Ed, I personally cannot stand Southpark. I do not find a single thing about it funny. Just my .02

 

Well, I officially have nothing to do at work. This slow-down is grueling. I may have about 5-8 "billable" hours this week, and will take Friday morning off to see the cardiologist and help reduce my "GO" time (General Office, otherwise known as "dead weight overhead" hours).

Unless some work shows up, I'll hang out here in FTE more often, clean up my email files, clean off my desk, file my stacks of project documentation reports, spend time daily making my rounds amongst the Project Managers looking for work where I can bill some time to a contract, etc.

I've been nearly 100% "billable" for over two years now with only a few very short term exceptions, and this "having nothing to do" nonsense is a real pain. If Our company doesn't get some more work coming into the office soon, we're going to see more people being laid off, and I could eventually end up in that group as well.

 

Ed, you shipped my dash out yet?!

Pete, thats no good man. I know how you feel with those hours. Since I graduated in 2007 I havent been able to find a decent paying job to save my life.

 

I have to be in the right mood myself to watch. But they seem to hate them Canadians

shipped out same day you ordered it!

didn't you get the tracking number?


Ok I'll address the big elephant in the room.





Jim looks like House!



there I said it.

 

Appreciate it!

I dont think I did. I will check again real quick!

Edit: I went to the order status page and got it there. It wasnt in the order confirmation email. It will be here Monday!

 

Ya know, I should actually buy some mods for my truck. Ive talked and talked about it, but then the truck has ran so damn well, and has given me nothing but good luck, that I almost hate to mess with it!

 

Jump on in Sheldon! The water is fine!

 

I feel for you, Tristan. When I first got out of school, I spent over 3 monts working for a guy hanging curtains and blinds, and then over 6 months working in a custom cabinet shop before I got into my first career position.... not as long as you've been looking, but I was married and supporting both of us on a cabinet shop laborer's wages for a while, so I know the kinds of stresses your under.

What kills me most about my current situation is that we have one group which is focused on power plant engineering/construction and they're hiring enw engineers. At the same time, we have other chemical engineers like myself who have anywhere from 20-30 years experience sitting on the bench because our own "specialty group" (Pulp & Paper Manufacturing) doesn't have the contracts for us to work with and bill time to.

The company honchos say "it's cheaper to hire fresh, inexperienced engineers and bill them out at low rates while they're learning the ropes", but I say that it is that kind of short-sightedness that ends up destroying any potential for company loyalty and eventually will crater the quality of work performed. I can climb that learning curve faster than someone who hasn't been in industry for 25 years, and end up being a more valuable player for the company in the process. But they're just not interested in making the "investment" of paying me my salary while only charging the client based on the salary of a recent grad.... and I dare say that none of these recent grads have to support a family with 6 kids ranging from elementary school to college-age.

I know full well that we need an influx of young engineers because of how many engineers will be retiring in the next 10 years, but if they're going to throw the older and more experienced ones out in the street in that process, they're cutting their nose off to spite their face because there won't be enough "gray heads" left to train the "young bucks".

Too, I'm not bitter about the situation, nor do I harbor any ill-will or lack of concern for young college graduates... but I have to take care of MY family and the principles at play here do bother me at the same.

 

Well thanks to Chris and Ed, my wish list is complete in my signature. I think the only thing left for me is the upgrade to the tow mirrors!

 

I can help you with that when you are ready.



where is Jim, no comments on the white Elephant?

 

My family has been givin me the support when I need it. I have all the tools to do whatever I want but the truck is my savior at this point. Dad finally got hooked up with TVA when he was fed up with everything else and it spring-boarded him to a "good" Dept of Defense job and he stuck with it for 36 years. I just hope this interview goes well tomorrow and Ill have something to spring-board me to something better if this doesnt pan out!
My parents didnt have me til they were in their late 30s so they had that as an advantage. I dont even want to begin to think what its like to support children in today's economy...I wish you and everyone else the best of luck!

 

Maybe if I get this new job I can drop the coin on the 08 mirrors...but if not...I wont be goin 08 at all! Knowing my luck Id spend all that $$ and then knock one of them off a week later...

 

I hope the interview goes well for you, Tristan. What kind of job are you going after?

 

Thanks!
I graduated with a real estate and urban land development degree. Right when I graduated the market went to chit so its really hard to find something in the field OTHER than selling real estate. The current job is a part time job at a real estate law office. Id probably just be doing crap work but I can get my foot in the door regardless! Its a part time with "possibility of becoming full". We shall see!

 

Tristan, there is something else you might want to look into along those lines as well. My brother-in-law in Miami, FL has been a very resourceful individual all his life. He never finished college because all the professors were "too stupid", but he has been extremely successful at everything he's touched.

Anyway, the laws associated with what I'm going to tell you may not work the same in VA as they do in Miami, but it's worth looking into.

Basically, my BIL plays both sides of the fence on evictions. He represents people to keep them from getting evicted, and there are some laws that allow him to stop the eviction process if certain procedures are followed. First, he finds delinquent situations from landloards and represents them in terms of a flat fee for initiating the eviction process. Then once that process is formally initiated in the court system, he can also then represent the "evictee" for another fee to stop the eviction process. This double-sided game seems like it would not be feasible, but it is completely legit and legal and both sides are happy to pay him to do his thing.

A little context for how unique my BIL is... he has his real estate license, owns his own small residential construction company, is partner with another friend in a second residential construction company, sells custom made riding saddles from South America (his design), has his pilots license, and does tunnel boat racing on the side (First Place in US in his boat class last year after only three years of racing experience - Rookie of the Year his first year).

Anyway, he knows how to find new ways to skin the cat, and this eviction business has been really good to him. Here is a link to his site... Professional Landlord Services Miami -Tenant solutions made easy