Want to know why we left Edmonton?
It's because my husband lost his job there two years ago.
January 26, 2016 (Tuesday). Ford went home on lunch time, as usual. But when he mentioned that two officers from their Saskatoon head office were in their office, I suddenly felt nervous. Alam ko may male-layoff na naman. Marami-rami na rin kasing nalay-off the past months, yung iba matatagal na sa company saka matataas din ang puwesto.
In less than an hour after he left the house to go back to work, I received a shocking message from him:
"na-lay off ako." Biglang umakyat ang dugo ko sa ulo. I was hoping na nagbibiro lang siya, pero alam kong hindi. Hindi siya nagbibiro ng mga ganyang bagay. Saka alam kong may problema na sa office nila, wala na silang masyadong projects. I just didn't expect na male-layoff siya ahead of other employees. You see, he's the MOE (most valuable employee) in the office. He's the owner's "right hand" in Edmonton Office (that owner unfortunately died just four months prior). Akala ko mala-last man standing talaga siya sa opisinang yun. Yun din ang akala niya.
It was a world-shattering text message. Sobra ang takot ko. Ang nareply ko lang:
"Paano na tayo?" I remember crying so hard while waiting for him to come home. My then one-year old son was somewhat aware of what's happening. He quietly sat on my lap and hugged me while I was sobbing.
What made the situation worse was that my parents-in-law were already in our house that time and in three days, Ford's sister from California and brother from Qatar (and his family) are also coming for vacation. Ang gara talaga ng timing.
Ewan ko ba pero parang nase-sense ko na rin na mawawalan ng work ang asawa ko. Just a week before it happened, nag-blog pa ako on
how scary the Canadian economy was na that time. Alberta was badly hit by recession because the prices of oil continued to drop in the world market. Fully dependent ang economy ng Alberta sa oil kaya talagang bagsak na bagsak ang probinsya.
My husband is a licensed Professional Engineer (a Geotechnical Engineer to be exact) at talagang apektado ang industry nila. Bagsak ang ekonomiya kaya no new projects, no new constructions. Many engineers, who were being paid well, were laid off.
Ganun pala yun. Uso pala talaga ang lay-off lay-off na yan sa North America. At yung recession na nababasa ko lang dati, na-experience talaga namin.
I was so scared that time. Paano na lahat ng bayarin namin? I suddenly looked around and regretted buying so many things that I didn't really need. Bigla akong nanghinayang sa pera. To be honest, hindi na ako sanay maghirap. When I came to Canada, everything has been served to me on a silver platter. Hindi ako nahirapan. My husband has been a very good provider, naibigay niya talaga lahat ng gusto ko. Ang komportable ng buhay namin and I took pride on that. Imagine, we were living comfortably on a single income. Not many families in Canada could afford that.
Then I realized na kung mabigat para sa akin ang nangyari, mas mahirap para sa asawa ko who has taken pride in being a good provider as well. Mas mabigat ang dalahin niya, sa balikat niya nakasalalay ang pamilya namin eh. Of course hindi niya pinakita pero alam ko na sobrang naga-alala rin siya. Sino ba naman ang hindi?
As a wife, all I could do was give him words of encouragement. That everything will be ok. That we will get through that difficult situation. But as two realistic individuals, we knew that it might take some time. Again, recession eh. Hindi naman basta nagclose lang ang company at nawalan siya ng work. Kung ganun lang kasi ang nangyari, ang bilis niyang makakahanap ng bago given his credentials.
I mentally assessed our finances. Kahit paano medyo kumalma ang pakiramdam ko kasi aside from our savings, meron naman siyang makukuhang severance pay from his company tapos may Employment Insurance (o EI) naman where he paid the highest contribution so he'll get the highest benefit din.
I called my mother that night and cried on her virtual shoulder. She said she'd send us money (initial reaction syempre) but I assured her that we're still financially ok, that we could manage in the coming months.
The following day, I remember modifying my husband's resume. Di ko talaga maisip na balik na naman kami sa paggawa ng resume. Nag-apply na rin siya agad sa mga nakita niyang openings online (na parang mga old posts na) tutal wala namang mawawala.
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The next three weeks was extra difficult because we had a put up a brave front in front of my husband's family. It wasn't easy to smile and laugh when all you wanted that time was mourn and wallow. We also became cautious na of spending siyempre. Before his siblings came, sinabi na niya that he's lost his job kaya sila na muna ang bahala sa gastos. Syempre as the manong (or kuya) and host, that was so hard on his ego. Kaso no choice, we had to preserve whatever money we had for the rainy days ahead. Biglang naging mahalaga every dollar. Buti na lang nakapamili na kami ng groceries and other things bago nga ang lay-off.
Thankfully, money was no problem naman with his family. His siblings generously shouldered all the expenses sa mga trips and dine-outs namin. They also offered us financial help just in case we need it (na sobrang na-appreciate namin siyempre).
