stability is gold

It looks like we have good news from our corporate CEO. It appears that the company is now running so lean and have made so many cuts that a lay-off may not be necessary. Of course I feel like shit for those good people that did get the ax. Our business is stabilizing as we get more orders. Also, our department has a few pet-projects that will enable us to keep working through the slow-down phase. A benefit of this situation is that we were given more vacation--hell, that's great all the way around, isn't. If this is all we have to do keep our jobs for the long-haul, I'm in! More time off? There are a few folks that decided to take month long vacations in concert with the regular Christmas shut-down vacation, it's all about opportunity. My wife suggested that I take about a week off and just work on my writing. It's a good idea but unfortunately, I'm going to end up goofing off, kind of like I am now.
I'm writing at work more these days and actually getting into some problem solving. There are few graphics issues that need to be solved that will enable us to get our job done effectively. I've been lagging on this. I'll deal with it tomorrow.
My health... Eh, I don't know where this is right now. I actually think it's ok because I ran up Mount Israel in Elfin Forest in about 23 minutes, I've done it in 15. But I think I was inspired this time because I was angry and anger always helps me do things physically better.
Anger--it's not an emotion that I feed often but there are a few people that are really talented in pulling it out, I'm not going into names because it doesn't matter. What matters is that I know good ways of venting out my anger and canceling out bad feelings.
Ok, I have to return to my homework. That's it for now. Things at work are stable for now, very stable actually.

Things could be better.

It's hard to stay optimistic but we're doing the best we can. But, what if our best isn't good enough? Well? That's what harmonicas are for, learn to play the blues which is what I focus on. It's bad enough that newscasters and talk show hosts are prophets of doom. It's funny, they think the're being helpful. But I wonder. Those Shleprocks and I share the same genetic form, that of a human. How is it that I can see that talking about all this is the path to darkness and they can't? Is it because they're being directed by Satan (thanks Dana Carvey)? No, c'mon--the devil doesn't exist, at least, not in the spiritual sense but I digress. Then again, humans share the first two chromosomes with snakes, I guess some hold on to those until they take the human shape of a radio talk show host.
But that's ok, they don't have to take responsibility for the information they're putting out. As long as someone is listening to it or reading it, that's all that matters--who gives a rat's ass that someone out there might read or listen to the drivel of pessimissm and blow their head and that of their family's off. They're not responsible, the gun-wielding madman is. That's right, yeah, that's how it works and if I keep telling myself that, I'll believe it. But before I get overwhelmed by bitter sarcasm let me focus on the purpose of this entry.
Things aren't that great at work. Eventhough Solar isn't laying anyone off, our parent company, Caterpillar laid down the financial law to 25,000 valuable employess. So when does the axe swing our way? My expectation is never, we're pretty slim as it is and I think we can waether this storm. I just don't know for how long.
Everyone here is in fairly good spirits and expecting our yearly bonus. It's hard to say what the future holds for us though.

heading back for 2009.

We received an email from Caterpillar informing us that business for 2009 looks good but they couldn't guarantee anything for 2010. Big shocker... I'm grateful that I've kept my job this long despite the current recessed global situation. Actually, I'm not worried for some reason, probably because I still have a job and I haven't taken on any large purchases, we're staying light and paying off as many things as we can.

I'm grateful for my employment and for the time I've been there and have left with this company. The fact is, I'm not doing the sort of job that I'd like to be doing. Interestingly, this job is the manifestation of something that I thought I wanted to do. I wanted to be involved in SGML based, technical publishing that was gradually moving into XML technology. We're doing that for the most part but there is a lot of resistance, that and I'm not really sure how to get the department involved in this.

Even if we did, so what? What happens after we publish using XML based technology. I'm not a developer nor do I want to be one and that's what the department would need--a cold, hard developer. So I return to do my job, the job I manifested for myself.

So... Do I manifest another job? Yes, but life's happening as I'm waiting for my perfect job. Solar is not my career nor do I want it to be but I do enjoy the steady paycheck. The other concern is that I haven't had a "choice" job since I worked at IVID communications creating 3D animation.

