Robert's Ramblings

I have decided to take the job in Houston for the following reasons:

1. I will enjoy the work in Houston much more than the other. That is to say, it will be a lot more fun. It has been a very long time since I have actually enjoyed my work. I want a job like that.
2. I will be responsible. I don’t want to be a cog in the wheel who is under constant supervision. I’ve had my fill of call center jobs where my every move is monitored. I want a job where I know my responsibilities and I am given the scope and authority to accomplish those responsibilities. This will be the ultimate in that regard. I will be the onsite manager, responsible for all aspects of my area and machine, and the boss will be four states away. I like to be responsible.
3. Finally, there is the adventure of the whole thing. I am going to a place where I know absolutely no one and have no support structure. In my whole life, I have never been in that situation. I will have only myself on whom to rely.  At the risk of sounding cliché, is that a chance for personal growth or what? And in addition, there will be the chance to really develop my personal independence and autonomy. My primary task will be take care of myself and ensure that I and my job are properly looked after. It should be an excellent opportunity to finally get to know myself.

So, here is my job situation. I have basically been not employed for nine months. Since I was having absolutely no success finding a “job” in the traditional sense, I began looking for something else. I found something. I had gotten myself set to teach chess for after school programs at some local schools. And then there would be the possibility of getting some private lessons as well. I would have loved this. However, it would come nowhere close to paying the bills. So, I would have to supplement it somehow. I was exploring some options for part-time work. In other words, could I piece together enough little things to equal a job?

About three and a half weeks ago, I got a call from my brother the Marine who lives in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Last spring he had tried to help me get a job with a defense contractor there at his base. At that time, they decided they didn’t need my help. So, I mostly forgot about it. My brother informed me, however, that they needed someone new and were now interested in me again. So I filled out the apps for them and got some references. The company seemed to be moving somewhat slow, but as of yesterday, it has been decided that they would like me to go out there and talk to the people in charge of the shop and let them show me around. And if they think they can work with me and vice versa then the company will make me an offer. The type of work they do is mechanical and basically assembly line. They install radios into military vehicles. They bring in a vehicle, you install the radio, then that vehicle goes out and another one just like it comes in. You get the picture. I am not a mechanic, but I can use tools and there is no doubt that I could do the job.

So, I have a job possibility that is very promising, is something I could do, if not love, and would pay enough for me to take care of my business. Seems like a no brainer. But no. As I mentioned in a previous post, something else has been thrown in the mix. Some weeks ago I dropped off a resume at a local mall where I had seen a help wanted sign. I had pretty much forgotten about it. Over the weekend I get a call from the guy doing the hiring and he asked me to meet him Monday morning. I did, and he also had me work a couple of hours so I could get a feel for the work. He has offered me the job and I am to start in a few days. The work involves running a simulator. Have you ever been in a mall and seen those things that sort of look like a car with no windows or tires sitting on some hydraulics? You ride in them and they simulate roller coasters and race cars and what not. They’re pretty fun. So, basically he wants to put one of these things in a new mall and have me be the site manager for it. The major drawback is that for the first three months, the hours would be hellatious. Whenever the mall is open, I would be working (As an aside, did you know that if you have a store or a kiosk in a mall, and you aren’t open when the mall is open, they can fine you? That’s right. Have a flat tire on the way to work and get your place open 15 minutes late and the mall can fine you big bucks). So, for at least three months I would be working whole bunches of hours with no days off. After that, I can look at hiring some help.

So, after months of nothing, it appears I have two jobs to choose from. One is an absolute certainty, the other is a pretty safe bet. The jobs are completely different. One is being a mechanic in an assembly line type of job. The other is dealing with people all day. Admittedly, my customer service skills exceed my mechanic skills. And frankly, I would enjoy the mall job over the mechanic job.

In favor of North Carolina is the fact that it doesn’t have long hours. Go in, do your work for eight hours, go home. Weekends off. Also, and I don’t know because no one has talked money with me yet, it would probably pay more initially, although the chance for raises/bonuses would come more quickly in the mall. Also, NC would come with benefits of some sort, whereas the other job would basically just be contracted. Since I can use the VA Medical Centers, that isn’t a huge deal for me at this point. Also, a huge plus for North Carolina is the chance to hang out with my brother.

In favor of the other---and I haven’t told you where it is yet, have I? It’s in Houston. Yes, that’s in Texas---is the fact that I would probably enjoy the work more. For a while, I have wished for a job where I was told what I needed to accomplish and then left alone to do it. This is that job. We would go to Houston, set up the simulator, the boss would spend about a week there making sure I was up to speed, and then he would go back to Tennessee and leave me in charge. I call and make a report once a week and that’s it. It’s my site and I’m responsible and as long as I get the job done, no one gives me shit. That would be so much better than the call center type jobs I’ve worked for the last several years where your every move is monitored.

One other difference between the two is the matter of support system. If I go to North Carolina I will have built in support. My brother and his family, of course. And they can introduce me to other people and help me make friends and such. And I would be working with a group of people. In Houston, it would be totally the opposite. No support structure. No family, no friends, no coworkers, no one to stay with, etc. I would be totally and completely on my own from day one. I have been considering how this might affect me. Certainly it would be very nice to go someplace where I have people I know. It would make some things much easier. On the other hand, there could be some benefit to going it alone. I don’t recall a time in my life when I have ever been totally thrown on my own resources. It could be beneficial to me to face something totally alone in a new place and win.

