time goes backwards...

Hrm. Click on this if you can't see it, but note the date and time on this login.

The Airline gods are against me

OK. I am a type A personality. You ALL know that. I do things usually on time, the right way, and perfect things. So, when EVERYTHING went wrong on my flight last night, I was (understandably) pissed off. I was flying Air-Tran out of Chicago. I left for the El train at 5:00. I got to the airport at 5:45. I checked in and checked my bag and was at the gate by 6:15. My flight was set to leave at 7:35. The plane got in a bit late, so they started boarding late. The terminal was packed with people. There were about 10 people in line at all times, and people were sitting on the floor too. I heard them board first class. Then about five minutes later, they boarded the back of the plane. then I waited. I didn't hear them call anything for a few minutes and got bored of waiting, so I went to just get on. I hand my ticket to the lady, and at the same time notice the door is closed. I asked why the door was closed, and she says "we've closed out the flight". I nearly exploded. I told her (actually quite calmly), that I'd been sitting in the terminal for an hour and never heard a) my row, b) a last call for all rows or c) my name (since of course, I'd checked in). She replied with a shrug and said she could put me on the next flight. For a moment I figured - well, maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention. Until another passenger walked up (who I'd seen in the terminal this whole time IE - NOT LATE) and tried to get on, saying his row was not called either. She kindly offered to put him on the next flight as well.

I was smoking mad. I couldn't believe this. Meanwhile, the plane was still there, she was just not letting us board it. So she puts us on the next flight - set to leave over an hour later. That flight was very empty, and left on time. We actually arrived in Atlanta 15 minutes early. But conveniently, our gate still had a plane in it, and it was running late, so we pulled into the gate ~15 minutes late.

We were now in Terminal C. I go down to catch the train, and wait about 5 minutes before realizing that it's taken too long. It is not running. So, unfortunately, I start walking. Conveniently, gate C is the third farthest terminal (at least not the farthest). And at least there are moving walkways between the terminals. Or are there? the walkways were shut off. So basically, I should've been wearing my gym clothes to hike all the way to the baggage claim.

I finally get to baggage claim, and *luckily* they haven't lost my bag (since it came on the earlier flight), but, they did completely tear the handle off my brand new suitcase. It was already 1:00am at this point, so I didn't bother waiting to report it. At least it's still under warantee, so I'll just return it. arggh, it was a long night of annoyances at the airport.

Too Cute

my neice - Kesiah

Southwest Rocks

I went to Miami this weekend. I flew down Friday and though my plane was late, Becca snagged me from the airport just in time to get to Tia Matty's for the end of Shabbat dinner with the extended family. Most of the cousins were there, and we all got to catch up a bit. I was glad to make it because otherwise I'dve been shlepping around South Florida visiting relatives all weekend. I slept over at Rebecca's, and Saturday morning borrowed her car and drove down to Kendall for the shabbat service, and then for the rest of the day we hung out down there at the pool (since the beach was nixed because of tempramental weather). That night I slept at my Grandma's, and in the morning made the drive back to Kendall for the wedding. It was Jessica and Jordan's wedding, and I was a Ketubah witness, so I had to be there a bit early. The wedding was nice, and I caught up with a few of the GT people that came out for it.

Dark and Early this morning I caught a flight to Chicago on Southwest Airlines. I've never flown Southwest, and I must say, it was probably one of the best flights I've taken. The Flight attendants are casual with polos and shorts. When they brought drinks to my row, they delivered a water saying "vodka, straight up", and my OJ was "a screwdriver". I was blessed with having about 50 middle schoolers on my flight, but they were surprisingly well behaved. The flight attendants allowed them to hand out the snacks, so these kids were giving out the peanuts. Pretty funny. Then, the flight attendant got on the loudspeaker and says that it is some kid's 9th birthday, and so everyone sang happy birthday, and the kid got a roll of toilet paper, topped with bags of peanuts, and some colorful coffee stirrers as a "cake". Once we landed, we were slowing to a stop on the runway, and over the loudspeaker the attendant says "click clock click clock" with his toungue, and as we stop, he says "whoooaaa boy!" it was again, pretty funny. Then, they say "we know you could give your money to any airline, we're glad you give it to us. We love you, you love us, flying southwest is faster than taking the bus...something something something...if you marry one of us you'll fly for free". It was just a funny, enjoyable flight (especially for having woken up at 5am and then switching to an even earlier time zone).

