Lazy Time

Well, home for New Year's Eve.  We may go do some shopping tomorrow.  It's kind of an annual thing for us.  We like to go out on New Year's day to hit some clearance at a few stores.  Years ago, we were out on New Year's day killing time when we came upon a few deals.  Some really good deals.  So, each year we go out bumming on New Year's day, it's a thing for us.  Most of the time we don't really find anything, but every once in a while.  : )  Of course, it's as much for us to spend time together than anything.

I still have to work on Thursday and Friday so it will be a quiet day tomorrow.  I'm anxious to get the new year going.  Hopeful for some new job postings within the company.  And hopeful for the company to give us some definitive news about the closing.  We've heard nothing about the outsource vendor, a final date, any stay on bonuses, pretty much nada.  The unknown is the worst.

But for tonight, it'll be a nice dinner and a movie with my other half.  :)

Jane

Casual Workdays?

Well, it seems that our casual Friday has gone to pretty much everyday. I get it that they're closing down the facility.  But that's not for another 6-7 months.  Don't you think it would be right to keep up appearances?  We are in a professional business environment after all. The head honcho at work has been in jeans pretty much every day for the past month.  Where before he would dress, even a tie on occasion. Well, I won't bite, (for now!).  It's business casual each day for me.  Except for Fridays.  ; )

BTW, I just adore these weeks with a holiday.  Breaks up the work week nicely.

Jane

Football Sunday

What a big day for football!  I'm enjoying watching Green Bay and the Bears ATM.  Thinking about what to make for dinner.

This should be another quiet week at work.  I didn't take any time off, but do have off for New Year's day as a company holiday.  That makes for a good week, work a couple days, have a day off then work a couple more.  Not a bad thing if we could all do that regularly.  ; )

I'm thinking 2014 will be a good year for me one way or another.  I'll either have to reinvent my self (sort of) and find a new job after spending over a decade with "the company" or I'll find another position within "the company" where I'll hopefully be able to enjoy the rest of my career days.  One way or another, 2014 will be a year of change for me.  I'm ready to embrace it!

Jane

Money doesn't grow on trees, does it?

Why oh why do people with no money insist on spending it?   I swear, one of my siblings loves spending money. Even though she lives check to check.  Who needs an emergency fund anyways?  Who wants to be debt free?   Argh!  I know I shouldn't pass judgement, but seriously WTF?   And she'll complain about not having any money.  Umm, duh!

Jane

Work Ethic

I'm a firm believer in having a solid work ethic.  I feel I've always had a good work ethic, even when I started working as a teenager.  And I don't think the current climate at my job has affected my work ethic.  But that can't be said for everyone here.  It truly amazes me how people in the facility here will take advantage of the limited supervision today and just sit around doing nothing.  I can't believe these are adults I'm working with. Heck, I'm in an office and I *could* spend my day surfing and even writing entries for this blog.  But I'm writing this on my lunch hour because it just wouldn't be right for me to take advantage of a situation.  Sure, I'd rather be back home lounging around being lazy.  But I'm at work and responsiblity goes along with work.

 

I like to think working hard will pay off in the long run and those who don't, well they just shoulnd't be surprised when things don't work out.  In the meantime, would it be bad to just smack someone?  : )

Jane

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a great day today!  Happy Holidays!

Jane

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, debt!

A short week ahead of me.  I've been purposely not looking at jobs or thinking much about work stuff.  It's been working pretty well.  I'm enjoying my time off.  I've been able to spend some great time with my better half and do quite a bit of relaxing.

It's hard for me to not become somewhat frustrated this time of the year though.  I see some of my family members who just shouldn't be spending much on Christmas presents, spending too much on Christmas presents.  I know it's somewhat judgmental of me feeling they should be thinking like we do when it comes to spending money.  It's easy though, spend within your limits.  When you're living check to check, don't spend hundreds of dollars on a person, and definitely not on yourself!  I have little pity for those who complain about money but then have no qualms about buying them self a pricey present.  I want to smack them and say, want to save money?  Well stop spending it!  My mom always said about those people, they have champaign taste on a beer budget.  LOL

Jane

First day of winter!

Woohoo, no work until Thursday!  I'm so happy I took some extra time off for Christmas.  My other half and I are going to enjoy a nice quiet time off, with only one day of craziness with family.  :)

We had our department Christmas party last night.  As feared, there was lots of folks who had questions about what I'm going to do when the facility closes.  It wasn't as bad as I thought, it wasn't brought up but a few times.  And those who did were what I thought genuinely concerned.  I wish I would have won something from the raffle, but that's okay.  I mean, who needs an iPad mini anyway? 

