Shock

I started the new job this past week and I'm in total shock after 5 days of work. My commute is beyond stress-free and has become a breeze. I still leave home at the same time, but I'm at work in no time and never find myself running to catch the various modes of transit I need to get me places.

My big concern was having such a set transit schedule might be seen as 'risky' to the company, as I wouldn't be available for much overtime --and this industry loves overtime! I'm making the arrangements to crash either at my sister's place, or at a friend's place in-town, if need be. I am willing to go the extra mile for this company because they're treating me so well.

And, thus I'm shocked. Here's a list of things in my first week:

1. 15 minutes after getting my photo taken for the internal website, I'm greeted and taken on a tour of the company. During the tour, I meet the CEO who remembers me from a presentation back when I was in school in 2006.
2. I run into a few other people I"d worked with in the past and they all tell me how great it is here.
3. Despite 2 days of catered lunches, and free food everyday, the team still takes me out for an official "welcome" lunch on the Friday.
4. They're excited that I come in 90 minutes earlier than everyone else (part of that transit schedule again) because I can get the entire team up to speed the moment they arrive to the office.
5. Being so early, the CEO has walked by my desk everyday (he's working on a completely different floor, but tours the entire facility before getting to business) and said good morning.
6. I met my division boss, who then introduced me to all 50 people on the team. I never met the divisional boss at my last job. No idea who that even was.
7. I'm allowed to check email and Facebook at work.
8. I have medical and dental.
9. I get to talk to people on my team as equals instead of part of a hierarchy where everything I said had to be diplomatic.

So, yeah. I'm in shock. I'm being treated well and with respect and it's been a long, long time since I had that.

What!?!?!

[one word, still works!]

I always think that the moment I have good news, everyone rooting for me will be happy.

Not true.

In fact, my wife was really upset that day and it continued for a week. See, the day I got the new job offer, her job (one of my old jobs at the office From Hell!) was cut by 80%. They did it "to be fair" to the on-call workers who were barely getting any shifts because of the quality of work she was doing.

Yep, read that again. She was doing such a great job, they cut her hours so the people who aren't good at it can have a chance to work. It still boggles the mind to think this place is considered one of the "top employers" in Canada... I'll never figure out who filled out that survey.

What doesn't help is me being sympathetic/empathetic about her situation. Despite the fact that I'd "been there" (literally.. I got booted from that job once to be replaced by a woman who had told her boss to 'f--- off' and the HR department asked her which job she'd rather do and gave her mine!) didn't go over well with my wife. No matter how often over the years she's seen me in a similar situation, it still hurt her and confused her. There's no reward for good work. There's nothing rewarding about working there at all. I've told her in the past to quit and my new job coinciding with this latest insult should be the perfect sign to walk away. But she didn't see it that way and we argued into the night.

I had nothing left to say and when she wanted to talk about it the next day, she took my saying "I've said everything I have to say. All I can do is listen." to mean: "I'm not talking about it."

We're still not talking about it.

Farewells

I left work for good on Friday. It was great to go.

I also realized earlier in the week that the last time I quit a job was just after high school. In 17 years, I've quit 2 jobs. I've been laid off, had contracts expire, and businesses close down around me. But I've only quit twice.

It's funny, but I've always been depressed starting a new job because I've either had to settle or I'm expecting the worst to happen. This new opportunity is the first in a long time where I'm excited to go and eager to start. I'll keep the week off, though.

It was odd to have people sad to see me go, as I don't usually get that from a majority of people (hehe). But in this case, I had a marathon of handshakes, and well-wishes and the big boss for our division told me if things don't work out to give him a call. I'm welcome back anytime? Me? Weird.

The saddest goodbye (for him, anyway) was my "partner" who has been driving me insane for the entire month of January. After I finished shaking hands, I turned around and he was standing there with a major pout, giving me a salute. He kind of reminded me of Radar saying goodbye to Colonel Blake in that really sad episode of MASH.

Meh.

I'm out of there and happy to flee! :)

Home

I'm home for a week before heading off to the new job. I'm supposed to be working on a new website design for a company, but the guy who's supposed to get me all the resources I need is off for the week because his wife had a baby over the weekend.

I could work on my own, but I haven't nailed down a design for mine yet... geez.

My first bit of housekeeping was to go through my MSN contacts and block most of my now-former coworkers. Aren't I nice? I don't want them "feeling free" to get in touch with me this week.... or for a while into the future either.

Status

If Facebook is good for nothing else (and with the number of times I've had to repeatedly login and tell it to "remember me" this week, it pretty much is good for nothing else), it's reading what people... friends... are up to.

