Thursday April 23, 2009 
Thursday April 23, 2009 There's Gotta be a Pony in There Somewhere
I've sat down to write this post a number of times, just to find myself staring at the screen with nothing to say. While out walking my lovely dog today, however, I finally figured out how I was feeling.
Some years back, I did some volunteer work with the Guide Dogs for the Blind organization. As I'm sure you know, the organization looks for good families to foster their puppies for the first two years of the dogs' lives, during which time the dog is trained and tested and trained some more. For those pups who have passed all their tests, there comes a time to meet their adoptive parents, blind people who are eagerly anticipating working with and getting to know their new guide dogs. The annual graduation day celebration is bittersweet. There's joy on the faces of the recipients, and both tears and pride on the faces of the foster parents who must say goodbye.
So what on earth does this have to do with the Oracle announcement this week?
That change is hard. That some of us are changing surroundings, colleagues, homes. That skills and knowledge learned in one environment will now be tested in another. That new opportunities await all of us, whether we are going to be part of the new organization, or if like me and many of my colleagues, we likely shall not. That saying goodbye to something that is so dear to you is very, very painful, but that life moves.
I've used this quote here before, and I'm going to use it again. In a famous Pogo cartoon, the great philosopher possum said,
“The misery of uncertainty is far worse than certainty of misery.” (Walt Kelly)
What we have been through as a company over the past month has been just plain dreadful. Rumors, innuendos, nastiness that has been devastating to our employee morale. Well, we're just about at graduation day, and at least we know where we're going and why. That's so much better than where we were just a week ago. When I talk to friends and colleagues, there's huge relief in their voices – although a job search may await in a tough market, as least the guessing games are over.
Posted by terrymckenzie ( Apr 23 2009, 08:00:00 AM PDT ) Permalink Comments [1]
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What a great analogy for this transition we're about to embark on! Thank you, you've helped influence my perspective for the better.
Posted by HT on May 12, 2009 at 09:57 AM PDT #