bumps

for those of you who do not live in washington, we, like most universities across the nation, have been besieged with budget cuts and layoffs. for the last few months i have been really worried about keeping my job. i do not handle stress well, which is a drastic understatement. i silently freaked out about this for months. the good news? i didn't lose my job. for which i feel immensely grateful. the bad part? one of my great friends/co-worker did. actually she wasn't laid off, she was "bumped", which means that someone else was laid off and that person had more seniority than my friend. he/she was given the option of going on unemployment or taking my friends job. they made a hard choice. to make a gross understatement, this is a tough situation for all involved.

i feel horrible that i, not even for one small second, considered that it could happen to someone else. a friend, even. how self evolved is that? and though it doesn't make much sense, i also feel guilty that it wasn't me.

the next post will be more cheery. promise.