I know I'm hardly alone in this troubled time of ours but I was of the opinion that, within my own little company, I was safe. I was not. I was laid off along with 13 other coworkers last Wednesday. This was the third round of layoffs this year, taking our company from about 75 people down to about 36.

No, I do not make tickling artwork full time. I was an illustrator/art director for a marketing firm in Baltimore. It was my first real full-time art job, and I was there for nearly 12 years. The people there were like my family, and being forced to leave them was very hard. My position was eliminated, but the sad fact is that it was really all about numbers. Simply put, I made more than other people in my department and I had earned more vacation time. My time spent with the company made me more of a liability than an asset, and that's just plain backwards.

The silver lining is that I got a decent severance package, and that I have a great support system of family and friends. I'm going to take this time to reevaluate my life, possible move and definitely expand my tickling artwork website.

If any of you have been curious about AchillesHeelArt before, there's never been a better time to check it out. Well, never been a better time for me, that is. I'm not usually one to ask for help, but a spike in my membership at my site would help me a great deal. We offer a single month membership option which does not automatically recur, and what that gets you right now is access to more than 200 male tickling illlustrations by 8 different artists.

I'll get back on my feet soon, and my heart goes out to anyone else in my same situation.

Achilles
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