Jericho: Now it can be told.
My life has gone through a series of shake ups the last couple of weeks. I haven't been able to write about them, and even this entry will be HEAVILY guarded as to what I will say and very light on detail - nothing is settled yet. All I can say in my defence is that it's not paranoia if indeed they are out to get you.
A bit of history. I seem to find ways to work in the minority group no matter where I work. At Sprynet, I worked on the Mac team, I was fired for doing the same things other people on other teams were never noticed for - and the people who fired me were fired within two weeks after I left. I worked in the Telecom group at Boeing, they were out sourced to IBM Global Services, I then joined the 3rd, then the 2nd shift generalists. As a contractor on these shifts, the feeling was that I was easily replaced. Now, I work again for a Telecom group. We are a small team. I'm sure you can see where this is going.
We have had some management changes in the last three months. Several people have been fired or have quit. Since this set of changes began, I have been fearing for my job. A week ago Thursday, my fears came to fruition - we were told we're being out sourced.
And the panic set in ...
This is the longest I have ever had a job. I've been here for nearly five years. I hate looking for work. I really hate the fact that if I go off to some other job, I'll probably be in the same situation I'm in now in another five years. So, I decided to find a way to change and maybe even improve my situation.
I walked out of the worst meeting I've had in my five years at this job, took the elevator to the lobby, called my wife and told her to meet me outside. I told her what was up. Then, I floated the idea. Wanna go to Maine?
Steph is from Maine, her folks are still there, so are some of her friends. She's close to her folks, and I have always felt bad that I brought her out here and seperated them. In the past year, I have been thinking about Maine. Steph and I have a real problem - we're both going to be the kids our parents will rely on as they age. Neither set of parents are going to be able to fully support themselves. Maine might be the only place we can set up to make sure our folks are taken care of. It's still a few years off, but being prepared now is better than it sneaking up on us later. (My mom just lost her job and it's not looking good. She was at her last job for thirty years.) I have been thinking about opening up a hotel or B&B - some place we can call our own and put the retirees to work! :)
Either way, if we are going to move to Maine, I felt we should do it immediately, we wouldn't get the chance again. Steph saw my point and agreed we didn't have much to lose. We'd wait to see what the final word was on the job, if there was going to be a severance package or what not. We had no idea if this was happening in months or days. Steph's folks had no problem with us staying with them until we could get our own place. (Eight cats in one house! Oy!) We worked on my rez and began applying for jobs.
It was a long weekend. On top of everything else, I had (have!) some type of stomach bug. I was on the crapper every hour. So, I cancelled my gaming with my friends, and told them about the job sitch. I got a lot of negative reactions out of that. Just what I needed. I told Max and Laura. More nagative reactions. I know no one meant anything by this, I just needed more support than I got. (I love you guys. Really!) I also announced that I was going to stop working on Planet Zonk. I need the time for other pursuits, like packing and trying to get certified.
Going to work on Monday was a real trip. The idea of getting up to go to a job that didn't exist anymore. The fact I was unemployed but not yet fired. It was all pretty mind blowing. Steph and I agreed that having an end date would have been better than my cheese hanging in the wind. It just sucked. That afternoon I had a phone interview with a placement company in Portland, Maine. A nice job with a bit of a raise for a big North East bank. If that job were to work out, I could go to Maine, stay with my inlaws, work the job, find an apartment and be ready for Steph while she stayed here and sold the house and moved us out. Things looked to be working out.
On Wednesday, I got to train the Help Desk people to start taking Telecom calls and emails. Nothing like training your replacement. Later in the afternoon, I went to a meeting to discuss the outsourcing. I didn't realise I was walking into an episode of "Three's Company" - it was all a big misunderstanding.
Our telecom equipment is pretty out of date and it varies from office to office. We have been talking about going to Voice over IP (VoIP) for a while - the whole industry is talking about VoIP, so no shock there. One of the options, an option that has a lot of advantages, including price and speed of deployment, is to have the VoIP system hosted by someone like Quest, Sprint, etc. You will notice, I said "hosted." Management above my group calls this "Outsourcing." Their vison is that the current Telecom team will be the Subject Matter Experts on the VoIP system. The Help Desk will act as our Tier 1 and the actual hardware will be given to an "outsourcer" - a hosted solution. While our jobs can't be guaranteed, there is no need to fire anyone or change our group in any significant fashion.
Well, that was a fun week!
We're all still pretty unnerved. I don't feel that I can depend on having a job tomorrow. So, I'm going to redouble my efforts to get some certifications (I'm working on Network+) and my resume is ready to go if the excrement impacts the atmospheric screw and becomes an aerosol particulate.
I really need to start my own business. I can't take this crap anymore!
A bit of history. I seem to find ways to work in the minority group no matter where I work. At Sprynet, I worked on the Mac team, I was fired for doing the same things other people on other teams were never noticed for - and the people who fired me were fired within two weeks after I left. I worked in the Telecom group at Boeing, they were out sourced to IBM Global Services, I then joined the 3rd, then the 2nd shift generalists. As a contractor on these shifts, the feeling was that I was easily replaced. Now, I work again for a Telecom group. We are a small team. I'm sure you can see where this is going.
