Friday, December 5, 2008 at 3:04 pm
The floor is sticky with blood
The newsroom is not a pretty place — and by newsroom, I mean the imaginary one we work in at TIME, which is actually a collection of flourescent-lit offices with about as much Hollywood panache as, well, a collection of flourescent-lit offices. We reporters are not a queasy people — and by reporters I mean the staff writers and editors and researchers who put out our magazine.
But the day after a mass layoff, we are all a little traumatized at the sight of all the blood on the newsroom floor.
The names are still emerging and have yet to hit the outside press (as of 2:46 p.m. on Dec. 5, anyway, I saw nothing on Gawker or Romenesko). There seems to be some question about whether all the people on the list even know they've been booted. My colleagues report a feeling of doom and dread among the laid off and the left behind.
That contrasts with the collective mood among those of us who've volunteered to go. We're exchanging congratulatory e-mails and phone calls, many beginning with: "Whoo hoo!" I'm not saying we're glad to leave an institution we love. It's more complicated: we're glad to be free of the tension and fear that accompany beheadings, and we're excited at the prospect of new opportunities.
Speaking for myself, my elation is coupled with worry, of course; how can we not react to news of 533,000 jobs lost in November, or when economists call the job market "almost indescribably terrible"? But there's plenty of time for the reality of unemployment to sink in. Let me enjoy the sweet taste of freedom. It tastes like wine. Is there wine?
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Lisa Takeuchi Cullen is a New York-based staff writer at TIME. She writes about workplace, business and society trends for the magazine and TIME.com. Read more
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Friday, December 5, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Lisa,
I've been a somewhat long time reader of your blog, "Work in Progress". I've followed your posts every day and when you took your extended leave to go tend to your mother; I constantly checked back to see if you had posted anything. While I am saddened at the thought that one of my only blogs that I read consistently is going away; I wish you the best in life and a lifetime of happiness. Hopefully you will pick up a column somewhere so we (your readers) can once again enjoy the writings of a great blogger.
Best of luck!
Saturday, December 6, 2008 at 12:40 am
Lisa, Good for you for opting out of the tremendous stress that comes with the bloodbath of layoffs.
All the best, and I hope you enjoy this precious time with your young family, especially your new baby! I just resigned from my job a month ago myself and am staying home with our son, 4, and daughter who turns 2 tomorrow. We really can't afford it. Me resigning cut out 50-60% of our income, but I had to make a decision for my health and our family. We've cut expenses and are using all the resources we have to make ends meet. It's scary, but I know I did the right thing, and that we'll be okay. You'll do fine too.
As a working mother, new stay-at-home mother, former journalist and whatever else that I am, I have so enjoyed reading your blog. I link to it from my blog because it's one of my favorite things to read on the Web. You are hilarious, honest, such a good writer, so descriptive and a person people want to get to know.
Your blog is something that I have looked forward to reading because it is always entertaining, insightful and fun. It is inspiring and so are you.
Please keep writing a blog of some kind for your readers to follow. Let us know where to find you online.
Again, all the best to you and your family.
Sunday, December 7, 2008 at 3:10 am
Oh Lisa....you will be missed. Please keep in touch!
Monday, December 8, 2008 at 5:11 pm
All the best to you and your family, Lisa. I have found your blog a pleasant break from my day and rather informative to the world around me, outside these walls.
If you start a new blog on your own please let us (or, at least, me) know
Monday, December 8, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Lisa, when is your last day? We'll miss you dearly!