OK, so funny thing. I created this post while in Augusta 10/19/14. I got my mojo back at that point but them didn’t post this. I guess I lost it again. Here’s the post:
Hello? Is this thing on? It’s certainly been a while (3 months) and I’m not real sure how many readers I’ll have left at this point. I kinda lost interest. Lost my mojo. Shrugged it off. Took a vacation. The main thing I miss about blogging though is documenting our lives. Oddly enough, I use this blog to maintain and look up info. “When did the leaves change last year?” That question helped me to determine the best time for my Mom to come for a visit this year. “When did I buy (item name here)”? “When did we go to (place name here)?” Maybe I can figure out a different way to document our lives? Maybe a diary? Maybe use the blog but make it private and less written for an audience? So many questions… very few answers.
So what’s been happening? Another question? Oh, there’s another. Stop. Well, August 20th, we had 99 layoffs in my department. 15 were at my site and the others were across the country in Reading, Colorado Springs, etc. Some of the layoffs were for underwriters of my level… a level one. I was safe. A manager, some work directors and team leads were also in the mix. They actually deleted some positions and created new. That meant some were able to reapply for their jobs. I love my job but decided to apply for one of the new positions. I did very well at the interview but was told I was beat out by someone who was laid off and came from another state. I was OK with that. My company actually treats “displaced” employees very well.
October 15th. More layoffs. 8 underwriters, 2 managers. Sad. The last time we were all trying to figure out how people were chosen. It didn’t make sense. We were told it was decided by HR. This time some really top producers were chosen. We were very shocked. So perhaps it’s a matter of pay? Tenure? Nothing really quite fits. I think it’s a variety of people based on age, tenure, gender, and ethnicity. Tell a computer program you need to get rid of 10 people and perhaps it spits out names. Perhaps it’s so they can’t be sued? Well, you can still be sued and it’s still going to cost money to defend. How about my company growing a pair and getting rid of dead weight, low performers. Someone pointed out that they can’t do that because they have to put you on a performance warning. Really? They have to? Is that a law? How about you make an exception to your policy and layoff the poor performers? Why am I so passionate about this? Well, I’m a top producer. Why should I get the ax but someone who is slow and makes errors keeps their job?
As you may remember, we’re flying my Mom and Aunt here from Florida. We’ll visit and then we’ll whisk away to the exotic land known as Disney World while they house and Dasher sit. Pretty much the same type of arrangement as last year when we went to Alaska. (blog post here). Unfortunately, Aunt Donna has been have mysterious allergy attacks that cause her to break out in hives and her throat closes up. She’s been to the ER something like 12 times in 30 days. Seriously. They can’t figure it out. They think it’s some meds she’s taking and as a result prescribe her 3 more to help with that. Don’t get me started on my hatred for meds. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago she and my mom flew to NY and she spent 80% of the time in the hospital there. So, what this all means is that I can’t have her fly here and worry about ER visits especially when we’re gone so we need to cancel her flight. As I type this, it’s Saturday and her last ER visit was the morning before. My mom keeps saying, that she’ll be fine and that they changed her meds but I think it’s just that my mom really wants to come see me and isn’t thinking clearly.
On the way to Augusta this weekend, Jim and I brain stormed on what to do about my mom, our vacation plans and Dasher. The vacation must go on since some of it isn’t refundable at this point. We bought the insurance for the airfare for my Mom/Aunt but have to call and figure out what we can cancel vs change.
Our RV fridge went on the fritz. These are special fridges that cost a lot of money. How much? Well here’s a look:
Owwww. I know. How much to repair? Probably as much as a new NON-RV fridge at Lowe’s for $400. The advantage to an RV fridge is that they can run on 110v or propane. That’s a need for traveling when a generator isn’t running. BUT, we won’t be traveling in ours so it shouldn’t be an issue other than for perhaps resale value. Maybe we can save our old fridge in case we sell this RV and someone wants to have it repaired?
To counter act that badness, we did sell the motorhome, aka The TURD! Yay!
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I’ll try to continue to update the blog if not for the world to see (because I know everyone can’t wait for an entry) then at least for me. Peace out.
I've survived a few rounds of lay-offs. From what I'm told, there is a somewhat complex formula used to make a determination of who should be on the list to get cut. Then managers and leadership can fight to keep someone or move someone to the list. It's a mix of tenure, salary, performance reviews, etc.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're back!