techrecovery | Howdy.

I can't believe it took me this long to find this community. Well past helpdesk burnout at this point...

May as well revisit my maiden LJ post here. Enjoy.

I'd sat down at my cubicle (notice, if you will, that I don't use the pretense of giving myself a "desk"), same as every other morning after willing myself into the building. I'd started off the day, taking the dreaded First Call.

"Hello, Thank you for calling the *** HelpDesk; this is (me). May I have your name?"

Within a half-hour, I'd already taken a mix of calls both easy ("I forgot my password") and not-so-easy ("I'm getting a 'runtime32dllwindowswillnowexplode' error!" Actually, that is pretty easy. Reboot, fool...) I'd barely noticed my two colleagues, guys who had started their employment the same day as I, being politely given cardboard boxes. For a split-second, I guess I chalked it up to a cubicle move.

It dawned on me right as the phone rang again.

I wrapped up the call over a few minutes, part of my mind remaining on the realization that my two buddies had been laid off. Shit...I'm next. I know it. No way in Hell they'll stop with just two. Everyone else is thinking the exact same thing; I can smell it. Or maybe it's just me. (Did I shower?) While still mentally cursing the bugginess of the call-management software, I start running through the Panic-Mode checklist: Should I clear my browser cache? I don't go to inappropriate sites...hell, I don't have time to go anywhere. Let's see...should I forward my "great job" e-mails to another address? Should I stop panicking altogether? Should I panic a little more?

After a few more calls with no taps on the shoulder, my eyes stop darting east to west...or at least slow down. I start thinking about how shitty the guys were probably treated; they were pretty good at the job. Their numbers were about the same as mine. None of us had gotten any inkling that positions were being cut. The last time I got laid off, the writing had been on the wall for at least two months. These guys didn't even get a smooch before getting...the treatment.

I then found myself trying not to indulge the other thought which had seeped in: this isn't exactly your dream job, buddy, and unemployment compensation would be easy to get...

I stopped myself before giving the notion any more attention. For one thing, you don't get health insurance when you're on the dole. For another, the last thing I need is a resume' even more scattered-looking than it is.

Things pretty much returned to normal after lunch. Familiar phrases were uttered on autopilot:

"No ma'am, your computer won't explode by turning off the power".

"Actually, sir, you need to RIGHT-click the icon."

"Icon. It's the little picture you click on to open the program."

"Oh, it's fine that you didn't reboot before calling. We're here to help."

Quitting time. I get to come back and do this tomorrow. I wish I weren't grateful for that...but I am.