free-ing!
So the first to-do on the list was to get online and file my unemployment claim. Ummm, you'd think this would be a fairly straightforward and self-explanatory process. Yeah, not the case. Now I'm not saying that I'm the smartest ball in the pit but I really do feel sorry for someone trying to navigate this process who is not operating on as many brain cells as me. I first spent 5 minutes completing the online application for the state of KS. After getting to the final page and hitting Submit, I was informed that I could not file online due to some of my answers and must do it via phone. Okay doke, here we go entering 1 for Yes and 9 for No (tricky of them huh?) After a good 20 minutes of this I was told to wait to speak to a Claim Representative. Another 5 minutes and I got to speak to Amy, a hard-working gal that did not suffer fools (or really anyone else) gladly. She tells me that since all of my wages were earned in the state of Missouri that I did not qualify for Kansas unemployment. As I paused in stunned silence, letting it sink in that a good 30 minutes had just been wasted, I come up with this brilliant gem..."well my HR department said I could since I live in Kansas!" Amy immediately apologized and said my claim would be moved to the top of the processing list. NOT! What she said was "No." Oh Amy of little words, gotta love you. I'll give her this, she did offer to give me Missouri's phone #.
Onto Missouri's unemployment website. I filled out all of the boxes, hit Submit, and was directed to a page that gives me a confidence level of 50/50 on whether my claim went through. Not once was I asked to say how long I'd been with my employer. Or how much they paid me. Just that I would receive a determination letter in the mail. Want to take dibs on how long this is going to take?!
So that is day 0, my last day of work with the company I've been with for 13 years. These last 2 weeks since getting the "your job is eliminated" news has been like a divorce or death. I grieved and cried. I acted like a 3 year old and threw THIS ISN'T FAIR temper tantrums. I got angry. I felt relief. I felt panic. And as of right now, I feel happy....and unemployed.
The plan is to take the month of August off and just relax. Wrap my head around the fact that I have to stop saying "we" when talking about my previous employer. Of course I'll keep my eyes open for great opportunities and take advantage of the resume writing services provided in my severance package. But for the most part I'll be spending the next several weeks at the pool, maybe working out daily, and possibly volunteering to walk dogs at the neighborhood shelter.
Tune in, if you'd like, to see how I'm handling life after layoff and take bets on how long a family of 2 adults and 2 dogs can live off unemployment and severance pay!
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