Good times, bad times

Not having endured an economic crisis as dour as the recession ravaging the country (and, no, neither 1973-74 or 1980-82 comes close, regardless of what the government numbers say), I've been taking every prudent step necessary to prepare for the worst. Credit cards were scissored into tiny little pieces months ago. I've yet to spend the money on gas or a hotel stay to visit my oldest son at UC Davis. We've taken our youngest out of after-school care and are leaving her to care for herself at home in the afternoon. And vacation time has been used not as an opportunity to relax, but as a bulwark against a possible job loss; I've been saving it up and have just about maxed out at 8 weeks. But it still feels like a losing battle, even though I'm far more fortunate than the millions of Americans who have lost their job the past two years.

The most recent bit of bad news came today, when my employer informed me that the pay cuts (and elimination of 401(k) matches and the spike in health insurance premiums) announced in January would continue. Indefinitely. The memo didn't quite use those terms, but that was the message, nonetheless.

The cost-saving measures "will be extended pending the sale of the Union-Tribune (expected to be finalized in April) and the new ownership’s evaluation of the cost structure in the current business environment," it read.

So now I'm looking at more ways to cut. To prepare for what sometimes seems like the inevitable.