While the real Americans will be sitting with their families today, eating and eating and eating, I will be visiting a chemical plant. Ah, the way things turn out. I'm going with a colleague of mine, Dieter, who is very excited to witness my first "close up" experience in the wonderful world of industrial chemicals. I can't really say that I share his excitement, but I am glad that I won't be going alone. Even Frankfurt's mayor will be there, although that isn't saying much, since that poor woman seems to have to attend every event in the region.
The thing is, the company who's dedicating the plant (do you think they'll knock a bottle of champange on the side of the plant?) also announced on Monday that they'll be laying off over 2,000 people worldwide. Since I'm from the trade press, I presume that it would be frowned upon should I choose to ask any question on the subject. We get to ask questions like, "The third quarter was a great success. How did you do it?" Yawn. There will most likely be some real journalists there to ask the questions that I can't. Hooray for them.
Anyway, it is Thanksgiving, and while I am not crazy about the idea of cozing up to the industry (or, as my Pres. Bush-lovin' uncle would say, the Man), I can say that I am grateful to have a job at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment