It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

Like Dickens said, it was good and bad. I am referring to my tenure with Lithonia Lighting/Acuity Brands.

When it was Lithonia Lighting, it was a family of people who were working together to manufacture and distribute some of the best commercial lighting fixtures the world has seen. When it became Acuity Brands Lighting, the old, "grown up in the lighting industry" management slowly disappeared and the model changed to a big business. The sense of family went out of the company.

Through most of this, I spent nearly 37 years doing almost everything in IT. I was a computer operator, systems analyst, program developer, business analyst, and database engineer. I worked nights and weekends, sacrificed time with my family and friends, and generally gave my all for the company.

Wednesday of last week, they called me into a conference room with an HR representative, told me I was through working at AB, escorted me to my desk to get my coat, and then showed me the door. The whole process took less than 5 minutes.

I hope the folks who orchestrated the reduction in force last week can sleep well. I know that if I had to do it, I would do it considerably differently. Turning long time employees out like felons because the budget needs to be reduced is not a good way to convince your work force that they're working for a good company. It is also a good way to create a lot of needless animosity in the people being released.

My (former) boss was so upset with the way they handled my release, that he turned in his resignation on Monday. I wish him and his family the best in his new endeavors. In the interest of full disclosure, he was looking around before the RIF, but the way we were released was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Please don't worry about me. The severance was adequate, and on reflection, I feel like a freed slave.

As for what I will do now, I think I'm going to take a few weeks to get my head around my new situation, and decide if I want to retire into relative poverty, find a new position in IT, or seek employment in another line.

To those of you at AB who are reading this, I consider you all my friends, and deeply appreciate the time we had together. Working with you was an honor and a privilege.

Stay well.