Maybe this will become a quasi-theme this year. Checking over friends' status and jotting down the more interesting ones...

• Michelle is excited about skating on the longest outdoor rink in the world.
• Diana ate the other M.
• Jessica has her soya sauce and destiny is fulfilled.
• Kylie is related to someone from Star Trek. Good enough reason to dabble in the Chardonnays. [I agree]
• Pat is a supercop with a jetpack and a devil-may-care attitude.

Geez, out of 188 friends that wasn't much. Oh well.

The results from the job interview came in quite quickly from the interview on Tuesday. I was told it would be a week. And having dealt with the old office (From Hell!) when it came to job postings, a "week" to an job candidate can actually be up to 3 weeks (or not informed at all).

This took less than 24 hours.

No.

No more.

No more annoying commute, switching modes of mass transportation every 30 minutes.
No more being left in the dark about my job responsibilities.
No more annoying work partner.
No more missing trains because of slow traffic and a slower crossing light.
No more extremely low pay.

No more.

Effective February 4, I start a much better job (with the company at #1 on my list when I was in school) and I'm already bouncing off the walls.

I have one week left at work. One week and I never have to go there again.

Thank God.

Reunion

I was invited out to some basketball games last weekend. My favorite coaches from the old office (From Hell!) were both coaching. The men's coach is with a different university now and the women's coach is still with my old department. But I was excited to see them and the remaining players still eligible to play.

See, my old boss (From Hell! --I'll stop that now, for this post anyway) had fired the one coach at the beginning of the season before taking off himself "for greener pastures". The coach eventually got a job at another university with an open position and fortunately a long-time rivalry with the old team.

When his first home game came up, I got a call to come out and see the game.

I jumped at the chance, knowing he'd be there, his son would be there, and I still knew a couple player's on the men's team. The women were playing too, and there were a couple I knew there too, as well as a number of former players filling the stands.

When I first arrived, I walked in right behind the president from my old office. He kept looking at me in the ticket line, obviously trying to place me. He wasn't doing so well since it's been 4 years since he last stole my fries at an after-game dinner. But look he did, and I could tell he was frustrated. The man's a huge basketball fan and that would help him figure it out later.

Once I got to my seat, I saw the pres sit 2 rows in front of me. And yes, he kept looking back throughout the first game.... still not placing me. As the former players started coming in, he figured it out. Here's national championship players walking right by their "biggest fan" and giving me hugs and handshakes. Their "biggest fan" lost their support when he allowed their favorite coach to be fired. They all made sure he heard them say that too. National champions, national athletes of the year, even national team members were coming over to talk and reacquaint, all in sight of this poor man who was finally cluing in. It was great.

See, the thing he never realized and obviously my boss could never grasp while I was there was that I loved the kids. I was there to make sure they were successful on the court and off of it. I was there to make sure they didn't have needless distractions. I was there to ensure they got an education and not just play a sport for a year. I was there for them and for their future.

So was their coach. And he was fired for it.

The kids knew who was there for them and on this night they showed it and didn't care if someone else's ego was crushed. He did some crushing of his own before.

Train

I totally blew it. I never should've admitted to the 'Train Hottie."

Since I brought her up on this blog, I've seen her maybe 5 times. 2 times she sat with me. The other 3 times, I've seen her departing at night or in a different car. The train's had more people, that is true, but I haven't seen her sitting in Car 4 since December. It's sad, really.

Versus

Here's some things looking at my current job compared to the potential job:

Current: Low pay for a lot of work
Potential: Higher pay for less of the same work.

Current: Tough commute that sees me in the office after 2 hours on mass transit.
Potential: Easier commute that sees me in the office after 90 minutes on mass transit.

Current: Supervisory role with no promised pay increase for... 2 years!!
Potential: Non-supervisory role with no promised pay increase (because I don't have the job yet).

Current: Multinational company that usually takes 1-5 days to get a response to a question.
Potential: Local company that usually takes 10-15 minutes to get a response to a question.

Current: A couple of friends there who hate their jobs and want out ASAP.
Potential: A couple of friends there who love their jobs and can't believe why people work where I do.

I'm sure there's bad things too, but right now I don't really care. The bad show up eventually. It's all just a matter of balance in the versus war....

Money

I hope I don't use up a lot of good words today....

I forgot to mention the money. There's lots of "money" things right now.

