Sleepless in Hamilton

It’s been 10 years since I finished school- Last week I was writing to a friend of mine and I mentioned

“I also realize that I have gone through a hell a lot over the past 10 years and am quite happy at where I am in life. Very few regrets”

Its true- I am very glad as to how the last decade had turned out – Quite a few personal highs (I am no world beater but am happy with some of the things that I have done) and some lows- but nothing has been soul-shattering. Just as I finished reminiscing, a mate of mine pinged me to find out if I was ready to attend what is now widely referred as “The Meeting”. We were supposed to have a business update that morning- A meeting which big boss addresses once a quarter and we were expecting it to be along the lines of the previous 2 meetings where he tells us – There is a lot of madness in the market and the financial power houses are struggling to keep up but still we are doing reasonably well- However, we do not know what’s in store and do not want you to believe any of the rumors that are doing the rounds”. Most of the sane ones think this exercise is a waste of time as he is not telling us anything new and is only sowing the seeds for more rumors as people start reading in between lines.

Rather reluctantly we went for the meeting- boss had a rather serious look on his face and the news wasn’t too good- We had decided to let go people and this could be as early as next week. So after weeks where most of the company was in denial- (like an ostrich with its head firmly under the ground and believing the world is dark) we were brought down to reality. We didn’t know how many people were going and more importantly who were the unlucky ones. The process was going to be a long and painful one- At least it will seem long as we had a weekend in between and a lot of negative energy in the system. Ideally, I would have it as quick as ripping a band-aid and be done with it- But I would also like to be a millionaire and marry Ms Jolie but I don’t think god concurs.

I was also thinking that it would be a huge dent on my rather fragile ego if I was on the list- because in my not so humble opinion I think I deserve to stay- but that’s not how it works- it will have to be a combination of whose accounts are doing well/performance of the individual/the whole Bermudian vs non-Bermudian thing (rightfully so – I have come here to make a living and the locals should get preferential treatment in a crisis situation- It’s not like I am inventing a cure for cancer- I am just an accountant and there are enough people on the face of earth who can do my job). I have had enough sleepless nights since last week and believe you me I have even seen big boss lie next to me in my bed (in my dreams obviously- you naughty perverts). The whole thing is just bloody scary- I don’t even want to think about being without a job in these troubled times.

Some one once said - A recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression is when you lose your job- Sounds right to me

Cheers
S

PS: The only positive out of the whole sleepless nights is I stayed up to watch A R Rahman collect his Oscar and rather strangely I haven’t been able to get the smile off my face. Congratulations son- You have done us all proud- Jai Ho