Just a mere few weeks ago, I was the one in dire straits, having no income and lackluster job prospects.Unemployed and denied benefits, it was looking grim there, for a while.
Ric on the other hand was rather polite about my predicament (for Ric) but he had an unspoken air about him that suggested "well, there you go again" and voiced clearly spoken terms of "don't look at me for bailing you out", and "don't even think of asking to move back in".
Now I have an apparently secure and good paying job and have a bit of extra cash in savings since I am continuing to keep expenses low and haven't put myself into a credit hole during my time out of work. And Ric, the fiscal "conservative" (so he thinks) with a long-term job is finally feeling the waves of consequences that have come crashing down on the employees of his beleaguered company, non-other than the notorious bailout recipient AIG.
Ric is 99% sure he will be fired this Friday. The complaint of one prospect caller who was handled a tad indelicately (according to Ric's account of the story) by Ric since the caller was rude and uncooperative apparently found its way to the attention of someone important at AIG. Someone who is under pressure to reduce costs including slashing labor costs.
Ric, a tenured eight-year employee, makes a chunk more due to annual raises than a brand-new rookie (if they had new rookies that is, business has plummeted, of course, so they haven't been hiring for months). It's this factor, as well as the fact that his unit is finalizing its new ownership deal under the Farmer's brand. And he thinks it's a lot of "out with the old, in with the new" house cleaning mentality.
So Ric and I did what we always do whenever there's some significant life-changing event that occurs for either of us. We went out drinking. I picked up the tab...$103 with the tip. Ain't I a nice guy? And yes, I heard you gasp, we can easily drop a C-note in one evening!
Here's the kicker. Despite all the stress and drama that we'd been through while we were roommates, he told me he's posting an ad on Craigslist to rent out my old room, and suggested, if I wanted...
Oh no! I graciously told him. I like it where I am.
Poor A/C, septic tank issues and teensy-tiny size aside, it has one thing I am totally infatuated with...freedom.