Man, October 2020. What a complete dumpster fire that year was for everyone, right? But for me, specifically for my bank account and where I was punching the clock every day, that month was just wild. A proper hammer blow, and then maybe a small lottery win, all packed into four weeks.
I was stuck in this job, right? It was fine, paid the bills, but I hated dragging myself out of bed for it. Every Monday felt like a funeral. I’d been there for six years and was just cruising. I kept thinking, “I need a change,” but never actually pulled the trigger. You know how it is. It’s scary to jump when you have rent and bills staring you down.
The Pre-Game Grind
Back in the summer of 2020, I was feeling the heat. My manager was a nightmare, and the company was clearly sinking. They were laying people off left and right, but somehow, I kept dodging the bullet. I was trying to save every spare dime, just in case, but every time I looked at my savings, I just saw dust. The “Money” part of my life was basically a flatline, running on fumes and credit card loyalty points.
Then my sister calls me up, and she’s big into all that star chart stuff. She’s like, “You know you’re a Virgo, right? And October is going to be massive for you. Something about a massive shift in ‘Work’ and ‘Luck’.” I told her to shut up and stick to predicting traffic, because I was about to go into yet another pointless team meeting. I didn’t believe any of that stuff, but I remember the date she told me: October 5th. I was thinking, “Yeah, right, a massive shift will be them finally getting a better coffee machine.”
The Shock and the Scramble
October 2nd hits. It was a Friday. I walk into work, and before I can even log in, Brenda from HR is standing at my desk with a box. No warning. No, “Hey, we’re cutting back.” Just, “Your services are no longer required. Here’s your severance package. Security will walk you out.” I was absolutely toasted. I walked out of that building feeling lighter, but also completely lost. The severance was three weeks’ pay, which was basically enough for one round of groceries. So much for that “massive shift.”
The panic set in hard that weekend. The “Money” fear was real. I spent Saturday tearing my hair out, applying for fifty jobs I didn’t want. Call center, stacking shelves, anything. I was determined not to touch the little bit of savings I had built up. That Virgo ‘Luck’ my sister was rambling about felt like a cruel joke. This wasn’t luck; this was a personal disaster.
The Unexpected Pivot
On Monday, October 5th—the day my sister had named—I got a weird email. It was from an old contact, a guy I used to play video games with years ago. He was launching some small thing in the video production world, totally different from my accounting/admin background. The email basically said, “Hey, I heard you’re free. I’m drowning. Can you help me set up the backend structure for this thing? I’ll pay you peanuts, but it’s interesting work.”
I thought, “Peanuts is better than nothing.” I drove over there that afternoon. We hashed out a deal. It wasn’t full-time, but it was enough to cover the basic bills. It was a massive learning curve, doing things I’d never touched before—setting up servers, handling early stage payroll, dealing with completely new software. It was messy, it was stressful, but it was mine. For the first time in forever, I actually enjoyed the work. The “Work” part had fundamentally changed.
The Aftermath and the Coincidence
That little gig turned into something serious by the end of October. The “Luck” wasn’t a sudden cash drop; it was the chance meeting, the desperate email that landed exactly when I needed it. That new company, the video production thing? It blew up over the next year. I went from being worried sick about rent to being a core part of a growing operation, making way more than I ever did at the old corporate dump. I got a percentage piece of the whole shebang eventually. The ‘Money’ struggle finally ended.
I still don’t believe in star signs. I think my job falling apart was just inevitable, and the new opportunity was just a lucky roll of the dice caused by me being available exactly at the right time. But I’ll tell you what, I never told my sister she was wrong. She still brings up that “Virgo Oct 2020” prediction every time we talk. She thinks she nailed it. Maybe she did. All I know is, that chaotic month was the best thing that ever happened to my career and my wallet.