We have had some management changes in the last three months. Several people have been fired or have quit. Since this set of changes began, I have been fearing for my job. A week ago Thursday, my fears came to fruition - we were told we're being out sourced.
And the panic set in ...
This is the longest I have ever had a job. I've been here for nearly five years. I hate looking for work. I really hate the fact that if I go off to some other job, I'll probably be in the same situation I'm in now in another five years. So, I decided to find a way to change and maybe even improve my situation.
I walked out of the worst meeting I've had in my five years at this job, took the elevator to the lobby, called my wife and told her to meet me outside. I told her what was up. Then, I floated the idea. Wanna go to Maine?
Steph is from Maine, her folks are still there, so are some of her friends. She's close to her folks, and I have always felt bad that I brought her out here and seperated them. In the past year, I have been thinking about Maine. Steph and I have a real problem - we're both going to be the kids our parents will rely on as they age. Neither set of parents are going to be able to fully support themselves. Maine might be the only place we can set up to make sure our folks are taken care of. It's still a few years off, but being prepared now is better than it sneaking up on us later. (My mom just lost her job and it's not looking good. She was at her last job for thirty years.) I have been thinking about opening up a hotel or B&B - some place we can call our own and put the retirees to work! :)
Either way, if we are going to move to Maine, I felt we should do it immediately, we wouldn't get the chance again. Steph saw my point and agreed we didn't have much to lose. We'd wait to see what the final word was on the job, if there was going to be a severance package or what not. We had no idea if this was happening in months or days. Steph's folks had no problem with us staying with them until we could get our own place. (Eight cats in one house! Oy!) We worked on my rez and began applying for jobs.
It was a long weekend. On top of everything else, I had (have!) some type of stomach bug. I was on the crapper every hour. So, I cancelled my gaming with my friends, and told them about the job sitch. I got a lot of negative reactions out of that. Just what I needed. I told Max and Laura. More nagative reactions. I know no one meant anything by this, I just needed more support than I got. (I love you guys. Really!) I also announced that I was going to stop working on Planet Zonk. I need the time for other pursuits, like packing and trying to get certified.
Going to work on Monday was a real trip. The idea of getting up to go to a job that didn't exist anymore. The fact I was unemployed but not yet fired. It was all pretty mind blowing. Steph and I agreed that having an end date would have been better than my cheese hanging in the wind. It just sucked. That afternoon I had a phone interview with a placement company in Portland, Maine. A nice job with a bit of a raise for a big North East bank. If that job were to work out, I could go to Maine, stay with my inlaws, work the job, find an apartment and be ready for Steph while she stayed here and sold the house and moved us out. Things looked to be working out.
On Wednesday, I got to train the Help Desk people to start taking Telecom calls and emails. Nothing like training your replacement. Later in the afternoon, I went to a meeting to discuss the outsourcing. I didn't realise I was walking into an episode of "Three's Company" - it was all a big misunderstanding.
Our telecom equipment is pretty out of date and it varies from office to office. We have been talking about going to Voice over IP (VoIP) for a while - the whole industry is talking about VoIP, so no shock there. One of the options, an option that has a lot of advantages, including price and speed of deployment, is to have the VoIP system hosted by someone like Quest, Sprint, etc. You will notice, I said "hosted." Management above my group calls this "Outsourcing." Their vison is that the current Telecom team will be the Subject Matter Experts on the VoIP system. The Help Desk will act as our Tier 1 and the actual hardware will be given to an "outsourcer" - a hosted solution. While our jobs can't be guaranteed, there is no need to fire anyone or change our group in any significant fashion.
Well, that was a fun week!
We're all still pretty unnerved. I don't feel that I can depend on having a job tomorrow. So, I'm going to redouble my efforts to get some certifications (I'm working on Network+) and my resume is ready to go if the excrement impacts the atmospheric screw and becomes an aerosol particulate.
I really need to start my own business. I can't take this crap anymore!
posted by Jericho Brown at 7/17/2005 03:40:00 PM
19 Comments:
I guess I should not be surprised that my offer of help was seen as negativity. The general opinion seems to run the that direction. I'm glad things are going okay for you for the moment.
I'm just glad everyone is healthy. I was worried, waiting in the wings. I'm glad you are still employed. I'm looking for work right now out in Illinois, not fun.
Yes, Max, let's make this about you, shall we?
Max, reread what I wrote. I thank you for your offer of help. You are generous as always. But, the moment I say I'm going to ME, you send me job offers in MO. No pressure! Reminding me that it's my fault that we're half the country away from each other may not be as much help as you might think.
Hud, did I miss something? What happened to the millitary? Did they drop you because of your back?