In order to manifest anything you have to be clear about what you want. You don't have to know how it's going to happen or the mechanism but you do have to try, you should prepare and expect it and you should visualize the final outcome. I knew I'd so something like what I'm doing for Solar Turbines and I expected that I'd be working with nice people, which I am. But it is a stressful job. I need to do something where I won't receive such a ration of shit every time I make a mistake.

I make mistakes, I don't mind making them because I'm a perfectionist and when you're trying to do things perfectly, you're going to make mistakes, it's only human. I've made peace with my learning process. I need to work at something what will not cost someone money or hardships when I do make a mistake. Right now, that's not at Solar. I think that the people I work with tolerate my mistakes but they don't like it.

I'm a creative and distracted individual. I enjoy the way my brain works and I don't want to succumb to be a duty-driven, tacit employee to benefit someone else. I don't mind being a team player and I don't need to be in charge of the team.

I'll find what I'm looking for because I'm convinced that I get whatever I want, as does my wife so therefore I have the perfect wife. She's an optimist and that's exactly what I asked for.

I'll do the best that I can at my job with Solar Turbines but I also feel that this year--2009 will be the year I really define myself and close-up the way I'm doing things. I have a great deal of confidence in myself and I trust that I am surrounded by people that will support me.

safety, safety...

We take safety for granted, everyone does really and it's easy to develop a sense of complacency when you work in an office. What can possibly go wrong in an office setting? Actually, quite a bit if you're not paying attention and I'll return to my previous mention of a sense of complacency. A paper cut? These actually hurt and I've seen employees in a really bad mood because of a paper cut. It's same sort of mood you get into when you're dealing with a stubborn hangnail or a long meeting with a group of people you don't like. Lighting, lighting has been a problem for some people because we used to work in a darker room. Some of these folks have been relocated to a windowed cube and they hate it, they're not as productive anymore.

My job is to perform a safety stand-down, now that we're moved in. I have to identify the safety hazzards of working in an office. Especially making sure that ergonomics is being comfortably observed. I also have to look for earthquake hazzards in case the big one slaps us. We've been hearing about the "the big one" for as long as I can remember. I think some people get a kick out of predicting doom but not really preparing for it. I was in in the NOrthridge earthquake, they're not fun and people were REALLY scared.

Tomorrow, Cherryl and I will walk through our four department's floor and inspect every office, officle and cube for lethal working conditions. We'll record every complaint from lighting to unregistered odors to loud phone talkers to just about, everything that's hazzardous in an office setting.

O+1

O+1. President elect, Barack Obama won the 2008 election by a huge margin last night. The victory is bitter-sweet in some ways because in my opinion, if there's anyone out there that understands what it's like to fight for this country and to publicly serve its people, it is John McCain. But JM seems to be one of those guys that's just hounded by bad timing or forces beyond his control. The GOP seems to be the spanking-child and JM got lined up to take a spanking a long with all GOP members. He should have have won the primary eight years ago but for some reason, he didn't--this, I'll never understand.

Nobody talked about this at work because we don't usually mix politics or religion at work unless you know exactly that who you're talking to won't be offended by your views. We have a good environment at work and most of us know how we all stand or at least, have a good understanding.

Blake did ask me to bring some Obama victory cookies so I complied. Amy makes really good cookies and I like it when people compliment her culinary skills--they're honed and I'm too happy to enjoy every meal she makes.

All moved in.

It's Tuesday and I'm moved in to my new cube--UNIT 2122. My cube, everyone has a cube now, they're nice cubes. Some people are happy in their new cubes, others are not. But you can't make everyone happy so... Still, my new cube is very nice. It's more quiet than where I used to be in SP2 (Building 2). I used to sit next a meeting room and it was obnoxious how people would mill about and compare smart-phones. Then was the occasional idiot who would step out of the meeting and subject the entire floor to his Nextel powered conversation. I say Nextel because he would use the walkie-talkie feature "DEE-DLE-EEEE!!". Someone finally had to step up and tell him that we were trying to work and to please step outside. Actually, he had to be told twice because his initial response was, "it'll only be a minute...". His minute conversations felt like an hour, the guy was just rude. But there is no Nextel guy here in SP3.

Some people in our department found themselves in cubes next to a window. Some complained stating that they were too bright. I guess they'd never heard of blinds, which all of those cubes have. But I go back to what I was saying before about some people not being happy.

