Well, it's started.

My day job is that of a title officer for a major title insurance company. I'm the new guy in the office, but I am one of the top four people in an office of about twenty-five employees.

Title insurance is cyclical. When the economy is generally bad, interest rates fall. When interest rates fall, people refinance their homes. When people refinance thier homes, it's good for our business.

When the economy is good, people buy homes. When people buy homes, it's good for our business.

When the economy is so-so, problems arise.

The industry as a rule over-hires during peak times and lays off when the business falls off, only to repeat the cycle. The company I work for has never laid off workers during periods of slow sales.

That all changed yesterday. I survived the first round of four cuts due mostly to the fact that I can perform the function of anyone in this office while eighty percent of the staff has been trained in only one area.

When our office manager called our headquarters and told them that she laid off four people, their response was, "Really? Only four?"

From here on out, it's borrowed time.

Joseph Haines, signing off from The Edge of the Abyss.