Going to work.......

"Bey dear, see you tonight" as it usually goes when you leave to go to work in the morning. You drive your car, or bicycle, to the job, where ever that may be, say "morning" to everybody on your way in. Log in, go thru your email or whatever you have to to. Have your first coffee. Do your job, until you get called it to the boss' office. "I'm sorry to say that today is your last day here, due to shortage of work, we will pay you until the end of today". Fortunately that did NOT happen to me. But 6 of my co-workers had it happen to them today. It has been a slaughterhouse the last to weeks. 64 people gone. 2 offices closed permanently (Parkville and Surrey).
Only 2.5 years ago, May 2008, I asked on the workload (when applying); no need to worry "we have 8 years if work (80000 tons of steel) in our portfolio". How things  change, right. End of 2008 the axe came down. General comment on this was, and still is, "this is Alberta, bust or boom. It will blow over soon". Sure, but when is soon?  Currently there are about 9000 houses for sale in and around Edmonton. Still they keep building like crazy. Are they that confident it will boom again, word is it will be worse than ever before. It's hard to believe, as a simple down to earth Dutch guy. Being laid off is really that easy over here, no permits. No nothing. Somebody will take over your duties. Bey bey.... Thruthfully, it's an emotional roller coaster. Not much fun currently. I am in survival-mode, take it one week at the time. After the events of this morning I decided to ask upfront about me, the reply "Don't worry Marco, your versatile. You have qualities we can use. You said, one year ago, you're are willing to go back on the tools (read Xsteel)". Did that simple remark, a year ago(!!!), saved my butt today? Looks like it.
"Hello dear" I said this evening when returning home, still on the job. But it's difficult to see the smile in life.