To start, my pay finally got sorted out. It appears the payroll office took an entire week to enter our bank information, so we didn't get paid. I say "we," because it happened to 7 of us. 2 people did get paid and we found out later it was because their forms were put on top of the Inbox. I hate people to who start with the work on the bottom of the pile....

I've been paid again and the 20% raise comes in handy. Is it enough? No. I still have $200 a month for my commute, which is essentially eating up the entire raise. Sad.

The job I interview for today is another 25-35% increase over what I'm currently making. Um, yeah, that's good incentive.

Interview

Today is my second interview with the new company, hence my trip downtown on a workday. I'm hoping for something good out of this as my stress level is almost through the roof at work. My "partner" is beyond childish, which makes an interesting (and loud --from me) dichotomy when he's only a year younger than me. He usually acts about 30 years younger than me, though.

The first interview was postponed even after I took a day off work for it. It was a phone interview, so I ended up taking the call at work and hiding in a corner to try and avoid as many people as possible. Surprisingly, it worked. The interview also worked out and that's why I'm downtown today!

It's at 12:30 about 5 blocks from here. I have time. Time to pray and time to worry and time to focus. And time to go to the washroom, which I've done 5 times already this morning!!

Theme

OK, been a couple weeks since posting... too much going on and not enough time to put thoughts into words. I'm actually doing this from the Vancouver Public Library today as I'm downtown on business and have time to kill.

I had a different theme in mind for 2008. It did not, however, work out. Going against my usual tradition of "splainin" the theme at the year's changeover, I'm revealing the themes for 2007 and 2008 in this post. 2007 was all about "The One" which I basically stole from 'Friends' as that's how they titled every episode. 2008 is different and since I couldn't think of anything better, the titles for this year are simply a single word that follows a theme in each post.

This may mean more posts from me and shorter than normal as well.

Deal with it. :)

The One With Some Post-Christmas Shopping

Despite completing all my Christmas shopping ONLINE and EARLY, I still somehow found myself at the shopping mall on December 26th.

I had a gift card for Sears and I was intending on using it and picking up either a new pair of jeans, new running shoes, or both.

My shoes were "new" back at my old job (From Hell!), which means I bought them in 2003. They have holes in the sides and just scream "old". Scream of a bad smell too, but I digress...

I have 2 pair of jeans left these days since I've put on all the weight I lost in the job From Hell. If I can shed a couple inches, I have 6 pair of jeans waiting for me. At the moment, I have one semi-faded (and fairly thin) pair of Nevada jeans and a pair of Levi's that got a bleach stain on the back of one knee and have worn through. Obviously, new jeans are needed ASAP!

I hit Sears and spent about 20 minutes trying on different styles of jeans before deciding on a fairly decent pair that are a bit on the darker side than I usually wear, but they have that semi-stylish greenish/fade thing happening too. They're not like my other jeans and that was their big redeeming factor, really. I still try to break out of my clothing rut every Christmas (when crappy sweaters usually prevail as gifts --why do people insist on buying sweaters with horizontal striping for me!?!?). Sears had virtually everything on sale after Christmas and I did look at several shirts before finally acknowledging anyone sized Small would have a grand old time, but anyone a little heftier was at a loss. I have to say 'virtually everything' because I discovered when I finally made it to a cashier that my jeans were most likely the only item in the store inventory NOT on sale. Alas, since it was going on a gift card (thanks Mom), I bought them anyway.

I next went to check out the shoes. I saw very little in the way of running shows for men, and those that I did see were surrounded by an East Indian family and I thought better of trying to nab a pair of shoes from the middle of the family... So, no new shoes yet!! That's okay, though, as it's Winter and my black shoes and winter boots will do for a while.

No post-Christmas sale time is complete without adding to the DVD collection. Why I let my wife in on this, I'll never know as she still has "favorite" movies I got her for special occasions that are still in their shrink wrap from years ago. I picked up just over a half-dozen movies this year:
1. The Matrix. I had the tape, but for $3.50 it was a deal, as were the two sequels (even though I couldn't stand the 3rd one)
2. The Matrix Reloaded... see above. Another $3.50 "bargoon."
3. The Matrix Revolutions. Purely to "complete the set". For $3.50 I'll do it.
4. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Loved the movie and the books, for a steal at $5! Besides, I know a Newfie, so the captain always makes me giggle!
5. 9-to-5. I actually picked this up for my Dad either for Father's Day or his birthday. He loved this movie when it came out, so for $5 it makes a great (and cheap!) gift.
6. Star Trek: Nemesis. It was $5 and I know I saw it. I just can't remember a bloody thing about it!