Yup. This is why I gotta give up using words. Apparently the words I use mean something completely different than what I think. For all I know, I just threatened to coat the Pope in kumquat juice.
All I did was offer you a home and a possible lead on a job. I was unaware that the fact that you already had better offers somehow made my gesture an insult. I thought I was offering to help out. It turns out I was slapping youin the face. Although I am way too thick to understand how this transpired, I apologize and will not bother you with my pathetic offers of assitance in the future.
Yes, I'm out of the army as July 8. They don't want people with bad backs for some reason. Anyway, we have relocated to Champaign-Urbana IL. Linda has a residency in pathology lined up here so here we are. We just made an offer on a house and it was accepted, but we need the inspection done before finalizing. Scary fact, you can be accepted for a $400k home loan without even having a job as long as you have a high enough credit score. And no, we are not buying a $400k house. Divide it by 4 and you're much closer to what we are getting. But I am looking for a job. So if anybody knows of anything in this area with mediocre to good pay, let me know! Please, really, I need a job. now.
Max, lighten up. Jer had a BAD week. He made a well reasoned yet hard to make decision to move across the country to get better prepared for the future of his family. You very kindly offered him shelter and a lead on a job in St. Louis. I'm sure he appreciates that but it was not the kind of support he was looking for. He was looking for a bit of moral support on the decision he had made, not an alternative to it. My 2 cents are in. Later
Hud, I have had nothing but bad weeks four about three months now. If someone showed any level of concern, offered any level of help, I would be grateful. I would not tell them they fucked up because they failed to read my mind and tell me exactly what I wanted to hear.
There's a cry for help.
How can I help you, Max? Name it and I'll at least give it a shot.
What's with the negativity? I mean, why aren't y jumping up and saying exactly what I want to hear?
God I love sarcasm.
See, Jer, the thing is, we didn't know you already had a job offered to you in Maine, and we had no idea you were planning on going there someday anyway. None of that was in the email you sent us. We couldn't have known that sending you job offers in St. Louis (your enemy city) or Chicago was quite pointless, or we wouldn't have bothered. We were maybe just trying to show you your other options that you seemed to had just looked over. There's more to this country than the coasts.
Regardless, when Max was out of work, you sent him job offers in Seattle and other places, when we were pretty set on staying in St. Louis- where all our family and friends and new house are. We didn't take it as an insult, though. We took it as an offer of help, but ignored it quietly so we didn't hurt your feelings.
Anyway, this has all been very stressfull. My best friend has moved to St. Joseph, MO (5 hours away) with her sister and I can empathize with Max quite a bit more, now. I know why he's upset. We should move on.
Hud- I have no idea where Champagin, IL is, but I know for a fact Charter is hiring and starting pay is $9.50 and goes up to 10.00 if you get a shift after noon and goes up again to 11.50 after 2pm. I just got hiried on myself today. I'm guessing Town and Country is too far for you to go, though, huh? Check their website, though (chartercom.com), they have positions open all over the place. Good luck with your hunt. I know it sucks.
" I told Max and Laura. More nagative reactions. I know no one meant anything by this, I just needed more support than I got. "
See, this is just it- we weren't being completely negative. We just thought you weren't seeing all your options, or you were ignoring them for some reason. Like I said above, there is more to this country than the E and W coasts- and since I didn't know you had already gotten a job offer in Maine, I sent you some in Chicago- close to family and friends and big enough (like I doubted anyplace in Maine would be) to actually have a good paying job waiting for you. We offered you a place to live that was close enough to Chicago to go for interviews without much hassle. It was just a serious option that you seemed to have just ignored. We didn't know you already had other fairly definate plans.
Anyway, like I said... I'm moving on.
Okay, enough of this. Thank you, love, for what you said.
From the bottom of my heart, Jer, I meant no negativity. I saw someone I care about facing a bad situation so I offered assistance. I have no power to get you a job or lodging in Maine. I figured you would not be interested in what I have to offer, but offered it as a general show of support, to let you know that if worse came to worst, I had your back. I had no intention of being negative about anything and I am still stumped as to how you managed to wring negativity about what I said. But, whatever. I am tired of this silly dicussion. It is beyond pointless.
Um... ditto what he said. I admit I was a tad negative, but the job offers I sent and such were for the same reasons Max just mentioned. We got your back. Both of us.
Cool. Jer hates me now.
Jer... why u b hatin' ?!?!?!?
I should have said "Y U B hatin'" but it's too late now.
Or better yet: "YUB H8N" I thnk I'm getting that on my license plate!
Dude, Jer... you're not seriously THAT mad, are you??? I mean, it was a miss understanding at best. We love you and we'll support you when/if you move. We might have had a bad initial reaction, but in the end, we support you no matter what you do.
Good luck whatever the outcome, I can relate, my store closes in January and I'm taking the severance, damn straight. Changes all around, or not, whatever the circumstances, good LUCK!
Cupie, you and I should go into business together. You got the brains and I got the brawn, let's make lots of money!
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