Now I am in Chicago visiting Evin, Noah, and baby Kesiah, and boy is Kesiah cute! I will post more as I am here longer. Noah stopped with shaving his head to have a mohawk for a little bit, and took a twin picture with Kesiah =)

Make the best of what you're given...

When you’re sent to Mobile, you have to make the best of it. I was to be in Mobile for M-W of this week, so I took advantage of the opportunity and left Friday to Pensacola and visited Leah W. for the weekend. I met her new dog, her roommate’s cat, and her roommate’s boyfriend’s dog. It was a zoo there. We caught up, went to the beach, and even took her dog to the dog park! (Which by the way, was a beach) But, all good things must come to an end, and early Monday I had to leave for Mobile to be there by 7:00am. The people in the Mobile plant were all really nice. They’re a laid back crowd, and we have fun with them.

I finally got back late Wednesday, and celebrated Fathers’ day with my parents by going out to dinner. After dinner, I convinced my dad to stop by my house to drill some holes in my wall higher than I could reach myself. He arrived at my house before my mom and I did, and when we walked in, he was on the couch watching the Braves game. He says “Bela, I thought you didn’t have basic cable!” I told him I don’t, that we only have network stations. But apparently, he was able to get whatever station the braves were on, which was cable. So we flipped through, and lo and behold, we have cable! I think the Comcast technician felt so sorry for us, he pulled the filter and gave us extra channels. We’ll see how long this lasts…we’ll enjoy it for the time being.

Still recuperating from this week’s traveling, I had some of the old orchestra kids over for dinner last night because Smitha was in town for the week from Japan. She’s been teaching over there for a year, and is about to start a second year now that she re-signed her contract. Ethan, Kati, Erik, Matt, Smitha, and I all cooked up some dinner and we were going to go to Screen on the Green, but the weather was nasty, so we stayed and hung out together. Better for me anyway because I still had to pack.

Betsy brought me to work today because I am leaving straight from work to go to the airport for a weekend in Miami for a wedding and to visit relatives, and then 3 days in Chicago to visit Evin, Noah, and baby Kesiah =).

I am excited. Not only for what I am going to, but also for a little vacation from work.

Up close and personal

I have had a lot of pictures to post lately. Maybe just coincidence, maybe because I am shopping for a new camera. This is the one I think I am going to get:
Canon SD550


and for all of you who have always wondered what my eye looks like, Dave I. took this at the wedding last week. Hope it's not too scary!

Gentelmen, start your feet.

Jeremy and Alan might hate me for posting this, because they think it's the best secret in the world, but it is only a good secret FOR THEM. So here is the best kept secret:

Boys - learn to dance. I go out dancing all the time, and there are always at least 3 times as many girls as there are guys. The girls are swooning over these guys that in the real world may be nothing special, but on the dance floor, they're gods. Now, I know you're all thinking:

a) I don't know how to dance
b) I don't want people to think I'm gay
c) I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of a cute girl.

ok, get over it. here are reasons why you should learn to dance:
a) the women
b) the exercise
c) the women
d) it's inexpensive fun
e) the women

I dance all the time with horribly sweaty, fat, not good-looking guys (and even some that have all three of those fine qualities), and come off the floor so excited about having a good dance.

No one knows how to partner dance without classes. Take some free lessons and then maybe even pay for some lessons, but I am getting ahead of myself. NO ONE STARTS OUT GOOD.

Guys, grow some balls and get out there.

ASEDA - Atlanta Swing Era Dance Association

Down South Swing

Reuben's gone

After spending 10 days here, Reuben went back to my parents' house last night. He actually got along with Daisy for the most part during his visit this time. They just needed to become friends. Mom and Dad say that the reason they like keeping him here over at the kennel is because here, he doesn't have to make new friends every time =)

Jenny and George

Saturday night was the wedding of Jenny and George. I've known Jenny since the 8th grade, and met George while they were dating. The wedding was very nice, and Jenny's dress was actually made by her mom!! it was really cool that she did that herself! The band was also really good and I saw a few people I knew there, though not too many. I took this picture off Max's website (click to go there) of Jenny and George after their first dance. Congratulations Jenny and George!!!!

