Anniversary Introspective

One year ago today, my world changed. Some of this, I've written about before, but it's the one-year-mark that makes me retrospective again. On February 27, 2001, Disney announced the now-(in)famous "Voluntary Separation Program" (affectionately known as the "VSP"). I remember it well. I was driving to a meeting on the other side of property when I received an alpha page, that I needed to return to my office building for an important (different) meeting. A quick succession of phone calls and alpha pages later assured me I could get the download later. At the meeting I did attend (you following this?), they read the announcement, so I was up-to-speed.

At the time, I was in a temporary position, which I was sure would be immediately eliminated. Many sleepless nights that next month or so, and then came the "do-I-or-don't-I" of volunteering to "separate." Since that time, I saw my workload double (as my sole peer did volunteer and left the company), I survived the Involuntary Separation, I finally became permanently statused, I saw my projects dwindle and stagnate in approval-channels, and finally I was "temporarily" reassigned to another department, which, ironically, seems less busy than the one I left—the one that didn't have enough work to keep a full staff. (I now hear rumors that they aren't planning on bringing us back on until at least after July sometime.) And to add to the irony, my salary previously was billed out to the departments for which I was doing work. Now that there is no "work," that department is paying the full amount—and the department I'm in gets my labor for free.

Still, I've become something of a beliver of the things-happen-for-good philosophy of late. I'm quite pleased to be working where I am—provided thisdepartment doesn't get shut down too—and actually am not exactly counting days to my return "home."