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It's amazing to me how much more relaxed I am since canceling the interview. My manager was so frustrated with the stupidity and incompetence at Global Megacorporation that she quit outright, and tried to take me with her out the door.
Believe it or not, I'm a much, much more patient man. If I know that I'm doing a good job, and all my peers and superiors rave about what a great job I do and how important I am to the division, then who am I to complain if they never actually use anything that I produce?
I like to compare it to my brother: He worked for another tech company for 15 years. Not a single line of code he ever wrote got released to production. Yet he was able to semi-retire at 35 on his earnings. And he didn't feel at all bad about it.
If your employer asks you to do something, and you do it well beyond their expectations, but then they decide not to use it, it's not a black mark on your record; it's a problem with the person who told you what to do.
EDIT: VERY relaxed...
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And... yep. They're giving me the classic corporate brush-off.
They're on the east coast, so I know they've seen my email already, and not even a boilerplate, "Sorry to see you go," or an acknowledgement that I sent anything.
I've been crossed off the list and they will forget about me within a month.
All for the best.
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Went and donated some blood today, an experience that was much improved by the nurse singing along to Barry White while desanguinating me. I also signed up to be part of a big old study, also about blood/blood donations, so that should be interesting, even if participants can't see the results.
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classic corporate
They're on the east coast
All for the best.
SEVERE understatement. The way you've described your preferred working arrangements and casual approach doesn't fly in east-coast corporate culture. They're still very big on "you're not a proper corporate worker if you're not in slacks and tie" environment.
SEVERE understatement. The way you've described your preferred working arrangements and casual approach doesn't fly in east-coast corporate culture. They're still very big on "you're not a proper corporate worker if you're not in slacks and tie" environment.classic corporate
They're on the east coast
All for the best.
Sorry; you misconstrued me; the recruiter is on the east coast. The corporation is run-of-the-mill Silicon Valley, so I know how to deal with them.
I did like Shiro's suggestion: "You're asking me for 20 hours of work for the interview, so that'll be $3000 if you'd like me to show up, please."
(Standard contracting rates around here are $150-$250/hour for pretty much any indie work like that.)
Ah my misunderstanding!
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In lighter news, our campaign yesterday was a hilarious demonstration of just how dysfunctional of a group we are.
Event #1: If you're a GM who wants to give the players information, be careful how you phrase things.
The baron of the town we're in debriefed us on a problem he was having with slavers the day before, then sent us a note the next day. Everyone said, "Vinara's the most Lawful of us! She should read the note!"
So I did... and it said, "Burn this note as soon as you understand its contents."
So I read it over carefully, made sure there was no new information that we hadn't already heard in the debriefing, and then burned it, without showing it to the other players.
Since the entire mission was clandestine, I refused to say a word about the mission while we were in town. The rest of the group refused to leave town, and hung around shopping, going to taverns, and were otherwise bound and determined to force me to say something in town.
We burned two hours of session time. It was hilarious. The GM was livid. He went off about how he'd planned for every eventuality, except my refusing to let the rest of the party read the note.
(Eventually the party relented, left town, I debriefed them, and we were on our way.)
Event #2: Make sure the guy who isn't paying attention understands the plan.
There was a citadel overlooking a burned-out village. Two of us wanted to investigate the village. We were overruled and the rest of the party said we should go straight to the citadel while stealth was on our side. The party's stealth master proceeded... to sneak into the village to look around! "Oh, I wasn't paying attention when you told me where to go!"
It ended up triggering a fight in the village that set off an alarm in the citadel and a small army came out to attack us.
Event #3: Don't assume the person with you knows the plan.
Everyone except the fighter and cleric could fly, and they scattered to the four winds, trying to distract some of the army off while the fighter and I killed off the rest. It worked, and we were facing 11 orc grunts and an orc leader, a pretty straightforward fight for us. We found a defensible position where we'd be back to back with a wall on one side and waited. They stopped about a hundred feet away from us. I called out a challenge to try to goad them into attacking. The fighter's player (Shiro) started laughing. "Well, so much for stealth!"
I have no idea why we were supposed to be stealthy when our job was to mop up any of the orcs stupid enough to engage us, but all the plans are out the window, we're facing an easy fight, and the party members who can't take on an army are scattered about in the woods being pursued by the rest of the army.
Interesting times...
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SEVERE understatement. The way you've described your preferred working arrangements and casual approach doesn't fly in east-coast corporate culture. They're still very big on "you're not a proper corporate worker if you're not in slacks and tie" environment.classic corporate
They're on the east coast
All for the best.
I think my favorite part is that my "executive" summary is really a red flag for any company in any industry you might want to work for.
Recruiter: Ok, I think I'm good with moving you along. Do you have any questions for me?
NobodysHome: Yes, I do! What's your time off policy?
Recruiter: Ooh... that's a good question for the hiring manager!
Hiring Manager: OK, now that I'm done, do you have any questions?
NobodysHome: Yes, I do! What's your time off policy?
Hiring Manager: Ooh... that's a question for HR! Or maybe you can find it online!
