Anyone flown United lately? They’ve changed the layout of their planes to better serve their “premium” members, giving them more legroom. They did this without changing the number of seats on the plane, though. You know how? By pushing all the seats in the back half of the plane a couple inches closer together. Now, when they guy in the seat in front of you reclines the 3 degrees permissible, his seatback ends up bumping your forehead. If you’re over 5’7″, you will hate being past row 10 on these things. Ick.
Meanwhile, my coworker Paul has just returned from the most arduous flight I’ve heard of to take place on only one continent. He was traveling for over 20 hours yesterday, just to get from DC to Tucson. He spent 8 hours on tarmacs waiting for gates. Don’t you love air travel today?
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current_mood: amused
Anyone in the DC area want to get some dinner on my expense account Tuesday night? Gotta love these one-day meetings. I will spend more time on layovers in Denver than working next week. Your tax dollars at work.
But I am serious about getting dinner. Without a dining partner I end up eating BK Fish sandwiches all too often.
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Knowing that I had no travel scheduled for January (February I’m gone half the month or more), I planned a little gathering for friends on the 8th, to play silly games and talk, drink, watch TV, whatever.
After getting back from San Diego in December, I spent one day at home before beginning my vacation. I got back from that on the 1st, returned to work yesterday, and finished up the few tasks that were awaiting me. Past 3 in the afternoon, I was told that I need to make travel arrangements to go to DC on Monday. I’ll be attending a one-day meeting on Tuesday, flying back on Wednesday. Wednesday is what date, sports fans? That’s right – the 8th. So, I need to get things ready for the party this weekend, leave them in place while I fly to the frozen North, and then come back to entertain. Hope there are no plane delays on Wednesday. Oh, well – nobody has RSVPed that they’re coming anyhow.
Why is my house a mess if I’m never there, a reasonable person may ask. Well, when I get back from these trips, I drop my junk, do my laundry, pack my bags and leave. Straightening up a house that nobody will see for a week is not on my list of things to do. So, now I’ve got a month of dross to clean up. I did get all my bills paid, so that’s something anyway.
Anyone have a job in Tucson or Sierra Vista that doesn’t involve constant and unexpected travel?
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current_mood: tired
Anyone else ever daydream about what you’d do if you could be invisible? Just hang out and listen to what people say about you, sneak into the women’s locker room, make people think they’re haunted…
current_mood: bored
Southwest Airlines, one of the few profitable ones, sucks. OK, so this is the first time I’ve flown SWA that I can recall, but this sample of one is pretty bad.
Supposed to leave Tucson at 7:50, the plane we had was given away to another flight, and we would be delayed until 10 for a repair to a new plane. That repair was canned, and we were rerouted to another flight, going through Vegas. Finally arrived 5 hours late. And, what is with the “open seating” thing on SWA? That’s annoying as hell. People wandering around the plane like bums on a bus – “Is that seat open?”
At least I had time enough to recon my meeting location for tomorrow. Should be 7 minutes to get there, with traffic likely to be 30.
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current_mood: tired
Ben and Jerry’s Festivus will not be released this year. Oh, woe is me!
current_mood: disappointed
I got a call from a headhunter on Tuesday, talking about a one-year contract position here at the same compound I currently toil in, for 15 grand more than I make.
Today I got a call from the HR guy from another competitor here in the compound, and he was talking about 5 grand more than I make now, for a permanent position. This position, I’ve been told by the GS dude above us all, pays normally 17 grand more than my salary.
Meanwhile, TRW (current employer) has made it clear they plan to give me a decent raise this year, probably to the point that the competitor is offering (+5). Gee, I would change companies and all that involves and make no more money? duh
When I first came to TRW, fresh from 12 years in the army, they offered me what I thought was a decent salary, but a little lower than I’d hoped for. The next employee that got hired (with considerably less experience than I had) got paid more than me. And, as you may know, raises at the end of the year are percentages, not dollars. So, if I get 4% and newbie gets 4%, he still ends up ahead of me, with my longer experience and even longer experience with TRW itself. Hmmm… Doesn’t seem right, does it? TRW, for those not in the defense industry, has been infamous for being a cheap-ass company.
Now, after nearly two years (damn, it’s been that long?), I’ve got two offers on the table. Neither is solid yet, though. The Government guy that is the intell boss here told me how much the competitor (NG) is paying, and I should not sell myself short, as I did with TRW.
In the two years I’ve been here, I’ve proven time and again my ability to get shit done, accurately and ahead of schedule. The NG guy who recommended me for the position has a few months less experience at the testing center, although he was in the army 18 years longer than I. He gets paid about 17 grand more than I make, and when he worked for TRW never produced a single document or conducted a successful test. I, on the other hand, have produced dozens of documents and successfully tested a few elusive systems, covering two different intelligence disciplines. And NG offers me 5 grand?
TRW has done everything short of waving a flag at me to tell me that I’m getting a good raise this year. I figure I’ll end up with the same salary that NG is offering, but without pissing anyone off by changing companies. If not, the contract position pays a lot more. Yeah, it’s only for a year, but figure the odds that I won’t get a permanent position at the end of that time. And with an extra 10 grand, I think I could afford to take time off to find work. 🙂
So, more about the bizarre politics of defense contractors than you probably need to know. Have a day.
current_music: The Waitresses – Christmas Wrapping
current_mood: contemplative
The radio the other day had an entertaining piece about bad presents. They started with lists of things to never get for men/women, then asked for examples of other things not on the lists.
So, LJ friends and strangers, I ask you:
What is the worst present you have received from a close friend or relation?
Of course you get bad presents from people who barely know you, but folks that should know better sometimes give you crap. What’s a good one from your past?
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current_mood: curious
I realized it’s been a while since I posted this link. It’s to my Amazon wishlist, filled with all kinds of things I’d enjoy receiving.
If you just want to get some stuff for yourself, you selfish person you, check out the store, with wacky designs for any occasion.
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current_mood: tired
The December trip to Hawaii is now in February. To fill the time, I’m going to San Diego for a few days in December, just a week before I go to Minnesota. San Diego, Minnesota…nice dichotomy.
There are many impatient people in the world, it seems. I just got an IM out of the blue from a complete stranger. I responded with a single word greeting, then went back to work (I am at work after all).
A few seconds later I notice a message on my screen telling me I’m rude for ignoring people. Well, excuse me for not responding in three seconds to a complete stranger who is not even saying anything beyond “Hello” and shit. That makes as much sense as telemarketers getting mad because I don’t pick up the phone. Just because I have Trillian running doesn’t mean I’m required to answer people in under 5 seconds. Get a life.
current_music: The incessant dings and bells from a coworker’s computer
current_mood: annoyed
I have forgotten until just now my old pal’s birthday. Hope you had a good one, soldier boy.
Get to spend an exciting three days in Jacksonville. At least the flights were uneventful. Now to go spend two days on a ship, watching really dull computer screens.
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The meaning of this holiday changed for me in 1989, when I put on the uniform for the first time. It didn’t magically morph back to the earlier, less-informed, view when I took that uniform off for the last time in 2001, though.
When I heard about the Beirut Marine barracks bombing as a kid, it was a remote incident. It didn’t really mean much to me. When I hear about that sort of thing now, I wonder if I knew any of them.
In March, one of the soldiers that I helped train was killed in a training accident. The NSA has a wall of remembrance for people that were killed and who can’t be acknowledged because of the classified nature of their missions. One of my friends just got back from a counter-terrorist “training” mission that involved a lot of live ammo and people who weren’t training aids. That’s what I’m reminded of on Veteran’s Day now.
The LJ crowd tends to the young; the young are usually very liberal and anti-war. Be anti-war all you want, but support the men and women who volunteer to step in front of a bullet for you. To do any less would be churlish.
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I re-arranged my designs, so I rebuilt my Store page as well. It’s more coherent and each link only opens one store instead of 8 or more as before. Faster.
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