Middle Management Sucks Ass

A lot. My dad got laid off yesterday.

I knew this was coming. A couple of months ago my dad was telling me his people asked him to create some whole plan and he did, but then they wouldn't implement it, and a little bell went off in my head. I knew then. I could just feel it. On one of the blogs I regularly read, the guy had written about needing someone who does what my dad does. I asked my dad if I should send him the link to that blog entry. He laughed and said it wasn't needed.

But now it is. So today I sent him the link.

Here's the part that makes me sad: on Monday night my parents bought a dining room set. Not to replace an old one, but to have one. Last night they went back to cancel the order. The reason this makes me sad is that my dad was describing the dining room set to me, and he sounded excited and enthusiastic about it. He NEVER sounds that way. About anything. Not when my brother became a CPA. Not when he got into law school. Not when he passed the Bar. (I've never done anything to get excited about.) Not ever.

But my dad sounded so excited about this dining room thing that I feel sad it's not going to arrive at his house. I asked him how much it costs, and he told me. Too much for me to pay for by myself. $2,700

So I called my brother. I explained how excited our father sounded about it. Then I asked him "What if we got it for him?"
"For what?"
"For Father's Day. I could put in $1,000, and so could you, and Mommy could pay the remaining $700."
"Zoe, that's REALLY nice of you. REALLY. But I wasn't planning on spending $1,000 on Father's Day."
"Well, me either, but I never expected him to sound enthusiastic about anything."
"I'm sorry. It's a great idea, but I just don't have $1,000 right now for this."

I really hope nobody buys that dining room set and the price goes down over the next couple of months. And that my dad gets a new job quickly. Fuck.