Back in November of 2006, my employer, Kos Pharmaceuticals, was purchased by Abbott Labs. Since that time, my counterparts and I have been wondering whether we would be retained by the new company. Just last Friday, we participated in a webinar where we were informed that this Wednesday, February 28, we were to stay home and await a call that would tell us if we had been hired by Abbott or were being "severed".
I had ambivalent feelings re the possible outcome. On the one hand, it's always nice to have a job, especially one where you get to drive a new car, make a pretty decent salary, and work with a lot of great people. On the other hand, the severance package was pretty sweet, with almost an entire year's salary, bonuses, and health care. Did I mention the part about not working?
Anyhoo, when the call came at about 9:30 a.m., it was my new manager from Abbott informing me I had been retained. I keep my present salary, and am eligible for Abbott benefits immediately. I get to keep selling Niaspan, and pick up Tri-Cor and Synthroid. Abbott's headquarters is in Chicago, so national meetings will be a short trip, and maybe I can sneak in a game at Wrigley. Boo Cubbies!! Go Cards!!!
The biggest change concerns my sales territory, which is a LOT different. With Kos, I covered West St. Louis County, St Charles County, and a part of North County and South St. Louis. My new geography starts at Eureka in the West, and heads down Highway 44 to Waynesville. In the East, it starts at Affton and meanders down Interstate 55 to St Genevieve. It appears I'll have a lot more "windshield time", but on the plus side I probably won't have to contend with the hoard of reps I saw in West County, and it will give me a chance to explore another part of Missouri. We've been considering moving anyway, so maybe the opportunity to get closer to my territory and cut down on my drive time will be the push we need to relocate from Florissant.
To all those who think dogs are lazy bums who lay around all day thinking of new things to destroy or interesting places to relieve themselves, I submit the accompanying picture of the world's most talented Golden Retriever. As you can see "Domestic Daisy" is always eager to pitch in and lend a hand when chores, like dishwashing, need to be done. Sure she cleans the dishes by licking them, and her shedding hair covers every scrap of free space in the house, but that's just a minor inconvenience to the joy of owning a dog that is always there whether you need her help or not.