One other difference between the jobs. The North Carolina job is about supporting the military, which I’m all for. However, as part of that support, the workers are expected to do rotations in places like Iran and Afghanistan. Accepting that job involves doing those. I can’t say that I’m overly excited by the prospect.

So there is my choice. And truly, I need to decide very, very soon. If I’m going to Houston, I leave Tuesday. If to North Carolina, I would need to follow a similar timetable.  

Late Friday evening, I'm talking well past six, I received an email from Verizon informing me that they don't want me to come work for them. The deal is this. They have just built themselves a huge new call center. They are hiring 265 customer service reps to work in this call center. The first class of reps started training last week so they need to hire at least 200 and some more. Telephone customer service is what I've been doing for basically the last four years. Quite well, I might say. I'm exactly what they want. But they have apparently found a reason that I am not acceptable to them. It appears that I am even less employable than I had feared.

On Tuesday, I took my car for an oil change. After the mechanics finished finding things that were wrong and needed to be fixed, it cost me over $300. Not good when I have no income at all at the moment. But if the the car doesn't keep running, I'll really be in trouble.

Well, here it is, the first day of a new year. I can't speak for the rest of the world, but I am thankful for a chance at a new beginning. 2008 certainly had it's good and pleasant moments, but towards the end, it really started sucking for me personally. I know the same is true for a lot of people.

What would I like most for the new year? How about stability. I could use a job that suits me and pays enough to actually meet all of my needs and obligations. I would like to feel settled rather than in flux much of the time. I would like to feel secure.  

So, my agenda for 2009 is to maintain as good of an attitude as possible. I will try to be positive and upbeat. I will try to make good decisions and take advantage of the opportunities which come my way. I will try to find a career I can live with that will support me adequately.

What about you? How do you feel about 2008 and what sort of plans do you have for 2009?

Over the weekend I purchased a set of 2009 FranklinCovey planner pages. I had mentioned before that I intended to do so. I like my Blackberry but as I mentioned I may be giving it up, plus there are some things for which it is not totally suited. For planning, note taking, and general keeping track of everything and keeping one's life together, I find my dayplanner to be superior. So, even should I end up keeping my Berry, I will use my dayplanner in conjunction with it. Although I expect I may just look for a simpler phone. 

So what books are you reading now? I usually have several going at once.  Here are three.

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People By Stephen Covey. A very good book, I'm reading it for like the third time. If you haven't yet read it, I highly recommend it.

Becoming A Professional Life Coach by Patrick Williams and Diane S. Menendez. I received this for Christmas. Admittedly, you probably won't be interested unless you have a desire to become a life coach.

Life's a Bitch and then You Change Careers by Andrea Kay. The subtitle is 9 Steps to Get Out of Your Funk and on with Your Future. The main purpose of the book is to help you find the career that you are meant to be in and get into it.

So, are you reading any good books? Tell us about them.

Well, Christmas is over and we have a new week. I'm hoping to hear from a few potential employers who have promised to contact me. However, with this also being a short week, I'm not holding my breath. I have some friends who are all working Monday and Tuesday then have the rest of the week off. I think it will be next week before the job search makes any progress.

The weather is supposed to be reasonable the next couple of day. There should be lots of sunshine. I desperately need it. I suffer from not getting enough at this time of year. Plus, I'm having an awful lot of trouble at nights lately. I'm not at all happy with the thoughts that fill my head when the sun goes down. Hopefully it will go away soon.

I finally got a good night's sleep last night. Here's hoping I can string a few of those together.

It was overcast all day today, but warm enough to go riding around in Bonnie's Miata convertible. We partook of Chai Frappucinos at Barnes and Noble's.

Last night we watched the George C Scott version of A Christmas Carol. That is my favorite holiday show of all time.

Job hunt is going nowhere at the moment, which I suppose is to be expected the week of Christmas. I doubt if much will happen next week. But I did apply for two different jobs online today. One does what one can.

Well, since it is very early in the morning and I am awake, that gives me time to post.

(Let me make one editorial note.  "Bonnie" is a friend of mine here in Nashville. "Bonnie" is also the nickname for my youngest sister used by most of my family. Her name is actually "Yvonne," which is what she prefers to be called. However, family is devilishly hard to retrain, to which I can attest. But just so you know, "Bonnie" will always refer to my friend and "Yvonne" will always refer to my sister.)

So, last week, Bonnie was in New Jersey to attend a funeral. She returned on Thursday and on Friday we went to Birmingham (That's in Alabama for those with geography issues) to visit some friends of hers. We returned on Sunday and Monday we went to Ohio for my grandmother's funeral. We returned yesterday, although we had to drive through a pouring rain most of the way. I hate driving through weather. It's grueling.

One would imagine that after all of this I would be tired enough to sleep past four in the morning. Apparently not. And speaking of which, Since I am now unemployed that means my insurance runs out at the end of the month so I won't be able to go back and see my shrink. This could become a problem. Let's hope not.

So, I apologize. With all that has happened this month, I'm not in a very Christmasy frame of mind. I hope the new year starts out better than the old one has ended. However, I still wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.