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Even before my in-laws left, I already toyed with this idea na ako na muna ang magtrabaho while Ford is under EI. You see, when you're receiving insurance benefits, lahat ng magiging sweldo mo from any other part-time job ay ide-deduct. My husband that time had a part-time job in Lowe's (he applied when Nathan and I were in Pinas for our first long vacation and he got bored) but he had to quit dahil nga ang useless lang kung yung kikitain niya doon ay ibabawas pa sa monthly cash benefit na makukuha niya sa EI. Parang nag-aksaya lang siya ng pagod at gasolina.
The best solution was really for me to work muna para may pandagdag kami sa EI at nang hindi maubos ang savings namin. Nang sabihin ko yun sa asawa ko, I felt his hesitation. Syempre pride pa rin kahit papano. But after explaining to him na susubukan ko lang bumalik doon sa dati kong work at talagang gusto kong makatulong sa finances namin, he gave in.
I immediately contacted my former co-worker-turned-good-friend Cristy and asked her if there's an opening in the store (I worked there pala for only six weeks in 2014 kasi I got pregnant na). She excitedly said yes, kulang daw talaga sila ng keyholder/supervisor kaya mag-apply na ako agad. Sabi ko pagkaalis ng in-laws ko, pupunta ako agad doon.
After Ford's siblings left, sumunod na rin ang mga biyenan ko. They rebooked their flight a week earlier, probably para makapagsimula na kaming makadiskarte sa bagong sitwasyon namin. Before taking them to the airport, hinatid muna nila ako sa store early morning so I could submit my resume.
Cristy accompanied me to the assistant manager (the manager wasn't there that time) so I could personally hand to her my resume.
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To cut the story short, I got rehired and started working on February 29 (just over a month after Ford lost his job). It wasn't easy at first kasi nasanay na ako na pahiga-higa lang sa bahay but I got used to it eventually. After all, sabi ko nga kay Ford, I may not be masipag in the house pero masipag akong magtrabaho. Lahat ng extra hours kinuha ko. Kapag may absent, willing na willing akong sumalo ng shift.
Ford became a house husband for several months haha. Tapos personal driver ko pa kasi hatid-sundo niya (nila ni Nathan) sa trabaho. Sa totoo lang, nag-enjoy pa nga ako. Finally, I was able to work again!
Ang drawback lang siyempre is the salary. Maliit lang ang sweldo sa retail. Saka hindi naman ako full-time kaya hindi malaki ang take-home pay ko. Pero ayos na rin kasi at least nakukuha na ang pang-grocery at gas namin. Yung insurance ni Ford ang naging pambayad ng house mortgage, car, and other bills namin. Saktong-sakto lang talaga.
I am telling you, it was the most humbling time of our married/family life. Kinailangan din talaga naming magtipid kasi we weren't comfortable na mabawasan ang savings namin. Kung dati panay ang kain namin sa labas, syempre hindi na pwede. Walang shopping (except for essentials), walang luho, wala lahat ng nakasanayan namin. Nanahimik kami sa bahay. Buti nga one year old lang si Nathan noon, hindi pa demanding sa toys at McDonald's.
Kapag inisiip ko na minsan yung isang araw na sweldo ko ay isang oras lang dati ng asawa ko, napapailing ako. Malalaman mo talaga ang importance ng isang bagay kapag wala na sayo. Basta, nakaka-humble. Nakakawala ng yabang. It took a while pa nga before we informed our closest friends in Edmonton about our situation. Syempre ayaw namin ng "awa" o kahit na anong judgment. Pero hindi naman sila ganun. They, of all people, will understand our situation kasi nga taga-Alberta rin sila at nakaka-experience ng impact ng recession.
Ford continued to apply pero wala talagang hiring (yung mga nakapost online ay parang joke lang talaga). He's had one job interview from a relatively "new" company pero sobrang weird daw ng owner. Ang taas ng vision, ang daming demands, pero $18 lang ang offer sa isang professional engineer. Sobrang shocking, really. It's expected na given the bad economy, hindi talaga makakapag-offer ng malaki pero $18 per hour lang talaga? Mataas pa ang sweldo ng cleaner? Big joke talaga kaloka.
Then one time, he contacted his former officemate who was then employed in a bigger engineering firm. That officemate promised to help him, tutulungan daw siyang makapasok kapag may opening. Sadly, only after two weeks, he got laid-off, too. More than half na pala of professional engineers in Alberta have lost their jobs.
Fortunately for us, may trabaho ako kahit papano kaya hindi na masyadong nakakapressure on my husband's part. But for his ex-officemate, grabe ang pressure because he just had a baby and the wife couldn't work. And because it was futile to look for work in Edmonton, he tried applying in Vancouver where he received an instant request for interview.
That's how we got the idea na lumipat sa BC. Mukhang madaling makahanap ng trabaho doon.
---- To Be Continued ----
