Two weeks ago, I was comfortably employed with a wife, a house, a dog, and a baby on the way. One of those things has changed. Care to guess which?

Thankfully, it's not the wife, the dog, the house or the baby on the way. Yes, after five years of dutiful service and hard work, my boss has decided that he no longer values my work, or at least not as much as he once did. As of January, my pay will be slashed. Needless to say, I'm pissed.

This news was announced at lunch with the boss-man. I guess he took the conventional rules of a breakup in to consideration before making his announcement. He had to be sure that I wouldn't erupt in a public place, right? Anyway, we sat down for some delicious Thai food and a discussion about an "updated compensation structure". I guess I was unaware of the modern translation from that to "enjoy poverty".

Anyway, I'm not sure what's next. I know that I'm a good salesman, but I don't really want to continue on in that field. It's gotten tiresome and I may be only 29, but I already know that I don't want to get myself in to a career that doesn't make me happy. I'm disappointed because I've invested five years of my short life in this business and now I'm being forced out. More than anything else, I'm angry.

So what to do with this anger? Direct it at my wife? Not good. At the dog? HA. The dog is as big as I am. Start boxing? Nah. Join the Tea Party? No, I'm not mentally unstable, just pissed off.

Instead, I'll do what all passive-aggressive midwesterners do when they're angry... I'll make jokes.