It seemed to me that virtually every day of 2011 was just a little bit worse than the one before. There was the Japanese tsunami and subsequent nuclear power plant disaster, severe flooding in Thailand, the death of Steve Jobs and Elisabeth Sladen, and the continuation of our miserable, stagnant economy.
In my little corner of the world things weren't much better. There were lots of minor annoyances, like crippling computer problems, my favorite store Borders filing for bankruptcy and closing, a part time job that became more trouble than my full time one and various and sundry other irratations.
Then there was the big bombshell that 2011 dropped in my lap: I lost my job. The bank at which I worked had been having financial trouble for a couple of years and at the end of July they finally threw in the towel. The FDIC swooped in like the vultures they are, closed us down and put us up for sale. If they'd have sold us to a bank with no presence in town, things probably would have turned out OK. Instead the FDIC sold us to the highest bidder, which was a rival bank with branches next door to every one of ours. It was the absolute worst possible scenario. The rival bank swallowed us up like the Borg, wiping us out as if we never existed.
I guess in a way I was lucky– unlike many of my fellow employees, I was allowed to stay on in my position from August until the end of December. As part of the deal though, I had to help my old bank merge with the new one. Staying on kept me employed for an extra five months, but it was like my executioner forcing me to dig my own grave. I was very literally being paid to eliminate my position and place of employment. Not a good situation in which to find oneself.
I did manage to find a part time job at the end of December. It's not a bad job, but it's a significant pay cut and of course there's no insurance, which is a big worry to me. I'm hopeful that more gainful employment will come along soon.
I'm also hopeful that 2012 will be a better year for me and the world at large. I mean it has to be, right? Please tell me it has to be. I don't see any way it could get any worse. Unless that Mayan thing turns out to be true...
