Personal – A Celebration Being Laid Off

I am crappy at posting new stuff here, lately. Been really busy learning marketing for my real estate business. It’s something I’ll never master, but I keep working on it.

I woke up yesterday and my wife reminded me that it was two years ago that I was laid off from Big Red, the Big H, the place where I spent twenty-eight years of my life working first with Baroid under Dresser, then, from 1998 to 2020, with Baroid under Halliburton.

I initially started working as a longshoreman at the Baroid dock in Fourchon, progressed to offshore engineering, got tired of the “offshore life”, and created a position for myself in the office. It’s kind of funny…I just started doing it, then they created the position for me. Then a year of slow down / bad times where I had to work offshore again, but when I came back, it was into a role to figure out how to monetize a piece of software. That turned into creating a whole new service offering for the company, allowing me to travel to places around the world that I would never have dreamed possible, (Aberdeen, Scotland was my favorite, with Calgary, Alberta & Quito, Ecuador tied for second), and meet people of many nationalities, who have become friends.

I rubbed elbows with dock workers and CEOs, had meetings with movers and shakers, and collaborated with some of the brightest minds in the world on problems, projects, and inventions.

These were the things that invigorated me. But…

(Seems like there is always a but…), I had gotten bored. I fought to promote automation and optimization as a profit center only to have it used as a loss leader to make sure that some other service that wasn’t able to sell a lot of jobs would be added to a project. It wasn’t fun anymore.

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My regional position was eliminated because regional management decided that they “…weren’t going to do that anymore.” This was discussed here. Because the Baroid regional manager did not want to lose me from the company, he asked Baroid management if there was another position they could offer me because he felt that it would be a good idea to keep me with the company. They found one, but it was a demotion. Working a fourteen day rotational job with thirteen hour shifts in Houston. I was given a choice between being laid off with a severance package or the position in Houston. I took Houston and regretted it.

Then the Covid lockdowns came. I began working from home, dreading the phone call telling me to return to Houston.

Next thing I know, I have a conference call scheduled with my manager and when I get on the call he introduces an HR person…”Due to market conditions and Covid…”.

I was sooooooo relieved! I got a decent severance package, plus, since it was only 04-May, almost sixty days of Insurance coverage.

So, this is why I celebrate 04 May. I think I will be referring to it as “Liberation Day” going forward.

Remember, if you have a real estate need, whether buying or selling, give me a call or shoot me an email. It doesn’t matter if you are outside of my area, I can connect you with a Rockstar Real Estate Agent!

Clint C. Galliano, REALTOR® 985.647.4479

Clint C. Galliano, a native of Lafourche Parish, has lived in the Houma-Thibodaux area for over 36 years and is currently a REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty Bayou Partners in Houma, La. He has been involved with real estate investing since 2017 and hosts the local Real Estate Investment Association. Real Estate is his passion. Clint previously worked in drilling fluids and drilling fluids automation for 28 years. He lives in Bayou Blue with his wife and two daughters.