Friday Five

I don't belong to the RevGalPals bloggers, but I do read a lot of their blogs. I saw this meme today and I thought I'd play:

Singing Owl at RevGalBlogPals writes: Here in the USA we are celebrating the last fling of the good ol' summertime. It is Labor Day weekend, and families are camping, playing in the park, swimming, grilling hotdogs in the backyard, visiting amusement parks and zoos and historical sites and outdoor concerts and whatever else they can find to help them extend summer's sun and play just a little bit longer.

It is supposed to also be a celebration of the working man and woman, the backbone of the American economy, the "salt-of-the-earth nieces and nephews of Uncle Sam. With apologies to those in other countries, this is a Friday Five about LABOR. All can play. Put down that hammer, that spoon, that rolling pin, that rake, that pen, that commentary, that lexicon, and let's have some fun.

1. Tell us about the worst job you ever had.
Worked as a consultant on an EDS project as an employee of another consultant firm. EDS didn't have anyone who knew anything about IBM mainframes at this location (weird huh), and we were hired.

Because we were not employees we were able to do as we liked, but for the same reason, we didn't get the type of perks that the EDS employees did. And because we were working directly for an EDS person, our consulting company boss didn't know what we were doing, so our reviews were VERY average, even though the EDS guy rated us top notch.

Turns out that at this consulting firm, the account manager got his raises on how much he brought in, and how much the company got net. So, by not rating us higher, we didn't get as high a raise, and he looked good so he got the bucks, not us.


2. Tell us about the best job you ever had.
Its a toss-up between working as a Nuclear Weapons Technician in the US Air Force, or later on in my Air Force career working as a programmer supporting Tactical Air Command headquarters. They were both interesting and fun in their own ways, and I met a lot of good people.

3. Tell us what you would do if you could do absolutely anything (employment related) with no financial or other restrictions.
Own my own programming firm of consultants. If I had my own source of income so I didn't have to worry about my salary, I'd work at providing the best working environment for my consultants.

4. Did you get a break from labor this summer? If so, what was it and if not, what are you gonna do about it?
Um ... read my previous post on Surprise - Surprise

5. What will change regarding your work as summer morphs into fall? Are you anticipating or dreading?
I work at Trader Joe's, and now that the kids are back at the universities and we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas, the business picks up and I'll be getting more hours to work. Which can be a bad thing ;)

Bonus question: For the gals who are mothers, do you have an interesting story about labor and delivery (LOL)? If you are a guy pal, not a mom, or you choose not to answer the above, is there a song, a book, a play, that says "workplace" to you?
Well, being in the Air Force for as long as I was, the book Catch 22 seems to sum it up nicely.

Friday Meme

I read alot of Presbyterian Blogs, and I read one at least once a week. I found this RevGalPals Friday Five on Presbyterian Gal's blog and figured I may as well join in on this one.

I bring you the "Lock Me Out, Lock Me In" Friday Five.

1) How do you amuse yourself when road construction blocks your travel?

It depends, if its still slowly moving, I continue my merry way, albeit slowly. If its a dead stop, I wonder what bureaucrat didn't have this listed somewhere, then look at the idiots trying to get around it by traveling in the breakdown lane. Of course, SWMBO would say that I am not that calm, and become obsessed with the #$@#$)@s who are failing to obey the law. Did I mention that I have adult A.D.D. ??

2) Have you ever locked yourself out of your house? (And do you keep an extra key somewhere, just in case?)

Yes, and basically broke down a door to get in. No extra key, just make sure that the keypad to the garage has a good code and battery from now on.

3) Have you ever cleared a hurdle? (And if you haven't flown over a material hurdle, feel free to take this one metaphorically.)

Material hurdle ... hmmmm... if you can call being a mainframe programmer with 8 years experience coming out of the Air Force who had never worked on an IBM mainframe before a material hurdle, yes I have. I basically told the recruiter for the consultant company that just give me a three month trial at the minimum rate, if after three months I don't make the grade we'll shake on it, then move on. However, if I prove myself, give me a raise to what the salary of a senior programmer would be. I worked there 2 years before moving to a new company.

4) What's your approach to a mental block?
Ummm ... ahhh ... what was the question again ??

5) Suggest a caption for the picture above; there will be a prize for the funniest answer!

Kumbaya, my lord, Kumbaya....