Figured it out first

Way back when, I saw the movie The Crying Game with a college friend of mine. We had heard the hype and had deliberately plugged our ears LA LA LA CAN'T HEAR YOU when people were talking about the spoiler in the movie. Whatever it was, we wanted to experience it first hand.

So off to the theatre we went, purchasing popcorn along the way, but not drinks, because drinks meant possibly having to pee in the middle of the movie, and that wouldn't work at all. What if we missed the twist? No, no, no, we couldn't have that.

So, we sat watching the movie.

About half way through, I leaned over to my friend and asked, "Wouldn't it be funny if this girl is really a guy?" A very close friend had outted himself to me a few months before in a very uncomfortable way, so I was sorta primed for the thought that there were more cross-dressing, cross-gender people out there than I realized, and though I know and knew this was fine, I was still surprised (then, I rarely am now) when an outing happened.

Yeah, well, what do you know? That was EXACTLY the twist in the movie, and my friend was livid for my spoiling the movie for her. I was surprised I had guessed the twist, but not too shocked. My gaydar had been turned on for the first time, and hey, look at that, it was starting to calibrate itself.

This morning, I received an IM from a client. Receiving IMs from a client isn't surprising at all. What IS surprising was that the IM didn't come from the guy who was managing my work. It came from his boss.

The IM said, hey, you don't need to come in today, go ahead and work from home.

Now, that's kinda weird. I commented to Kris about how strange it was. EVERY client wants you to work in the office. Communication is 100 times better when you can turn to ask someone a question, or walk over to answer a question or see why someone is having a problem.

I wasn't sure what to do, and was unable to confirm my three meetings that day were cancelled, so I decided, eh, I'd head in anyway. As I left, I commented to Kris, "Yeah, this company is having layoffs today."

"Is your contract being cancelled?"

"I have no idea."

So, I drove up to the client's office. I went in, told my manager I was there, if the meetings were still on, sat down, and asked my friend, "So, is your company having layoffs today?"

"Why do you think they would tell me about these things?" my friend responded back.

Well, good point.

I wasn't there 10 minutes before everyone disappeared. Some people went to the right. Some people went to the left. In an area where there were twenty people working not 2 minutes ago, I was alone and wondering if maybe I shouldn't have come into the office. My manager's boss, the one who sent me the IM, came out to talk to me, and confirmed layoffs, why don't I just head home, since this is going to be awkward?

I confirmed that my friend wasn't being laid off. I confirmed that my manager was being laid off. I left.

The day was expected in its openness. Where I expected a stressful, intense day working, trying to catch up on the schedule with this client because of work from the other client, I have, instead, a relaxing day of catch up on projects. The schedule has been bumped out a few days because of today.

I think I'll go to Velocity, and exercise away some of this stress.