The weather was bad, so I was forced to seek alternate forms of entertainment today.

So I went downtown to see my old mates, at the ad agency where I used to be an employee. It's almost Christmas, but you could hardly tell. In fact, five more people got laid off yesterday.

"Everyone calls what happened yesterday the 'thing'. People know about it, but they don't want to talk about it."

You can see the nervous jitter in their eyes. Even the accountants think that they can't hold on for much longer. When I left, there were 60 plus people in the office, and business was on the up. But I've always said that the current management will run this company into the ground. For the three years I was there, I've seen turnover rates of over 100% each year. I've seen people come and go, unable to take the stress and the slavery. On average, new recruits last for about 9 months. Everyone leaves with a bitter taste in their mouth. And this is what I told the CEO on my exit interview.

In the last 10 months since my departure, it's all been bad news. The economy goes into the tank, and the company is in such bad shape that the accounts were basically left to rot, management in complete disarray. The CEO picks this strategic time to jump ship, leaving the people who helped build his stature floundering. They lost three major accounts, and no new business is coming. Now, there are only about 30 of them still left.

Though I'm glad that my decision to leave was right, I'm still sad to see their faces of dejection. They worked hard, they really don't deserve this.

Such is life, isn't it.