The One with the Renewed Job Hunt

I was wrong in the number of people let go in my department. It was 39, not 32 as I'd originally indicated. I also did a quick calculation and I worked just over 157 hours in 3 weeks. Ouch.

No, still not me in the purge. I've moved on to another team already. Actually, couple of funny stories I'll get out of the way before I get to the subject of this post.

Yep, I've joined my new department and come in as the #12 person on the ladder. Technically, I was supposed to be #10, but the others arrived while I was still on my last project, so they got an earlier start. No biggie, really. I had 3 days of training as my area of specialty was taken by the other 2, but learning more never hurt anyone and other companies are looking for the experience I'm getting. As odd as it sounds, on my first day on the new project, 2 of the main people had requested department transfers and they were granted. Suddenly, I'm the #10 guy. On the 2nd day, 2 more people were headhunted by another company and quit on the spot. Say hello to #8. Later that same day, another guy gave 2 weeks' notice and he'll be gone as of November 1. So, now I'm #7.... 4 of the 5 were in one area of specialty (the same specialization I have), and that will only leave 2 in that specialty in November. 2 of us are temporary people, so we're waiting breathlessly to see if the company takes the plunge and hires us on on a permanent basis. More on that later too....

Story #2 is one of the 11 remaining people from my last department. He finally decided to give his 2 weeks and flee for Australia. He's young, so apparently he can get away with it. Next Friday should've been his last day, but someone decided that was too long a wait and they didn't want him bitter by the end. So, when he came in on Friday morning, he was told it was his last day (because there's no way that would make him bitter!!). We all decided to go for lunch and say farewell. As we were walking out of the office, there was a bunch of people milling about who were "purged" from our department a week earlier. Turns out they were coming in for their last paycheck. Nope, they weren't mailed out. Their assumption was that everyone was let go on the Friday and it didn't occur to them that some of us might still be working. Needless to say, there were some sad faces in the group. Not that I actually saw any of it. I was completely oblivious to them being there.... :) They probably think I think I'm above them in stature and couldn't be bothered to acknowledge them.... Not on purpose, I say! hehe

So, why a renewed job hunt?

I'm tired. Very tired. I have very early mornings and kind of late nights and I'm not getting enough sleep. That, and my wages are extremely low and I'm watching the bills mount something fierce. I need a change and I need a raise. As much as I'd like to wait and see what happens at my current job.... I can't sit back and wait. I need to get out there and see what else comes up. One of the guys from my church has talked me up with his company. They clean up toxic soil prior to new construction projects beginning. It's a big company and my friend says his Christmas bonus last year was $25,000. No, I'm not expecting anything like that, but.... ! By the time I finish where I am right now... my "year-to-date" won't read anything that high!!

The same day he told me to apply, I saw an ad for another company doing the same type of work. That, and there's been a number of companies much more local (like a 15-minute commute instead of 2+ hours!!) that are looking for people. Chances are, the pay would be low for the ones closer to home, but closer to home means less paid for gas, less paid while I'm out, and a chance to start up the eBay stuff again.

Time will tell where I end up, but the motivation's at a high point right now....

And there's still hints about Africa coming at me...

The One With The Distant Heart

Another post with snippets of things going on in life. Hey, at least you know I'm alive, right?

Facebook: My friends totals jump in spurts these days and I've discovered a few old friends to add to the list. I do like sending messages and catching up with people. I've only added one of my best friends from my school days. I know 2 others for sure are on Facebook, but I can't be bothered to talk to them any more. One of them annoyed the crap out of me at our high school reunion to the point that all the things that made us drift apart in the first place resurfaced. The other one... we had a falling out in senior high and we've talked once or twice since.

I am friends with his ex-wife, though. She remembers initially meeting me at a lake about 2 years before I ever remember seeing her at anything. My best friend who annoyed me later in life was there the day she talks about, but I don't remember her at all. I haven't seen her in about 15 years. She admitted to having a crush on me back then, which makes me wonder what life could have been with her. No, none of it looks interesting. Another girl I used to hang with in the late 80s and early 90s also just admitted to having "a thing" for me back then. Odd.

