Kayoh @ 190

They say that every airline pilot lives through at least one strike and one furlough.  I came within minutes of going on strike about five years ago, and yesterday the mailman was kind enough to deliver THE certified letter from the company stating that “due to economic times, high fuel costs, blah, blah, blah” that I will be furloughed sometime in the next eight months.  EIGHT MONTHS?????  They’re kidding, right? I realize that corporate America somewhere along the way has lost any heart (ethics) or loyalty (integrity) towards the “cost units” down on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder, but “sometime in the next eight months?”.  I’m having trouble wrapping my head around that.  “We don’t think we want you, but we don’t want you out there finding another job either.”  Wow, it feels like a few relationships I’ve had in my time!

My next task is to frame the furlough letter and hang it proudly on my “ME” wall because now, I am a REAL airline pilot.

How often in our lives does it feel like everyone in the world wants money from us?  This would be in addition to the daily struggle we face to not be completely torn apart in every direction. Perhaps my awareness of everyone wanting and expecting money from me is heightened solely because of the non-recession recession that we are in at the moment.

On top of all the usual suspects, I have noticed in the last week alone three requests for donations to various causes (very noble causes, I might add!), the hotel van drivers being more expectant than usual for their dollar tip (one actually started following me to make sure I gave it to him), as well as various other union and legal causes all wanting donations too. There are more, but thinking about them is too daunting!

What do we do- what do you do when you feel like the world is grabbing at your pocketbook?