I also happened upon a copy of Sarah McLachlan's 'Wintersong' album for $4 and snatched it up right quick! I love her singing. It's pure bonus that she sings 'The River' (I love Joni Mitchell's original) and even better is a duet (of sorts) with Diana Krall on 'Christmastime is Here.' I'll be enjoying that tomorrow while I take care of the kids for the day!

I'll also be prepping my final post for 2007 and getting ready to publish a little thing about Africa.... along with my new theme for '08.

The One With The Naked Aunt

I always say at work that policies don't exist until after one was needed. It was something I heard a lawyer say years ago and it always made sense to me. Sexual harassment policies came about after they were needed, reading personal emails at work wasn't a problem until it was...

It appears now, that I need a new policy when dealing with my mother sending me emails. See, I already have one. If she ever sends me a message with 'FW' in the title, then it goes directly in the trash.

So imagine my surprise the other day when reading my email when I suddenly receive a naked picture of my aunt. It appears she's posed for a calendar, much like the film 'Calendar Girls' and my mother thought to share the picture with me.

And she can't figure out why I'd want some type of warning before opening an email like that!!

The One With The One Head Cold To Rule Them All

I'm pretty sure I've survived most of this year without my traditional head cold. Don't get me wrong, I've been perfectly happy with the occasional flu, or flu-like symptoms and "taking a day" for myself every once in a while.

I'm even more excited with my raise coming when it did, knowing that I now have 11 days off and it's PAID time off!

I woke up this morning with a pounding headache and a nose so stuffed up, it almost feels like somebody stuck some cucumbers up each nostril and I'm feeling a little pressure. I finally, finally get some quality time off and this happens!!

My wife's been working all day, so I've had to deal with the kids. They were sure to wake me up whenever I fell asleep and to constantly interrupt me if I was in the bathroom or trying to type something on the computer....

I'm pretty sure a couple gallons of disgusting liquid has run out of my nose. It feels like my forehead's being pushed through to the back of my head, and my eyes just want to close and not open for a long, long time.

And then there's Christmas around the corner....

The One with the 7-10 Splits?

Between the little health-scare and continuing commuting stress... piled on top of people quitting left, right, and center without any acknowledgment of what my future in the department held, this past week I was about ready to walk into my boss' office and give notice. I have 2 quotes out for web design projects that almost equal 6 months' pay at my current job. And getting sick in a bad way wasn't doing much for my motivation.

So, I made it to my boss' office door when he asked me to join him in the cafeteria. He grabbed some papers and we made our way to sit down and discuss my lack of future with the company.

And then he handed me a new job offer. With a 20% raise. And loads of benefits.

I didn't sign it. Right away, anyway. I made him sweat for a day. And I do mean sweat! He actually was perspiring by the time we finished our little meeting. He knew then just how unhappy I was, but also how powerless he was in fixing the problems --for the most part. He fixed the communication issue right away, but commuting stress is all mine to deal with.

The reason I accepted the offer was the 20% pay increase. I still want out, sooner rather than later. If they're willing to pay me 20% more while I make my escape, then so be it. I'll take it!

So, is the end? Am I having some satisfaction around the office? No, not really.

Things stirred up the very next day. One of the guys I'd worked closely with over the Summer quit in September and moved to the company that was always at the top of my list when I was in school. But being the best company on my list also means it's virtually impossible to get in to a job there. You really need someone on the inside who will vouch for you.

Just like my former co-worker who started there in September!

The very next day after signing the offer sheet, I got a phone call informing me that he'd recommended me for a similar job at the better company. Better company also means better pay. Better company also means a longer commute... but it's better too!

See, where I'm working now, I have to get off the train before it hits the final station, then grab a bus to take me to the skytrain, before moving along that route to take yet another bus! This better company is at the end of the train route and the station also joins up with the skytrain station, which sends me on my way to within 2 blocks of my office in 10 minutes. So, while my morning commute start time doesn't change, I get to take the train on a longer, faster trip and not have to worry about missing connections to and from home!

That I get to sit by the hotties in Car 4 for an extra 30 minutes is just an added bonus. :)

For now, I'm still with the company I've been with since March. By mid-January, it could all change again.... and all for the better.

The One with the Idiot in Car 4.

[yep, 3 posts in one night! Gotta get them out of my system!!]

So, now that my morning commute is somewhat settled, I find myself sitting on Car 4 instead of Car 1 on the trip into work. After a couple close calls, I found it very important to hit the nearest car from the bus stop.

And this is where my inner idiot makes an appearance again.

