The recession we had to have...

How could anyone forget those great Paul Keating ads!!... This is the recession AUSTRALIA had to have... well it seems we're having another one, and noone has felt it harder then in NYC... Honestly, I don't really understand how it happens, the money must be somewhere, right? someone must be hiding it under their floorboards or in there matress... money changes hands all day everyday, how all of the sudden could it just dissappear? (besides into bernie madoff's pockets...) Then the governments around the world creat a 'stimulus package', where do they pull that money from?! does it actually even exist in physical form or does it just get allocated on paper... do they just print more money and throw it in to the mix?? whatever the situation by the looks of it it isnt getting better any time soon...

As I walk to work everyday down Broadway in Soho, a strip of overpriced, expensive yet beautiful, massive (like you've never seen massive, I'm talking shops with escalators...) stores are slowly closing their doors as they are hit by the current 'situation'. People seem to be losing money left right and center... and depression is setting in... Right now I think I have more friends out of work then in work.. people have had their salaries halved, or have been asked to do just 3 days a week work (of course they are still expected to complete 5 days worth...) one friend described her company's process similar to an Australian Idol eviction show... on the Monday the whole company received an email saying that 20% of the company's staff will be fired on the Friday... after spending the whole week sleepless worried what would happen the Friday arrived and each employee was called into an office. Her turn came up, she walks into the room with her two bosses behind the desk (talk about daunting!) 'XX, thanks for coming, please take a seat', 'XX you are NOT fired today... you are safe for another two months!' she started laughing, could you imagine, she said they were so serious, and judge like... anyway it is still terrible, now she has two months of sleepless nights!! The process of firing staff in New York is so clinical... how to they pick who they are going to fire? It's like every company now feels it their right to fire people because everyone else is doing it 'so lets shed half our workforce just cos we can' ... what a great time to get rid of those that are expensive or useless or both...

What just a few months ago would be a big night in the city, dinner, drinks at a variety of bars and maybe a concert, comedy show or cabaret, many of my friends are taking the eat-in approach, I'll meet you at the bar but I'll eat at home... all in an effort to save money... thankfully I have my job... and I'm still having a blast, but I wish everyone else could still be gainfully employed so we can have those fun nights again...

It is strange when you live in another city as an expat, weirdly all your friends are from your home country as you have a connection, they understand where you've come from, they understand how it is for you to live here, it is easier to befriend them and you just connect better then you do with the locals... on the one hand it is great, an immediate social network of friends like yours back home, on the other hand, your new found family of friends is somewhat transient... here for a limited time, working on their own agendas, its great when you hang out together, but the bond you form is so easily broken... they could leave any day... and with our visas in this job market this is more likely sooner rather then later!

wow, what a negative post.