Coincidentally, the girl I had a big crush on in senior year is friends with me as well. She's rated me as one of her top friends and says I'm the kindest, smartest, most punctual, most reliable... and most dateable. Hunh?!?!

Work: The big date with all the layoffs happened on Friday. Out of the 500 people hired for the busy season, 450 are now gone. I'm not. My office area went from 18 people to 6 and the team I was on went from 50 to 14. I'm also not sure just how long I'm going to last, but I've impressed enough people that I have some sort of staying power. That hasn't stopped me applying for other work. The commute is still killer when I have to drive. I had to do that a lot over the past 2 weeks and in the end I discovered I'd worked 107 hours in total. It's no wonder I'm tired.

Africa: I promise. Africa is going to be a lengthy post. Hopefully soon. Not today, though, and probably not for at least a week. It'll be big, long, and most likely heavy. That's why it's taking so long to post. It's that big.

The One With Thanks

I said earlier that it's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. I'm working all weekend, but so far it hasn't been too stressful.

Here's hoping it continues tomorrow!

There's quite a few things I'm thankful for, and some of them even follow-up on points brought up in my 700th post. Here's a list of things/people I'm thankful for:

• A job. It doesn't pay well and there's little to no credit for the work I do. But it's a job. And apparently, I'm "excellent" at it (my boss' word, not mine!).
• A train. It means a less stressful commute. I get to read and listen to music while making my way into the city. It's a little longer than driving most days, but also half the price.
• A plan. Africa may be in my future and I'm planning for it.
• A face. Facebook is addicting as anything, but I'm thankful for every face from my past who enters my life again. To think I didn't think I had any friends....
• A family. They've been supportive of my good decisions and bad decisions. Thankfully.
• A church. Don't roll your eyes. They support me too and a bunch of the men are coming to do some renovations to our house.
• A cash jar. I'm putting all my American money in a jar and holding onto it for a while. It's worth less than the Canadian dollar right now, but I know in 2008 it's going to climb again. And 2008 is not that far away!
• A blog. I still have thoughts that sometimes need somewhere to be expressed. So, thanks for reading.

OK, I still have to work tomorrow, so 3 posts in one day is more than you usually get from me in a week!

The One With Breathing Room

I never really commented about "happenings" at work, but then, I've also tried avoiding the work subject a bit more over the past few months other than to say it's busy.

It's still busy. It's the Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, and I'll relate more in my next post. It's a three-fer" night for posts.

I've had some occasional difficulties with my security pass at work and it happened twice in the past couple weeks. Security has now informed me that my "final day" is October 22. It's more notice than most people get (5 business days seems to be the max for contracts coming to a sudden end). The odd thing was it also hit at the exact time I had 2 people on another team tell me they've been told I'm joining them at the end of the month. I'm not a big believer right now, so I'll breathe a little easier about that when/if I'm actually sitting in a chair there. If it's true, then out of the 500 people they hired this past spring, I'll be one of the final 40 still there. Right now, I'm in the final 100.

Imagine how I'd be doing if I thought it was a competition. I've always accepted this as a temporary job with little to no prospect in the future. My attitude has been to go in, do my job and get out. However, that seems to have impressed some people. Yay me?

While all this is happening, I've also had a friend tell me his company (3 blocks from where I am now) is in desperate need of people and they pay much, much more than I make right now. The application's already in. It's 9-5 job, which settles the train Vs. car debate. Train it is!!

So, a little bit of breathing room is always good.

The One at 701

I just saw as I logged in that my last post was my 700th. Kind of appropriate that I spent it reflecting on items that had passed as well as looking to the future. I probably won't comment on reaching another "milestone post" until I hit #1000.

And I guess that's as big a promise as anything I've made about blogging in the past year.