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Location: Work.
Listening: "Jackie's Strength" (live) ~ Tori Amos.

Well, it's finally over. In something of a surprise upset, EchoStar trumped News Corp. and signed a deal Saturday to purchase Hughes from GM. The transaction is expected to be finalized in nine months.

All in all, I approve. I like EchoStar's CEO and business policies (primary among them: frugality to the point of being known as "the stingiest company in the country" to its executives--but its workforce and stock value both remained intact during this past year). I like the fact that Murdoch is not going to be able to fulfill his dream of having a virtually global stranglehold on the satellite cable industry. I like knowing that PAS-- specifically slated to go up on the block if GM had gone with the News Corp. offer--might have a fighting chance under EchoStar. Not a bad deal at all on these levels.

However, all of the enthusiastic email sent out this morning included the inevitable few lines about "workforce reductions will of course be necessary". PAS has theoretically been conducting "stealth reductions" over the past month or so in an effort to further cut costs before the beginning of next quarter. None have taken place, to my knowledge, in Long Beach--but then, they're stealthy. I do know that our last HR executive resigned last week. Her last day is Friday and, when she leaves, there will be no one left from the HR department that hired me. The current head of HR in Long Beach is a transplant from corporate in Greenwich, and I have the feeling that she won't be long for this coast after this week. I still have a feeling that the Long Beach teleport won't be long for this coast, but we'll see.

Peter and I continue to plan for pre-Christmas adventures, but things are moving slowly. My stress levels are through the roof, but I've promised myself to take better care of the Leigh--doing little things like eating three meals a day, not drinking a bottle of wine a night (which Peter has started to tease me about), taking more baths and trying to focus on my creative projects rather than external concerns.

I'll pause now and say that I love my friends. I just checked my voice mail. I am now listening to a recording of Tori Amos singing "Jackie's Strength" live Saturday night in St. Louis. My friend Scott Amendola bought tickets for orchestra seats and invited me out to see the show with him if I couldn't get seats in LA. I managed to get tickets for San Diego, so I declined. But he called my office on his cel, and I'm now listening to her playing what sounds like a Wurlitzer and singing, clear as day, into my voice mailbox...

It's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. And exactly what I've been needing. I'm going to go be a girl and cry now.