Jackets Win!

JACKETS WIN!! JACKETS WIN!!! Betsy and I endured the blazing heat to watch the Jackets beat the College of charleston in just two games to go on to Omaha!! Go Jackets!

Ice cream is better than other foods.

Ever wonder why some foods have tamper evident seals, and for some reason others don't feel the need to have one? You're not supposed to buy a jar if the top is popped, or a container if the seal is broken, but for all who are wondering, ice cream apparently has no chance of being tampered with? just open and it's ready to eat! interesting!

it's COMSUCKSTIC!

I can't chat online, so I just keep posting...

My internet at my house has been down for over a week. It is really really annoying, and even more frustrating that Comcast has been a pain in the butt about it. the unfortunate thing is that they pretty much have a monopoly over cable internet in Atlanta, and there is not really another option since I don't have a home phone line. Today is the day they're supposed to come take a look at it. I'll see what happens when I get home... I'll keep you posted.

I am still babysitting Reuben for the week, and instead of paying me (not that she would anyway), my mom is letting me "borrow" her maid for the day today. Annie (our maid since I was born) came to my house this morning, and while I am at work, has been giving it a good scrub down. I can't wait to see my house all spick and span.

At work today, I stopped by Scott's office. To some, including myself, he has quite the quirky personality, but I think he's pretty funny anyway. He is a project Manager for Polytron, our sister company. We chatted for a little bit, and it's nice to sometimes take a breather when otherwise you are TOTALLY SWAMPED at work. He certainly boosted my self esteem, even if that wasn't his goal. good guy, scott.

Current Thoughts about Work.

Let me start off with saying that I like working for my company. I like our jobs, and I like what I do, and when I keep busy (which is most of the time), I am engrossed in my projects. Here's the thing. When we're hired out of college, regardless of how much time we've interned or co-oped, we start out at the first level, with "zero" experience. I think that is an OK practice, though I think it could be altered to reflect previous experience , but that is not where I have my beef right now.

This first level, let's call it being an "A" employee is expected for 3-5 years. No one is supposed to be promoted to a "B" employee any time earlier than day 365 of year 3. On that same note, if you're still at position A and you've been here 4.5 years, you can probably expect that you are not what they're looking for to be promoted, and should begin looking for another job.

Here's problem #1: The company hires people from the outside to be B's, instead of promoting from the inside. Now, this isn't an "all the time" practice, but it happens. That's fine, maybe they want diversity in the pool. However, what I DON'T like, is that some of the people they're interviewing and considering hiring, DO NOT have engineering degrees!! maybe they had a concentration or a minor in it, but I'm sorry, not majoring in Engineering shows that either a) you're not interested in it, b) it was too hard for you, or c) you were too lazy to put forth the effort to pursue the degree. I don't think we want any of these three types of people working as level B Engineers. Or for that matter - any level engineers. I would expect, that our clients expect for people who have the term "engineer" in their title, should have an engineering degree. Along those lines, we're encouraged to pursue our EIT and later PE licences to gain credibility with our customers. I understand that we want to gain credibility, but how are we gaining credibility with customers by hiring non-engineering major engineers?

Problem #2: We have a good benefits package, a 401K, decent number of vacation days, etc. Our pay is average. at best. Graduating college, I had an offer that was $7,000 more per year, and it came with a huge signing bonus. The raises were also much more significant. I liked working here, and I knew about the company, and I thought working for a small company might be better, so I took this job. I understand we're not a huge company, maybe we can't afford to pay more. BUT, if that's the case, then show appreciation in other ways. It seems here like there is no public appreciation of the employees. No "Engineer of the year" type awards. We have company parties each year, and they spend a lot of money on them, but it isn't anything but a chance to socialize with work people outside of work. I still think it's a good idea to have these events, just perhaps not as elaborate. Also, the giveaways? just give us the option of getting the giveaway or $20. Sometimes they're useful, sometimes they sit in people's trunk until they can get rid of it. We spend countless hours interviewing, and a lot of money bringing in candidates to decide either that a) they're a "flight risk" because they might get bored here or want to move away or b)we give them an offer that they can get better somewhere else, and turn us down. At this rate, we will get mediocre employees if we're paying mediocre salaries. by being in the 50th percentile, we'll get 50th percentile people. I'd like to think that I am not "average", but who knows, maybe they think I am, and that's why they hired me.