NobodysHome: Hey, former co-worker! Nobody will give me a straight answer on PTO at your company. What's the deal?
Former Co-Worker: Oh, they're not allowed to answer because it varies by state.
So I talked to three different people at the company, and not a single one was willing to discuss time off at all. That's a pretty terrifying indictment right there.
And then came, "Oh, and spend 10-12 hours preparing a 40-minute presentation as part of a 5-hour interview later this month."
Nope.
Good night, John!
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24 hours later, no response, and I'm thinking, "Boy, it's going to be funny when they call me on the 12th ready to interview me and I get to say, 'Er, did you see my message?'"
My takeaways from my job search were remarkably straightforward:
(1) Without the stock options (technically, RSUs or "restricted stock units") I am indeed grossly underpaid. Nobody batted an eye at offering me $10,000 over my base salary. But as soon as you add the RSUs (which I've gotten for the last 8 years running or so), it turns out I'm decently compensated for the work I do. That was a surprise to me.
(2) Given #1, the only companies that will offer competitive bids are other global megacorporations, and either they're so evil I won't work for them (Facebook did reach out to me), or they have the same kinds of "idiot management" issues I face at my current Global Megacorporation. So really I'm looking at increasing my workload by 30% for a 10% increase in salary.
Suddenly coasting to retirement at my current job is FAR more appealing... assuming I keep getting the RSUs...
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Things that Drejk should stop doing, April 2022 edition.
I made an error and checked the sales for games on my Steam wishlist...
Oh, boy...
Damn you Steam. Both Horizon: Zero Dawn AND Days Gone are on sale at the same time.
And today a new Humble Choice will be revealed soon (in an hour or two).
My PayPal isn't made of rubber! How am I supposed to pay for all that!
I might be able to get one or the other after getting the humble choice package (depending on what it will be), but getting both is out of question, even if I pass on Humble Choice.
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I remember cap complaining that Days Gone gets boring and repetitive during the later parts... Not sure about Horizon.
I remember cap complaining that Days Gone gets boring and repetitive during the later parts... Not sure about Horizon.
Yes, Days Gone has serious pacing and play issues. Especially early on.
Horizon takes a bit to get going but is a far superior game that actually has pacing and character development.
If I had to pick one I'd get Horizon Zero Dawn.
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Hello, John!
It always amuses/frustrates me when people see one person breaking the law, think, "Hey, that looks convenient! I think I'll do that too!", and inevitably enough people start doing it that someone complains, the police crack down, and no one can do it any more.
As I've mentioned, we have one parking space in front of our house, plus a 14'6" driveway (a little over 4m). It seemed like plenty for our two-car household, but the police wrote us a polite note that we can't park in our driveway because our 15' cars extend into the sidewalk, and it's illegal to block any part of the sidewalk. (I.e., someone complained.)
It's also illegal for us to park in front of our own driveway, "In order to ensure that emergency vehicles can easily access the premises."
(Yeah, that 14'6" is going to be a killer to get across.) We do it anyway, because the police openly told us, "Unless anyone complains, we're not going to do anything about it, and since it's your driveway, I don't see you complaining."
Unfortunately, our neighbors have finally decided that they like having the additional space of parking in front of their driveway as well.
I wouldn't complain, except:
- They have a functional driveway that has a car in it, so one car is blocking the other in. Unlike just blocking an empty driveway, their parking job makes it really obvious they're blocking their own (occupied) driveway.
- Since they're right next to us, it's now a solid block of 5 cars in a row. Not significant in a city, but in the suburbs a solid block of that many cars draws notice (and complaints).
So, we'll see how it plays out. My guess is that some busybody is going to complain about all the cars in a row being an "unattractive nuisance" or somethingorother, and we're going to have to start parking the Celica in front of someone else's house.
Which is kind of hilarious if you think about it. The same neighbors who complain now are going to get a 26-year-old junkheap dumped in front of their house. You reap what you sow...
Days Gone is pretty fun for awhile with the usual open world shenanigans but the actual story is quite stupid and fighting the hordes isn't really attainable. Which is the whole point of the game. But they look cool!
I haven't played Horizon Zero Dawn much but Crookshanks and her cousins did and they gave up on it after awhile. I played for a bit and I thought it was fun.
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I get to go in to work tomorrow and drill some holes.
Hmmmmm. So maybe Days Gone will wait for a bigger sale somewhere in unpredictable future.
Though I read a vague comments there are occasional issues with PC version of Horizon. We'll see.
Thankfully (for my wallet), there is still no Ghost of Tsushima for PC.
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NH, I respect you too much to ever randomly buy you stuff.
NH, I respect you too much to ever randomly buy you stuff.
OMG. Yes, you chose wisely in not buying it for me. But wow! I love it!
Time to see how will Horizon run...
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I get to go in to work tomorrow and drill some holes.
Oh, you're a dentist!
Time to see how will Horizon run...
And now it's 9 am...
I get to go in to work tomorrow and drill some holes.Oh, you're a dentist!
Yes, for the earth.
Hmmmmm. So maybe Days Gone will wait for a bigger sale somewhere in unpredictable future.