Nothing was really accomplished today.  It was a nice day.  A nice breakfast and some TV.  Tomorrow will be more of the same too.  Since we're all done shopping for Christmas we're keeping clear of any stores.  There are way too many people out there in the stores for my liking. 

For tonight,we picked up a movie from Redbox and a pizza from our local fave place, time to get some relaxation time in! 

Jane

Few More Days

Until a nice long stretch of time off for Christmas.  The mood around the facility is pretty good.  I suspect as soon as we get into the new year things will start to become more real.

On the job front, sort of, I heard the company has made arrangements for an outside firm to come in and give us all some training on how to "land a new job".  We'll see how that ends up.  There's a wide range of workers in my facility.  From folks just entering the workplace to "professional" type workers like myself.  I suppose I could use another point of view when it comes to my resume.  And who couldn't benefit from interviewing techniques?

We do have that Christmas party coming up I mentioned.  I'm already sort of getting tired of answering the question, "what are you going to do?"  I'm sure that will come up a few times that night.

I've noticed that I become a bit more iritated when I start to think about such a huge company, and how they're just tossing many good workers aside.  The meanwhile seeing people who can't tie their shoes become promoted. I like to believe those I wonder about we're promoted because they actually earned it or are qualified. But I know better. I know it's not with everyone mind you, but I'm also in a position where I've seen it happen.  One of the many reasons being in a position of responsibility isn't all it's cracked up to be when it's with the wrong company.

Go finish your Christmas shopping!

Jane

Resume Tips from LinkedIn

A nice article on overused words on your resume. How many of these are on yours?

article

Jane

Jingle Bell Rock

My department's Holiday party invites went out today.  This is an annual event where the Regional reporting group I'm part of has their Christmas party.  Of course, I'm one of a small group (from my facility) who possibly won't be coming back for the 2014 party.  It will make for some interesting conversation, well wishes I'm sure.  I know people mean well, but it's tiring after a while.  Anyway, maybe I'll walk away with a nice door price.  They give all sorts of things away including.  :)

My spouse and I decided we will continue with our regular Christmas presents this year.  We never go crazy mind you, but we actually enjoy giving presents and finding the right ones for people instead of picking one out from a list, bah.  The kids are nearly done and we've at least started the immediate family presents.  We still have a bit to go.  I also have to get my butt in gear and finish up my SO.  I don't want to wait for the last minute and have to go get some goofy present I know won't be used.  lol 

I'm trying to be in the Christmas spirit, but when I think too much about the events going on, it's difficult.  Add in a prior life I worked in retail, and December 26th can't get here soon enough.  :p

Jane

Somebody's Watching Me

I'm not sure if it's because of the "news" we were given or what, but I've really been on top of my game at work lately.  Even to the point where not only have I kept up with the daily fires, but I've been able to do some real productive work.  I mean the kind of work that really moves the business forward instead of putting out one of those fires.  No matter what it is, I'm feeling pretty good with my work lately.  I'm hopeful it will help me in the long run secure a position in whatever our structure will look like in the end.

On a side note, I'm beginning to believe the air freshener in the bathroom is trying to tell me something.  It was odd that yesterday it seemed every time I walked past, it would go off.  No biggie, until today.  The damn thing was doing it again.  And it's not motion activated.  So I guess I have to step up my game when it comes to taking a shower, lol. 

Jane

Black Friday Deal?

I worried about money before the big announcement and even more so now.  But this week I've been getting kind of upset and frustrated at the same time. The people at work I socialize with on a regular basis have been talking about all the deals they got on Black Friday.  I know you still need to get Christmas presents for your family, but did YOU really need a new XBox One and 5 games?  I suppose I don't know their situation completely.  But when there's a pretty good chance you may be out of a job in the next 7 or 8 months, shouldn't you at least be watching how much money you're spending on yourself?  And it's the same folks who keep saying they don't know what they'll do if they're out of a job.  Well, you'll be pawning that XBox One, lol.

I know it's not fair to judge them, but it's more trying to understand the why.  I just hate to see the worst case scenario come up and someone I know being put through that. 

Well, two more days left before the weekend and another two enjoyable days off.  Woohoo!

Jane

Blinded Me With Science

One thing I've noticed since the announcement that's pretty interesting is how different people are dealing with "the news" It's like a large scale psychological study group.