Car 5 is actually the closest one to the bus stop, but it gets crowded as it's also the car that is central to every station along the route. I'm not a big fan of crowded cars, so I made my way to the next car. I recognized one man on the car from one Summer morning. This was the car where there was a high number of very social people. While most cars had 2-4 people who would sit in a section and talk about things, Car 4 has always had 6-10 people engage in a conversation. That's 2-3 sections of people discussing things. It's extremely odd, especially after sitting in Car 1 where barely anyone spoke at all!

Car 4 also has, the inner idiot discovered one group of women with an absolute hottie sitting among them. It was coincidence (honest!) that I'd sat in such a location that this girl's in my line of sight for my entire trip on the train. She's enjoyable to watch and over the past few weeks, we've talked a couple times and smiled on a regular frequency as well. On my scale, this girl was sitting pretty at an 8. It's cold outside, which means she's usually bundled up, so my '8' comes from face, smile, voice, and personality. I must say, the way she licks her yogurt spoon every morning helps a little too.

I'm such an idiot.

Whether things get worse or better from here really depends on whether or not you thought I was an idiot from reading the above information....

A couple times early on in my morning residency on Car 4, there was another woman who would occasionally sit in my section. I couldn't help but notice her at first. In fact, just going by looks alone, she was a 9.5. But that's only looks and there's so much more that needs to go into the "wow" factor for me.

But now, as the weeks roll by, she's sitting across from me on a daily basis. And that's when I started noticing the little things about her. She's got fantastic eyes. Very blue. She reads a lot. She looks good in glasses (and without glasses). She bites her lip while she reads. She can be funny when she feels like talking. She's just... wow. She makes the other hottie drop to an 8 just due to proximity.

She's helped my stress come down on my commuting.

Too bad I'm such an idiot.

The One with the Parking Tickets

I'm on a roll tonight and have numerous stories to tell. No, 'Africa' is not being published quite yet, but if you can hold off until the new year, you're going to be entertained. It'll be a great way to kick off a new theme for a new year!

I hope.

I've mentioned that my morning commute has changed. I didn't explain why, though.

Months ago, one morning when I missed the train, I'd been fighting with the pay parking machine. I punched in my parking stall number, just like I had everyday for 3 weeks. I'd put my money in, just like I had everyday for 3 weeks. This one morning, though, the machine kept giving me my money back. The train leaves as I'm trying to pay for parking and I end up driving in.

So, the following Monday, I start the little "dance" again. Stall number, money in, money comes back out. Again and again. Fine, screw it, and run for the train! I worry all day about a parking ticket, but assume when I return to my car that the machine was broken, hence, no ticket. The same thing happens on the Tuesday. Only this time, there's a $25 parking ticket. I"m not happy about it and resolve on the Wednesday that I'll be parking down a side street where the parking's free. I just have to run to catch the train!

All's well and good for a few months parking along the side street. That is, until one day I come back to my car and discovered a parking ticket on the window. It seems at some point either that day or the day before, the city put up no parking signs along the street. Somehow, with my leaving town before the Sun rises and coming home after it sets, I missed the tiny little signs. Truth be told, I had noticed one day that there was a metal post in a spot where I didn't recall seeing one before, but thought maybe a speed limit sign had fallen off.

As if getting the ticket for the surprise no parking section wasn't bad enough, I also discovered that the city had deemed a 40-foot section of the street as a no parking zone. 40-feet! Not the whole street! 40-feet of parking in front of trees, weeds, and blackberry bushes!!

So here was another $25 ticket staring at me for parking in the dark in a 40-foot section of no parking bush and "somehow" I missed the response deadline, which fell only on business hours of the day the ticket was issued... what the?!?!?!

The relief came when I realized I could easily fight the ticket. See, never in my life have I owned a 'Chysler'. Nor have I known anyone else to own a 'Chysler' either. And if they were to argue that it should read Chrysler, I'll give that to them too. I don't own a Chrysler, either. I just happened to buy my Japanese car from a Chrysler dealership.

Putting aside the ticket, I also decided that parking even further away was too risky. I checked the bus routes and discovered that the bus that stops directly in front of the train station runs right down my street. Well, how convenient is that?

So, my morning commute went from: 'drive, train, bus, train, bus' to: 'bus, train, bus, train, bus.'

And I couldn't be happier.

The One With A Little Scare

To say things were getting a little stressful at work is putting it mildly.

After getting moved to my new team, my previous boss was fired after 10 years with the company and just wrapping a successful project. None of it made sense, especially when two of his underlings were promoted the same week due to the project's accomplishments.

