I still don't have a job yet.
It's kind of weird to think about because I have an office with a desk with a computer and a phone, but there is currently nothing for me to do, and if I don't hurry up and find something to do, there will be nothing on my paycheck. Naturally, it's making Cheryl very nervous. I'm not nearly so worried about it, just annoyed. Because there is work to be done, and there's going to be money coming in as soon as we start the work, but right now the two companies involved haven't agreed on all the terms.
Typical. The customer wants us to take all the risks and get paid next to nothing for it. We want them to pay for the work we're going to do, and to take responsibility for things that go wrong which are not our fault. Like, for example, finding out that the software we're supposed to be testing isn't really ready yet and we might have to re-run a bunch of tests. They want us to do re-runs on our own nickel, and we say Nope.
This is the kind of stuff that drove me crazy when I was doing Project Management. Dealing with customers who want Everything for Nothing. I know why they do it: their managers tie their pay and bonuses to their ability to swing a "deal". Which in this context is very nearly the same thing as a "swindle". But it's really stupid. We're not trying to cheat anyone here. We're trying to make enough money to pay our bills and give our employees a reasonable wage. After all, most of these guys have to get by in-between gigs. And pay their own insurance. Have you seen what it takes to get insurance on your own these days? Forget it.
I'm hoping to get a call tomorrow morning telling me that we are approved to start working. We already have a deadline to complete the tests, and every day we have to wait is one more day we'll have to work all the more faster to get it done on time. And you know the customer will start screaming if we even hint that it will be hard to make the deadline! Personally, I just want to keep the money coming in so that the CFO here at home is happy. Or at least not angry.
:::
We had our Family Meeting tonight but James wasn't able to attend, owing to the fact that he was Skyping with Tabea (and they were both falling asleep!), but we already know what he is doing this week: working crazy hours so he can save up enough money to get back to Germany. He's still thinking end of February. Which is fast approaching. December is almost over! January is almost here! Which means February is right around the corner.
December is almost over, Christmas Break is almost here -- one more week! -- and then the kids are out of school for a couple weeks. Adam has his exams Monday and Tuesday. Deb is grabbing as much work as she can; she's enjoying this thing of having money in her pocket. She did a little bit of shopping at Old Navy tonight and got a great deal on some very comfy outfits. Which she's currently wearing. She loves her cotton sweatpants! Mary is focusing on her (endless) homework. And her fan fiction, which she reads voraciously. Did you know there was a fan fiction crossover series with Harry Potter (as a female) and Daredevil (from the Netflix series)? Nope, neither did I. That is just weird.
We're looking forward to getting down to Texas for the holidays. If it's as warm down there as it has been here lately, it's going to be a bizarre Christmas. It was over 60 degrees today! Of course, the weatherman says it'll be snowing by Friday, but the way things have been going, it might just melt away by the time we head south. I hope so. I don't enjoy driving on the interstate in the snow. Around here, it's easy because I know all the routes and alternates, and can anticipate the curves in the roads. But on the interstate, there's all those icky trucks and things which have 'momentum' and 'mass' and get pushed around by 'wind'. And I don't like being anywhere near them when traveling.
I still remember that winter back during college when it took me 24 hours to drive across the state of Illinois (on the way to Grandma's house in Indiana) and the roads were all icy and there were trucks sliding off all over the place and the adrenalin was pumping through my system so much that I couldn't think straight; it was enough simply to keep the car between the lines on the road -- when I could see them.
I'd still rather drive than fly, though. And it's a sad state of affairs in the US when I'd rather drive than fly. I love to fly. But I do not care for the current process. Nor am I completely confident of the condition of the aircraft which are flying. Sometimes it doesn't pay to know too much about how those things work.
:::
The basement is still moving along, but very, very slowly. Far too slowly for Cheryl. And I'm being a real butt about it. It's my house, my basement, my wiring, and after the fiasco with the plumbing company, I don't want anyone else touching my basement. Except for drywall. I don't mind someone else doing the drywall. But I want to know what's behind it! And I'm a bloody perfectionist about the technical stuff. I've got the design done just the way I want it, and that's the way I want it implemented.
I'm hoping it'll be ready for the rough-in inspection in the next couple of days. There's a couple of things I have to tidy up. But that shouldn't take too long.