And I get it, I do, people have things going on and need their income. But that aside, there are some people with similar home situations who still are dealing with this in very different ways.There are some people who are looking for positions all over the place, both external and internal and will take just about anything. And others who are just ready to sit back and wait it out to see what happens. And you can see the stress more with those who are anxious to find something now. 

It's sad though when you can really tell how someone feels just by the look of defeat they have.  I try to encourage the folks I regularly sit with, there's many folks younger than I am and don't have as many life experiences to measure this against.  For me, I've been through this before a few times.  Couple that with my pretty laid back attitude and, for the moment at least, I don't worry much about it.  

What I am worried about right now though, is dinner.  Need to get that going!

Jane

Tis The Season

This will be my last long weekend for a while. I only have a few more days off around Christmas to end 2013.  I have to go through my vacation time for 2014 and make some considerations about what type of time off I should use or shouldn't use just in case my time ends at the company in the summer.

We have three different types of time off.  I had asked HR a series of questions, one of them included what type (if any) will be paid out if I do take the severance package.  I suspect it will only be my vacation time.  Which is just fine, but then I want to be sure if it comes down to it, I don't leave anything on the table and exhaust the time I won't be paid out.

I also made the decision to not adjust my 401k (I'm contributing more than the company match).  I contemplated adjusting it down to just get the company match and get more in my paycheck so we could have a little more cash on hand.  But in the end, my retirement is still very important, and I don't want to lose track with any contributions.   

Jane

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  We certainly did.  I have a four day weekend thanks to the holiday.  We're not big on the whole after Thanksgiving shopping though.  So the next few days will be spent doing some things around the house and just enjoying hanging out.  :)

We do plenty of shopping for Christmas, but most of it is done online after spending time surfing around for the best deals.  We're pretty good when it comes to spending money.  We always do our homework and make sure we're getting the most for our money.  And whenever we can take advantage of saving money we're all over it.  Here's an example, the gas station where we like to get our gas has a rewards program.  We used to only take advantage of gaining points via our gas purchases at the pump.  Not anymore.  They also offer gift cards and when you purchase a gift card you also get extra reward points.  So now, we can get the points from the gift card in addition to the points we gain when we actually use it at the pump.  It sounds trivial, but it adds up.  There are several different gift cards we could exchange points for, but we pretty much always use it for free coffee.  For every month's worth of gift cards we buy (which we'd spend anyway on gas) we get about 7 free coffees.  Not too shabby and a nice *free* treat for us. 

Jane

Happy Holidays?

I'm not really looking forward to this week of work.  It will be nice with the holiday and a short week.  But it also means family will want to talk about what's to come.  I haven't really got to the point where I'm ready to talk about it with family.  Don't get me wrong, I appreciate their concern.  But it brings a bunch of questions that I'd rather avoid, for now at least.  But I will be happy about spending time with family.  One thing I've realized through this all is that work isn't first in life, it may win Miss Congeniality at best. 

On the job hunt front, nothing has really come up.  I applied for a few external positions but haven't heard a damn thing.  A shame, I pick up things so fast and I'm so good with data, someone will find that.  :)  I'm still looking though and am hopeful something will turn up.

Jane

What to do next?

It been a pretty somber week in the whole facility.  It's interesting though, attendance is high.  In a facility where there's 150+ employees and our work here isn't highly skilled.  Our attendance has usually been a problem.  Not this past week.  The management team keeps spreading the "positive" part of knowing there are 6-9 months.  That only helps on the chance of finding another internal position.  Then if there is an interesting internal position, there's our recruiting process.  It's painfully slow.  Even when we post entry level positions, from the time of interview to first day of work can be a month or longer.  That's just crazy.  I get the part that it does take time to do the drug test and the background check can take a while.  But geesh. 

The senior "leadership" team who delivered the fateful message mentioned it was because of cost and efficiency savings.  They said they were concerned for everyone and would do what they can to help employees find other positions, help with resume writing and interviewing skills. I see it just like the big tobacco companies.  They'll put on the warnings, have anti-smoking campaigns for the young, but at the end of the day they still want you to smoke.  At the end of the day what the senior "leadership" team doesn't tell you is that you have no special treatment when it comes to internal positions.  You apply and all you have is to hope for the best.  Big companies like mine want you to be loyal to them, but there are only a few companies which are loyal to YOU.  And mine is not one of them.

Many can say I'm cynical due to my position with losing my job.  No, I've been pretty cynical to big business and overpaid executives for some time.  I put on a good front at work, an outstanding one I dare say.  Besides, given I have 6-9 months of employment left after giving years upon years of hard work and excellent performance reviews, I can be as cynical as I want.