Though I read a vague comments there are occasional issues with PC version of Horizon. We'll see.
Thankfully (for my wallet), there is still no Ghost of Tsushima for PC.
Every PS Exclusive that gets ported to PC ends up having some issues.
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Shiro and I were having an interesting discussion on debt yesterday:
Prior to 1934, going into personal debt was unusual; some people did it to buy a house, but it wasn't the norm.
With the establishment of the Federal Housing Administration in 1934, it became much more accepted to go into debt to buy a home, and that became the norm through the 1940s and 1950s. And it was the only "generally accepted" debt that families accrued.
At some point in the 1950s or 1960s, car loans became a thing, and suddenly there were TWO "generally accepted" debts.
When I was in high school, there was virtually *NO* discussion of student loans; they were something to be strenuously avoided. If you could go to one school with a loan and another school without, you chose the second school, period.
At some point in the 1990s, student loan debt became "generally accepted".
So these days, a "typical American" growing up hits 18 and takes out a student loan to go to college. They graduate at 22, get a job, and take out a car loan to be able to get to and from work. After a few years, say at 30, they take out a mortgage to buy a house.
And the "American Dream" has become, "Be in debt from the moment you turn 18 until you're at least 60, and probably longer."
It was a really interesting discussion, because until we had it I hadn't realized how much more acceptable personal debt has become over the last century.
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It was a really interesting discussion, because until we had it I hadn't realized how much more acceptable personal debt has become over the last century.
And of course, at some point along the line, having little or no debt came to be seen as suspicious or untrustworthy.
"You only borrow what you need, and you pay back what you owe? You must be hiding something!"
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So with the new health insurance, I went and had my first ever mammogram over Spring Break, and just found out that they spotted an abnormality and want me to come back for further imaging.
So that's fun.
See what you get for being a responsible grown-up?
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So with the new health insurance, I went and had my first ever mammogram over Spring Break, and just found out that they spotted an abnormality and want me to come back for further imaging.
So that's fun.
See what you get for being a responsible grown-up?
Oh, carp! Good luck! Keep us informed!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So with the new health insurance, I went and had my first ever mammogram over Spring Break, and just found out that they spotted an abnormality and want me to come back for further imaging.
So that's fun.
See what you get for being a responsible grown-up?
Obviously it's hopefully nothing.
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Oh, carp! Good luck! Keep us informed!So with the new health insurance, I went and had my first ever mammogram over Spring Break, and just found out that they spotted an abnormality and want me to come back for further imaging.
So that's fun.
See what you get for being a responsible grown-up?
Yes! Tell us about your boobs!
Err...um ...
Yeah, I guess I really did mean that. ;)
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So with the new health insurance, I went and had my first ever mammogram over Spring Break, and just found out that they spotted an abnormality and want me to come back for further imaging.
So that's fun.
See what you get for being a responsible grown-up?
Ach - hope that turns out to be nothing!
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Yes, for the earth.I get to go in to work tomorrow and drill some holes.Oh, you're a dentist!
If you don't now describe yourself as an Earth Tooth Wrangler, I shall be very disappointed.
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Oh, carp! Good luck! Keep us informed!So with the new health insurance, I went and had my first ever mammogram over Spring Break, and just found out that they spotted an abnormality and want me to come back for further imaging.
So that's fun.
See what you get for being a responsible grown-up?Yes! Tell us about your boobs!
Err...um ...
Yeah, I guess I really did mean that. ;)
beat me to it.
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Oh, carp! Good luck! Keep us informed!So with the new health insurance, I went and had my first ever mammogram over Spring Break, and just found out that they spotted an abnormality and want me to come back for further imaging.
So that's fun.
See what you get for being a responsible grown-up?Yes! Tell us about your boobs!
Err...um ...
Yeah, I guess I really did mean that. ;)
Yes, please!
"Good luck, we're all counting on you!" - Airplane.
If you don't now describe yourself as an Earth Tooth Wrangler, I shall be very disappointed.Yes, for the earth.I get to go in to work tomorrow and drill some holes.Oh, you're a dentist!
I shall indeed forever onward look at extracting boulders from my excavation sites in a very different light.
Also, I'm going to need to put in a equipment request for doctor scrubs and a stethoscope specifically for excavations.
Plus if the equipment guy wants to know why I need that I can say "for my head canon!".
And then he'll spend the rest of the afternoon googling "head canon".
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Well, my platelet count hovers right around 300, which is smack dab in the exact center of healthy range,so it's extremely unlikely to be anything malign.
That's good news!
Well, my platelet count hovers right around 300, which is smack dab in the exact center of healthy range,so it's extremely unlikely to be anything malign.
That's good. I still hope you don't have to evict an unwanted tenant, however.
Well, my platelet count hovers right around 300, which is smack dab in the exact center of healthy range,so it's extremely unlikely to be anything malign.
That's good.
Well, my platelet count hovers right around 300, which is smack dab in the exact center of healthy range,so it's extremely unlikely to be anything malign.
Really...? REALLY?!??! Nobody's going to go there?
I guess it's up to me.
"Pics or it didn't happen."