Closing the Doors

:-( I am sad. This whole IHPA situation stinks. Today was my last day of work with Linda. It was her last day too :-( We had to pack up all of her things, lock the collection storage area doors, and then just walk away. It's not fair that all of those nice people are losing their jobs. And all of the people being laid off aren't just your run-of-the-mill employees--these are people who are passionate about preserving history, and each one of them put their whole heart into what they were doing. Now what will happen to all of the hard work they've done for years? As you can see here, I left a subtle statement on the whiteboard in the office I have been using at the IHPA building. Insult was added to injury today when the new "Deputy Director"--the snooty one with the big hair--showed up in Linda's office to "learn all about managing the collections." Seriously? Seriously. She's the one who is going to be in charge of "keeping an eye on things." Hearing this literally made me nauseous. First problem: this lady doesn't know the first thing about anything having to do with history--let alone the collections! Second problem: she expected to learn everything she needed to know in five minutes because she had to go have lunch with the director (which she does all day every day). Third (and worst) problem: having this new lady be the one to take over Linda's responsibilities is pretty much a slap in the face for Linda. My head almost popped off as I listened to the snooty lady trying to follow what Linda was telling her. Snooty was like, "Ohhhh, a database? What is that?" We can pretty much kiss the collections goodbye if Snooty is going to be the one looking after everything. So keep your eyes on e-bay for some nice artifacts over the next few weeks--that's probably where everything will end up.

I've been doing a pretty good job of keeping my emotions in check when I've been at work (I usually save the tears for the drive home), but today as I was helping Linda pack up her office, I couldn't hold it in anymore and I started to cry :-( Then I cried all the way home too. It's just so sad and unfair. Some of the IHPA employees and their friends held a protest this evening in front of the governor's mansion in Springfield. I would have gone, but I was too disheartened to do so--especially since Blago doesn't even live at the governor's mansion. I've realized the sad and sickening truth that Blago doesn't care--nor does anyone who could really do anything to help. So nothing is going to save the jobs and the sites. :-(

Greg has been so nice to make me happy when I've been sad about IHPA (which has pretty much been all of the time). The other day, Mr. Pumpkin Head was getting kind of mushy, so we removed his Pumpkin Head parts and took his mushy middle outside. We pretended that he was the governor and threw him high into the air, thoroughly enjoying the large SPLAT!!! he made when he hit the ground :-) Tonight I got some of my nervous energy out by raking leaves, then we burned the leaves and pretended like the governor was sitting in the middle of the fire :-) Greg has also been making some delicious meals--tonight he made some tasty BBQ pork chops! We are looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner with Linda and her family on Thursday. That will be a happy occasion even though the current state of affairs is quite a mess. I would not trade the last few weeks of working with Linda for anything!!! I learned more from her in five weeks than I did during a whole semester at school. Working with Linda and all of the other nice people at the sites has made me a better person, and I'm grateful for the new friendships I've gained.