My job is on the fritz at the moment.
Like everyone in the country and the world right now, my work situation is screwy. Two weeks ago, all the programmers at my company were placed on a 2 week unpaid furlough due to crash flow problems. Last week, on pay day, all sorts of madness happened. I’m a permalancer so I’m in a fairly delicate position to begin with. No benefits, no unemployment, and I have no idea when I’m gonna be paid or not. It’s not the easiest place to be in but it works for me, to some degree. Last week, come pay day, all the programmers (and the people who are still at the company operating at a temporary reduced salary cap) kinda freaked out. Some went in to pick up paychecks to be told that they were mailed (even though they weren’t). Others were confused. I just sat around and was pleasantly surprised to find that I did receive a check in a mail. I didn’t expect that.
Today, I discover that some programmer’s had their checks bounce. Others were told that their checks had been mailed when, in reality, they had not and they were instead being held because our boss “had a family medical emergency” or some such. One of my coworkers called me up today to talk about work non-payment stuff. I was walking home from the gym (I’ve been to the gym everyday during my furlough after avoiding the place for 6 months). It was raining. He asked me about my wedding planning. He’s been married for five years and has a little one in the oven that is due in a few months. I told him all our big stuff had been booked – the venue, the reception hall, the photographer, etc. We’re just waiting for a few months before we get busy with decorations and all that.
He knows my fiancee and I are going to pay for it. And with all the shenanigans at my work, he’s aware that money is just going to be a problem. But at the end of the call, he said something that I found very touching. He said that I have the rest of my life ahead of me to make money and that I should just enjoy the time with my fiancee now as much as I can because this only comes around once. He doesn’t mean go into wild debt to throw a party or anything. He merely means to not stress too much, to relax, to enjoy being engaged, and to look forward to getting married to my special gal.
In this economy, that’s good advice for every groom.
😀