Monday, September 28, 2009

In the News

I surprised to read that my former company was acquired today. I never would have pictured the combination of those two companies (and apparently a lot of people in the blogosphere agree with me). What also struck me is I had recently been offered a job there, but I decided on my current company. If I had taken the offer, would I have been out of a job soon after this announcement? For now, I've been reading the Internet about the acquisition and discussing with former co-workers (including Mike) about the news. They were recently going to head back into Federal government contracting and I wonder what this means for that division now.

I spent seven years there and met a lot of great people during my time. I worked there in my late 20s/early 30s. Mike and I didn't meet there, but he helped me land a job which helped springboard me to where I am today. We were engaged soon after I started and many of our co-workers attended our wedding. We're still friends with quite a few people from there and we keep in touch. Although I was a little bitter when I left (my division had been acquired by another company that let my group go), I have a lot of happy memories from that period of my life.

It will be interesting to see what happens next and whether the company name will be a thing of the past.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Another One Lost

Patrick Swayze died last night from pancreatic cancer. I have a special place in my heart for him because he's related to me somewhere on my mom's side. My great-aunt is an avid genealogist and she discovered the relation just after Dirty Dancing to everyone's shock and surprise (and glee). She didn't know who he was, but the young ladies certainly did. At every reunion afterwards, we wondered whether he might attend one but he never did. I don't think he was ever really invited, but wouldn't that have been cool?

Patrick's star never really rose above his 'Dirty Dancing' or 'Ghost' days, but he had a good career and didn't have public meltdowns or stints in rehab like so many celebrities today. My heart goes out to his family and his wife of 33 years (you don't see much of that these days, either). May he rest in peace.