Yes, it's bee that kind of day today.  Sorry.

Jane

Monday, Monday

For some reason, I'm not really looking forward to this week. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Call it intuition and I hope I'm wrong, but I keep having a feeling something else is going on. Well, in keeping with my attitude about this, it's outside my control, so no need getting really upset about it.

I had a really good weekend though. Looked for some new jobs, spent some time with the family and watched some good football today. Yes, I enjoy watching football!  I'm still going in tomorrow with just concentrating on work and doing what I can do to help my group be productive. 

Jane

Rainy Saturday

Up until today, I hadn't really told anyone of the job situation.  But I was talking to my mother on the phone and she asked how the job was going.  She knows I put in quite a bit of time each week and after I told her about the news she just said, well these things happen and time for another opportunity.

My mother shares my attitude of when things are outside your control, there's no reason to let it affect your attitude.  I've had some times this past week where when I think about the situation a little more than usual, it really pisses me off, lol.  I get really aggravated of the hard work and time invested in our work.

I started looking at classes at the local community college.  I figure it may be a time to looking into doing something new.  Something that actually interests me.  I have a couple leads, so we'll see.

I have a really supportive spouse during all of this.  My spouse kind of feels that I should just take the severance and move on to bigger and better, that this will be that kick in the ass I need to get out there and do my own thing.  Having support like that is priceless.

Jane

Everybody's Working For The Weekend

Well not really working for the weekend, but the title cracks me up, lol.  I'm going to try to disconnect this weekend and not think about what's going on.  Of course, I still have to spend time looking for a job this weekend.  But I'm going to do that tomorrow (Saturday) morning so I can then relax the rest of the weekend.

I've gone through and updated my resume and now I'm working on a more "personal" type of cover letter.  We'll see if I get any interviews.  *crossing my fingers*  For tonight, I'm looking forward to a nice dinner and movie with my spouse. 

Jane

Playing Hide And Seek, Mostly Seek

I keep checking the internal website for new job postings, but nothing good.  :(  I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving so I can get away for a few days and try not to think about work!

Jane

To Look Or Not To Look?

That's the question for me lately.  There's a part of me who says I should be looking for something now (both outside the company and inside) so I can be safe and have a job and benefits.  But then there's a part of me who wants to just play it out and see what comes of the whole change.  Then at the end of our run either see what positions may be available or just grab my severance and take the summer off, lol.  We'll see, but for now I have time to think about it.  But I can tell I will be spending quite a bit of time thinking about this. 

It's only been a few weeks, but some of us are taking bets on who will be the first to jump ship.  My money is on one of the leaders.  :p  Me I'll be sitting in the band playing on the deck of the ship for a while. 

Jane

More Than A Feeling

When we were given the announcement of the closing, they told us everyone at our facility was included.  I'm beginning to get the feeling the top boss here is "safe".  Not that it really matters.  But why hide it?  There must be more of a master plan than they let on.

Jane

Not So Manic Monday

Mondays have been particularly tough since the announcement.  It's hard to stay motivated and focus.  Not just for me, I can see it in everyone else too.  This makes for some long days, that's for sure.

I think having 6-9 months before the official "close" is more of a curse than anything.  I mean, I'll keep busy and do my job.  I find the easiest way to deal with it, if you can call it easy, is to keep busy doing a lot of work.  It helps the day go by faster and keeps my mind off the elephant in the room.

I'm trying to find out some information from HR about what would be in store if I were to wait until the end and get severance.  Things like, if I have vacation and sick time, will I get paid out for both?  I want to stay with the company, but I'm the kind of person who does better with these situations when I have all the details. 

Jane

Welcome! Err, goodbye?

Welcome. Welcome to what could very well be the end of my career at my current company. You see, a few weeks ago we were told the Company was closing the facility where I currently work. I suppose we were all lucky in that they didn't tell us go to home right then and there. I've seen that scenario play out with others I know who worked for the Company. Not this time though, we were given 6-9 months time.  And no other information. Great.

So now the facility of 150+ employees, including myself have an uncertain future. And with the little information we've received so far, all we can do is wonder and hope for what's to come. All the vague notification gave us is more questions.

I figured what better way to chronicle my personal journey to unemployment. I hope you enjoy my thoughts and experiences and get a little insight to what happens when an average Jane could become unemployed. Please feel free to leave your comments and thoughts.

Jane