April 2004

Perhaps I Should Clarify

I’m not unemployed - just facing a pay cut and other issues. I’ve had a few people express their condolences - which are always appreciated - but I just want to have them for the right reasons, that’s all.

Looking for work

Well, I received the Letter of Death today. So despite reporting some profits for the last quarter, IBM is choosing to slash rates paid to contractors by 5%, and yours truly is eating the loss.

Now, I understand that the market isn’t what it used to be, but at the same time, we’ve lost two people from our desk and are being told that there isn’t enough budget to replace them. The SLA’s are hurting, and moreover, so are we. Going from 40 calls in a day to over 70 isn’t something you adjust to overnight.

So let’s see - gas prices keep going up, my wages are going down, and despite being paid 5 percent less per pay period, my bosses have so far been unreceptive to my offers to take 5 percent less calls, delete 5 percent of incoming emails, or just take 2 extra hours off every week.

Some people have no vision.

The long and short of it is this, I suppose: I’m very loyal. Some people say stupidly so. But part of loyalty is loyalty to self, and the part of me that is loyal to myself will not stand for this shit. The IBMers on the team received their regular raises and bonuses, and the contractors didn’t get shit.

Fuck this loyalty stuff, man, I gotsta get paid.

Holla, dolla dolla bill y’all.

So I’m riding in the car with my beloved sweetheart and our friend Chris, and we’re being silly. The conversation goes as follows:

Me (being silly): “Aw yeah, I am all that and and bag of chips.”

Sara (destroying me): “Ha ha, judging by that stomach, honey, you’re all that and you ate the bag of chips.”

OMG SO CRUEL. ;_;

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

From Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe:

“The dose was only partially effective in preventing shock and loss of consciousness, so the proceedings were terminated after flaying the right leg, as you will see.”

Desktop wallpapers @ Softshape Art - your desktop doesn’t have to be ugly!

I’m playing with the Press It! feature of Wordpress. This may turn into an interesting compulsion.

Sethra Lavode is the third and final part of The Viscount of Adrilankha by Steven K. Z. Brust. This is rather good modern fantasy, really. The world it takes place in has a unique flavor and culture which feels alien and familiar all at once, and the characters (even if they are not already as familiar as old friends from previous volumes) are at once understandable in some cases, and a mystery to the end in others.

The book contains a share of sadness, though. Yet all we are able to do is reflect, consider, and then move on - the next project may well give us a glimpse of friends now parted, and introduce us to new friends as well. The book went very quickly and was well-paced, and I was able to finish it in something under 4 hours. The only complaint I have is that I wish there could have been more of it.

If you happen to enjoy fantasy with the taste of historical writing, this has my highest recommendation.