From Out of the Blue, DB's Name Appears

The most remarkable thing just happened, bringing to mind the Butterfly Effect. In this, week two of being unemployed, I've been pondering again the legendary Darrell Bob Houston and going through the collection, archive, notes and correspondence I gathered last year. I haven't spoken about him and hardly thought about the project in months until the past week. This morning an email appeared, from a stranger and out of the blue, with Darrell Bob Houston in the subject line. The man had been DB's food stamp caseworker in the early 80's and didn't know DB had died until he read Tom Robbin's epilogue, "The Bill" in Jitterbug Perfume. He googled DB and found one of my posts from last year. The man only spent about a year in Seattle, but remembered DB, who he said always claimed to be a writer. Amazing that it should happen just at the time that DB has once again come so strongly to mind. Coincidence or sychronicity?

To update week two of unemployment--the postition I was offered was the one in the entire firm, I was sure not to take--possibly the highest turnover (intolerable conditions) and even less pay. After five years (three without benefits) and countless back to back 65 hour weeks, I got the 401k investment report for my pitiful retirement fund through the firm, and it appears that the entire $2,057.21 has been lost through their poor investment, leaving me with a $0 balance. It's all I had. Never will I step foot in an affluent, trendy, upscale corporate firm again.

In an attempt to resist the temptation to curl into a fetal position and cower under the covers, I've spent time (when not online searching for work--how can an adventurous woman have lived and worked for so long and still not fit a single job description??) taking Sadie for long, rainsoaked walks through countless parks, revisiting places from the past, reliving memories, taking pictures for flickr (started a new Tom Robbins group there: http://www.flickr.com/groups/aftrlife/ )and going to see the R. Crumb exhibit at the Frye Museum, which cheered me immensely. Emails from eager gossip mongers at the former workplace (Multinational Corporate Lawfirm from Hell--MCLH) have tapered off, and staving off feelings of isolation is a challenge. I eagerly look forward to my front row seat (!) at Cirque du Soleil next month and am unspeakably glad that I bought the ticket before my job went down in flames.

*The Perfume of Change - A Heady Scent

I watched in horror as my job (aka sole paycheck to paycheck livlihood) spun out of control and plummeted in flames. It was not a long fall, certainly, but deadly nonetheless. In terms of this blog, this was no gentle rain, but a personal tsunami of the highest magnitude. Since my last post, I've lost my job, suffered the mortification of being escorted from the firm for attempting to report being forced to put myself and the firm at risk of liablity by misrepresenting myself to a major client and possibly compromising that client's confidential files. This is one of the largest, wealthiest and most powerful firms in the world. I am now facing the grim future of trying to find a way to pay the enormous debt incurred during my foray into academia, astronomical rent for sub-standard living, and bills--alone, unarmed, without a net. On Friday, I will suffer the undescribable humiliation of going back while they present me with the "opportunity" to apply for another position "no guarantees you will want it or be accepted...we can't give you any details about the position at this time."

*"Danger is the perfume of change." ~Tom Robbins~ Villa Incognito