I hope.
It's kind of weird to think about because I have an office with a desk with a computer and a phone, but there is currently nothing for me to do, and if I don't hurry up and find something to do, there will be nothing on my paycheck. Naturally, it's making Cheryl very nervous. I'm not nearly so worried about it, just annoyed. Because there is work to be done, and there's going to be money coming in as soon as we start the work, but right now the two companies involved haven't agreed on all the terms.
Typical. The customer wants us to take all the risks and get paid next to nothing for it. We want them to pay for the work we're going to do, and to take responsibility for things that go wrong which are not our fault. Like, for example, finding out that the software we're supposed to be testing isn't really ready yet and we might have to re-run a bunch of tests. They want us to do re-runs on our own nickel, and we say Nope.
This is the kind of stuff that drove me crazy when I was doing Project Management. Dealing with customers who want Everything for Nothing. I know why they do it: their managers tie their pay and bonuses to their ability to swing a "deal". Which in this context is very nearly the same thing as a "swindle". But it's really stupid. We're not trying to cheat anyone here. We're trying to make enough money to pay our bills and give our employees a reasonable wage. After all, most of these guys have to get by in-between gigs. And pay their own insurance. Have you seen what it takes to get insurance on your own these days? Forget it.
I'm hoping to get a call tomorrow morning telling me that we are approved to start working. We already have a deadline to complete the tests, and every day we have to wait is one more day we'll have to work all the more faster to get it done on time. And you know the customer will start screaming if we even hint that it will be hard to make the deadline! Personally, I just want to keep the money coming in so that the CFO here at home is happy. Or at least not angry.
:::
We had our Family Meeting tonight but James wasn't able to attend, owing to the fact that he was Skyping with Tabea (and they were both falling asleep!), but we already know what he is doing this week: working crazy hours so he can save up enough money to get back to Germany. He's still thinking end of February. Which is fast approaching. December is almost over! January is almost here! Which means February is right around the corner.
December is almost over, Christmas Break is almost here -- one more week! -- and then the kids are out of school for a couple weeks. Adam has his exams Monday and Tuesday. Deb is grabbing as much work as she can; she's enjoying this thing of having money in her pocket. She did a little bit of shopping at Old Navy tonight and got a great deal on some very comfy outfits. Which she's currently wearing. She loves her cotton sweatpants! Mary is focusing on her (endless) homework. And her fan fiction, which she reads voraciously. Did you know there was a fan fiction crossover series with Harry Potter (as a female) and Daredevil (from the Netflix series)? Nope, neither did I. That is just weird.
We're looking forward to getting down to Texas for the holidays. If it's as warm down there as it has been here lately, it's going to be a bizarre Christmas. It was over 60 degrees today! Of course, the weatherman says it'll be snowing by Friday, but the way things have been going, it might just melt away by the time we head south. I hope so. I don't enjoy driving on the interstate in the snow. Around here, it's easy because I know all the routes and alternates, and can anticipate the curves in the roads. But on the interstate, there's all those icky trucks and things which have 'momentum' and 'mass' and get pushed around by 'wind'. And I don't like being anywhere near them when traveling.
I still remember that winter back during college when it took me 24 hours to drive across the state of Illinois (on the way to Grandma's house in Indiana) and the roads were all icy and there were trucks sliding off all over the place and the adrenalin was pumping through my system so much that I couldn't think straight; it was enough simply to keep the car between the lines on the road -- when I could see them.
I'd still rather drive than fly, though. And it's a sad state of affairs in the US when I'd rather drive than fly. I love to fly. But I do not care for the current process. Nor am I completely confident of the condition of the aircraft which are flying. Sometimes it doesn't pay to know too much about how those things work.
:::
The basement is still moving along, but very, very slowly. Far too slowly for Cheryl. And I'm being a real butt about it. It's my house, my basement, my wiring, and after the fiasco with the plumbing company, I don't want anyone else touching my basement. Except for drywall. I don't mind someone else doing the drywall. But I want to know what's behind it! And I'm a bloody perfectionist about the technical stuff. I've got the design done just the way I want it, and that's the way I want it implemented.
I'm hoping it'll be ready for the rough-in inspection in the next couple of days. There's a couple of things I have to tidy up. But that shouldn't take too long.
I hope.
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