So, Mate’s job has been sort of wonky this week. The company is laying off around ten percent of it’s staff, and although Mate is safe (for this round, at least–neither of us ever suffer from overconfidence in our abilities) it has taken a toll on him. Yesterday I went to an impromptu lunch (at a brew pub!) for one of Mate’s best friends, who had been escorted from the building by, as Mate described them, “Anna Kendrick clones from Up In The Air.“
I talked to all his friends–including a new and aspiring writer, whom I advised. (He was so proud–he brought copies of his book to sell to his friends. Self-pubbed crime noir–he’s a brave man!) And I had a few words with Mate’s boss, who is a lovely woman.
“How you doing, hon?”
She looked at me shakily. “It’s been a crappy week.”
That summed up everybody’s assessment, and I’ve been extra special careful of Mate this week. It hurts losing your friends to corporate attrition, and we’ve made tentative plans for what should happen if he’s forced to relocate to the Bay Area, where cost of living is roughly equivalent to your first born sold on the black market for parts, and that’s just a deposit.
So tonight, when he took us all to a Sac Republic game, and ran into a bunch of his work and soccer friends completely by accident, it was a good night.
And I actually watched the game.
And our kids got Dippin’ Dots–and out of the house. The out of the house was key– I’ve had a couple of editing deadlines this week, and Mate has been sort of tuckered as well. Today was a napping day for the both of us, so getting the kids into the out was a moral and parental victory.
The Sacramento Republic lost– 0-1– but we enjoyed the game.
And as a whole, it was a much needed break.
(But not conducive to writing a ficlet this weekend, dammit! I’ll try tomorrow, or next week or something. Sorry!)
Out!
