"This is never easy." Why Don is always in the basement.

Thursday, May 11 turned out to be a momentous day.  For me anyway. Around 11:00, the HR person came to my office and asked me to come with her. That in itself seemed a little weird in that normally, she called or sent me an e-mail. Normally it pertained to someone's tardiness (not mine) or some issue with annual leave or sick time (sometimes mine).

This time it ended a 16 year association with my employer. I walked into the back conference room which has a long table with seating for at least 20 people. The president and CFO of the company sat together across from me and asked me to sit down. The HR person sat at the head of the table.

Clearly this did not look good.

The president said, "this is never easy."

That is the corporate equivalent of a parent saying, "this is going to hurt me, more than it's going to hurt you."

The HR person handed me a document which is confidential so I can't tell you anything about it. I will tell you that the title of the document is "General Release and Separation Agreement." In other words, scram.

I suggested that there could be a better way to sever this long standing relationship other than loading my personal possessions into a Banker's Box® and leaving forever.

These are the personal items that I took. 

This suggestion did not carry any weight whatsoever. This meeting did not include negotiation. Take the paper. See a lawyer if you'd like and get back to us with a signed agreement or don't.

Just don't come back. And give your phone to the IT person who will reset to its original setting and thereby deleting all contacts, pictures, notes or whatever else I had stored on that.

Confidentially and all.

I did insist on taking these paintings by Peggy Shearn. 

"So What"

"So What" is a painting based on phrase used by therapist that I saw 4 years ago. I was dreading the 2013 Housewares Show. Never a big fan of McCormick Place.

"Homage to Miro" (Currently on loan)

It has now been a month since the events of May 11. Long enough so that my friends and family have heard enough about it but not so long that I don't harbor a nagging question.

How did I not see it coming?

Several days after the event, I received a package with the balance of my "personal effects." Here is a video of what I had left behind.