Furrlough

So, it's been about two weeks since the big announcement at work. Things (meaning sales and the economy in general) haven't plateaued or turned around yet for the publishing industry and my company has begun making more drastic cuts and began laying people off.

One of the people working with me on our website is being let go and we lost someone in our cartography department. Company-wide they're letting 20 or so people go. So far, our division has only seen the 2 layoffs.

In addition to layoffs, our upper executives have taken another pay cut and have asked all employees to take one as well. Well, they didn't exactly ask; asking would imply that you actually had a choice and could choose to opt out. Oh, and they didn't exactly call it a pay cut either—officially, it's summer furlough. If you're going to call a pay cut a furlough to make it more appealing, they should call it furrlough—not only does that make it more appealing, but cute and furry too!

Basically they've "asked" all employees to take 6 unpaid days off between now and September and our paychecks for the next 6 pay cycles will be short a day. One furlough day is scheduled for the Monday after the 4th of July and another is scheduled to coincide with the Labor Day weekend, but the other 4 days we can schedule at will with our managers. The company expects to resume regular pay sometime in September.

So, seeing as how my 3-day weekend has turned into a 4-day weekend, I've decided to tack on another "furrlough" day to make it a 5-day weekend and I'll be heading out of town yet again. I'll be driving north again, this time to visit my mom and grandma in Oregon, and Scoob will be staying home with the kitties.

Mom has a plan for the weekend. Bing cherries are ripe, so we'll be heading out to the orchard on Friday to pick and eat sweet cherries right off the trees until we have purple poo. I think mom has a gardening project in our future too. She mentioned needing a truck to haul something home, so we'll make sure whatever it is will fit in the Subaru and do that. And yesterday morning she left a message on my phone that I should pack some grubbies so I don't ruin any nice clothes. Doesn't that just sound like a thrill-packed weekend? Maybe not thrill-packed, but it will be enjoyable and relaxing.

I'll be leaving just as soon as I quit typing and finish packing my duffle. So on that note… if I don't post again by Saturday, have a fantastic 4th.