2002-08-15 - 8:00 p.m. ziggy played guitar... I haven�t written all week due to my empathy for my panicked coworkers making me sick to my stomach. You see, I put all my stress in my stomach. This means stress=I want to throw up. I�ve been this way at least since college. This is why I nearly wasted away to nothing whilst going through my divorce. I have found though that a girl can�t live off of wine and lattes alone� I have resorted to force feeding myself bacon egg and cheese bagels on the mornings I lack appetite since they should have enough calories to keep me going for the day�It�s really a sad day when bacon doesn�t make me happy. My current bout of nausea is caused by our most recent and impending layoffs. I go to work each day and wait for word that someone else I know has been let go. Coworkers shun HR colleagues in the hallways. People flinch when they hear several email chimes in unison, sure it�s a management email about the tough decisions ahead or, worse yet, new ones just made. It�s mighty unpleasant in my formerly happy cubefarmland. A senior manager I highly admired, and who was responsible for much of my most interesting project work, was let go on Monday. The loss of this leader caused much sadness, anger, and hopelessness. Many coworkers started cleaning out their cubes, taking home personal belongings �just in case.� I went home Monday night feeling completely drained� and made luscious brownies and six dozen star and moon-shaped almond lemon cookies (from a Marcella Hazan recipe). I brought these treats in and passed them out to make everyone feel better. One coworker paused, cookie on his lips, and asked, �This isn�t a goodbye cookie, is it?� He waited for me to assure him it was not before he�d take a bite. So, work has been hell all week. However, I�ve been blessed with some pleasant distractions post-work all week. I was able to meet up with a visiting diarylander at The Hemlock Tavern on Tuesday night and enjoy some pleasant conversation and a lovely pint of Anchor Steam. This made me want to contact all the Toronto and NYC diary-writers I regularly read and see if any would let me sleep on their sofas so I could flee this City for the weekend to get away form this stress� Last night�s distraction was hearing David Bowie sing, among other oldies, �Ziggy Stardust� at the Area festival. A friend�s boy bagged out at the last minute so I was able to go as her replacement date. Bowie�s voice was in fine form, and he was silly, playful, and so very happy. It was a wonderful way to take my mind off the impending doom. Also note, he is *still* a major hottie. I have much more I want to write, but I am exhausted. After my laundry finishes, I am crawling into bed� any comments? (3 so far) previous - next recently on almostgoldsf... in defense of an email box I came to do battle with SPAM - 2008-05-17 hello 2006 - 2005-12-31 Happy Thanksgiving - 2005-11-14 bon voyage - 2005-11-05 October already? - 2005-10-09