I knew the company was going through a major restructuring and the timing hit the same week that a number of projects were wrapping. What that meant, was a huge personnel shuffle, and a whole lot of people shown the door.

But that wasn't the end of it. The new team I was put on saw several people quit and move to competitor companies at the same time a handful of us arrived. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was quickly going from the #12 guy to the #7 person.

As of this week, I'm #3.

So, a ton of responsibility is now on my shoulders. I'm expected to train the "new hires" in an area of specialization where my "work experience" counts for less than 40 hours. Gee, I'm no expert, but I guess I'll train them! A little stress, yes?

The weather has recently taken a turn for the worse as well. We've had a few snowy days, none of which result in copious amounts of the white stuff hanging around longer than 24 hours, but it's enough that my morning commute has had a few disruptions and the close calls to the train on the way home now happen occasionally in the morning too. There's no worse feeling than running to catch a train morning and night. I'm tired of running. Especially in my dressier shoes.

Since Daylight Savings, the evening commute has gotten progressively worse. Where before I could expect to get to the train station in about 15-20 minutes, it regularly hits the 25-30 minute mark. This means I have a 40-50 minute wait for the next train and with wet/snowy/cold weather, I'm seeking shelter in one of the closest fast food joints. So much for healthy eating!!

Spending money in said fast food joints also means that I'm trying to balance the spending by eating cheaper lunches (still brought from home) at work. Noodle soups have become a staple diet for my lunches, which with less friends around the office also means I'm eating at my desk rather than socializing in the cafeteria. I noticed one day that my noodle soup has an extremely high sodium count. Roughly 72% of my daily sodium intake occurs over a 30-minute period every day. I've never been one to put salt on anything, so I'm taking in a lot more sodium now than probably ever before in my life.

Stress at work.
Less friends around.
Commuter nightmares.
Fast food diet, punctuated by higher salt content.

A week ago, I woke suddenly at about 4 in the morning. My chest hurt and I couldn't get back to sleep. I dealt with it as I got ready for work. I felt the pain as I jumped on my morning train. I struggled on the bus to the office. And by 10am, my left should was sore. By Noon I was convinced the fingertips on my left hand were feeling a little numb.

24 hours in the hospital followed, but there's nothing wrong with me. My body may have been scaring me, especially after the way I've treated it in recent weeks.

I'm fine.

I think I'm fine.

But definitely got a little scared.

The One With Vocabulary

I swear I'm working on the Arfica post. I've written about 6 hours' worth of stuff, which most college classmates could tell you is impressive for me. I used to submit essays that I wrote in a couple hours. No, not all the marks were good, but damn I could write em up quick!!

Work is frustrating. I'm on my new team and hear snippets of rumors everyday about more layoffs, staff shuffles, and such. 90% of the people in my area are now gone. My friends have stuck around but have all moved to a different project and I don't share the same break schedule as them. I see them in the mornings by the Starbucks and that's about it.

I'm sad, lonely, and a little paranoid.

One of my bosses was around this week "discussing" future plans with several o the guys on the team. While I should've (I think) moved into my area of specialty on this team, they wanted me to branch out a bit. The problem is, now there's only one person with the same skillset as me and he's swamped with work. He's been given a ton of responsibility, as have others on the team that are of equal 'stature' to me. I've got nothing.

I mentioned a couple job prospects that turned into nothing. Dead air. Not happy about it. I also caught wind of another opportunity that pays nearly 3 times the money and is a whopping 2-minute commute. I can handle that. The person for me to contact pulled a Costanza-like move on me and after giving me the details, took off for a 3-week project in Africa. Africa! She pawned off the job prospect to her assistant, who then received 2 emails from me. When I finally saw her in person, she told me I needed to contact someone else. Why she couldn't reply in an email with that, but waited to see me in person 3 days later.... So, off to the next person. 2 more emails and no response. The 3-week project in Africa is almost done, so I'm hoping (beyond hope, I know) that there's still some chance there at the end of next week. Ugh.

Good fortune may be smiling on me anyway as I'm also expecting to hear good news about a $5000 offer to design a new website. Can I do it? Probably! Does 5-grand motivate me to do it? You bet!!

If only that paid all the bills...

The only big highlight over the past few days is the arrival of my new friend, 'My First Love', on Facebook. She's still got that look in her eyes that drives me crazy.

Oh, and the thing with the vocabulary? I've been writing everyday on the train. I'm impressing myself and one day I might share... just not on here. :)