Thank you, I was the OP. It's funny how even though I am older than most here and been at vmware longer than most here, I still believed the hype. Believed as much as any fresher, any recent grad. I thought of vmware as home.
Work is not home. Laughing with my daughter, smoking a nice bowl, weekend walks, good books, and so much more. These are the things that make up life, not working. Not working for a company that knows they sell their internal story harder than they sell any product. And for the same reason: To get you to buy their bullsh-t!
This buyout made me sad, scared and everything else. I was terrified at the thought of being laid off. Especially at my age! But you know what I will do if laid off? Same as anybody.
Cry, laugh, get angry, get drunk, jerk off a bunch, smoke a bunch, eat too much, feel bad, feel better, find something else, shake my head I was so worried.
VMware was, and will soon be no more. Everything ends. And yet life moves on. I'll be fine. You will be too.
Oh and by the way, if there are any executives out there who wish to pay me a $50 million bonus to dress like a slob and bend over for a group of billionaires so they could make yet more money, let me know. I may soon have some availability!