Everything is great but the bathroom situation is interesting. The men's rooms are being renovated because too many employees complained that they had become nearly dysfunctional, the towel dispensers were falling apart or just wouldn't work anymore, maybe it had something to do with the dents on the sides. I'm not sure how anyone was able to complain because I usually found the towel dispensers empty, banging on them didn't encourage more towels to dispense either. The soap dispensers didn't work either and the counter tops were chipping and falling apart at the edges from staying wet all the time or it could be because there was always spewed liquid hand-soap all over the counter-top near the dispenser pump. The urinals seemed permanently stained and I won't go into describing what that looked like but it made you want to squat instead of stand. Lord knows what goblins were going to spring out of those urinals and offend you. So! All this had to go. Building management had converted one of the lady's rooms into a temporary men's room. Wow, what an experience. You walk into the ladies room and it's like you're staying a nice hotel, so clean, so neat, no chipped counter-tops, the towel dispensers looked brand new. It was disconcerting when I first walked in, where do I pee? Not in those toilets, those are too clean to pee in? And look! There are little cute hospitality dispensers everywhere. Everything's purple, pink and Easter Sunday-yellow unlike the stained navajo-white and tortured peach colored urinals we had in the men's room. In the ladies room, you want to sit in there are talk about other guys you work with, football, politics. It's no longer just a bathroom, it's a sanctuary or relaxation, a little order in the chaos that is work. It's no wonder women go in to their little sanctuaries two or three at a time. I imagine it's like going to a sports bar and having a beer.

Ok, you can tell that I was impressed by the ladies room. There's a rumor going around that the management is going to play on joke on everyone and convert the bathrooms back to what they used to be simply to see how many people they can confuse. I dont't think they will but it wold be fun to watch and listen to the occasional shrieks.

I'll document later how my time is going sitting in cube 2122 at SP3. So far it's pretty cool.

We're moving.

Max is 13 months old now. He occupies most of my thoughts at work and it'd distracting. He does something new every day, I spend the following day thinking about it and replaying the previous nights events. I can't imagine what he will do next, he's an amazing little kid. But see? this is exactly what I'm talking about. I'd like to write something indicative of the company I work for, my job. But instead, I start talking about Max--this is what it's like at work, it's MAX, MAX, MAX... I can't concentrate because I'm trying to figure out what other toys I can get for him or make. Ok, and much like how I refocus at work, here it goes.

My job. I'm still working for the infrastructure group at code 238. I'm doing better with things now and I like my job more. I'm starting to understand the "Solar" corporate philosophy now. It's a great company as it's a little old fashioned and extremely conservative.

I look back at when I started there and admit that I was a little scared of some of the folks. They seemed a little too Jesus-happy and that always frightens me as typically, those god-loving folks tend to be a little closed minded to my unique style of thought. But that's all in the past now. Once again, Max, changed all that. Somehow, as soon as I found out about Max in December of 06, I accepted God and Jesus into my life, it was actually pretty profound and felt like I was having a flurry of epiphanies. I don't think that Amy experienced the sort of spiritual shift that I did, I'm sure that she went through some changes of her own through the "max" experience. But back to my job.

I'm taking much better care of supplier data issues and I feel like I'm playing nice-nice with everyone more. But I think as people get to know me more, most of the employees seem a little more relaxed around me. It was scaring me not to hear some light swearing. Now I get the occasional "shit! Damn-it! but very rarely the "F" word. It's ok, I work better in an environment where there is some light swearing. We all know who to swear around and who not to so It's all good.

We're moving to the building next door, building three. The office should be better for our lungs and I expect that we won't have as many health related issues as I've heard that people have. I've had a few but I don't think that I can blame them on the building. I have a little germ factory at home so I think that's my problem. Still, it should be good. I'm still lacking the level of interest in some of the things that we do that Donna seems to be fascinated with. There are just some things that I can't get into like she does. I'm sure it will show on my review but I hope not too negatively.

I'm trying to find other possible places where I can go within the company. I can do many things as I consider myself fairly talented. I'm less arrogant than I used to be so that will work in my favor. So... It's all good, I'm tired of writing. I'll blog how things go after the move.

I have faith that it will all be good as it usually is. Now, I have faith.