Problem#3: In the past 5 months since the beginning of the year, 2 A's have quit and 2 B's have quit. That is about a third of our combined A/B population. In 5 months? that is unacceptable. We're told that what we do is not for everyone, let the people leave who are not interested in it. I disagree. No one grows up saying they want to do the work we do. You start doing it, and then if you like it, you stay in it. Liking it has a few components. First, you must enjoy the actual work. You have to enjoy getting your hands dirty, and figuring out what's wrong, etc. Second, you have to like the people you're working with. In hiring, a question we ask a lot is "they're good for the job , but will they fit in? third, you have to be shown that you are appreciated. for you to show you like a job (by remaining in the position), the job has to show that they like you. and Fourth, you have to see a future for yourself in the job. This often comes from looking at people more senior than you in your position or a position above, and benchmarking. It is my belief that all four of these components are required in order to stay at a job. It's not just the employee that makes the decision to leave. It is often the company that has the bigger effect on that decision than the person themself.

problem #4: we do not consider people who are not American citizens for positions. We don't do government work, so I have no idea why we don't. There are plenty of qualified candidates that we reject because we have never sponsored someone. I think it is silly to write it off because it might be a little extra work. suck it up, look into it, and if it costs money to do a sponsorship, explain it to the candidate, and take that amount off their salary if you need to, but don't write off a good candidate because you don't want to do a little extra work.

All that being said, at this moment, I still like my job. I like the people I work with, and I like what I do. What I don't like is some of the methodology behind the hiring practices (some of which I didn't even mention), and what my future may be like in the company. At this point, there are no females above position A, and though the recruiting looks for a lot of diversity in who we hire, the upper level management is all white males. Except one - because we are technically a "minority owned company". That is discouraging not only for the women here, but also for any minorities.

I don't think anyone from work reads this blog (except people who may agree with me), but it isn't a private blog, so I have to expect someone may come upon it. I think that it is not one person making many of these decisions, but I do think that the ones making these decisions may benefit from knowing this. I have spoken my mind, though I am not sure it made it through. I also realize that every company in the world, large and small have problems, and at no one time is everyone in the company going to be happy or satisfied. But, each of these people do have their opinion, and this is mine. I am now done with my rant. Please comment, especially if you have similar stories or suggestions.

I won't win again for 23 more years.

I went to a conference a couple weeks ago in Orlando, and one of the presentation booths was Starbucks. I stopped by the booth, and I (like everyone else who stopped by) got a free $5 gift card to starbucks!
well, that was pretty cool. I put my business card in a bowl for some drawing they were having, and forgot about it. I got an email yesterday saying I had been picked out of the bowl, and won a Starbucks Barista Espresso Machine. Apparently a $399 value. I was all excited! I then thought about it, and I don't even like coffee! So I think I am going to try to sell it on e-bay. I figure if I get $250+, it'd be worth it, and I could probably make that a minimum bid! I can use the money to upgrade stuff in my house that needs upgrading =) So that is exciting. I haven't gotten it yet, but I will receive it in a couple days =)

On that same note, if you want to buy it from me, it'll be for sale.

I have Reuben for the week while my family is on Vacation. He scares the crap out of Daisy, just by existing. She is so scared of him that she starts fights with him to prove how "brave" she is, but keep in mind while Reuben is 70 lbs, Daisy is about 10 lbs. She was so scared the other day, she peed on my carpet...errr....I can't wait to get rid of the carpet in my house.

Has anyone ever installed their own hardwood/laminate? I think I am going to do that, but wondered if anyone's ever had experience doing it and have any suggestions like - don't bother, it isn't worth doing it yourself - or even better - Yeah, I know how to do it and I'll help you do it in exchange for you cooking me dinner and giving me some beer. either comment works ;-)

Ever since I officially changed my address with the post office, I have gotten endless letters from people in my neighborhood offering their services. Everything from Handymen, Dentists, beauty shops, dry cleaners, plumbers, accountants, etc. I got a free haircut last week, have coupons for free meals at a bunch of restaurants, have a teeth cleaning scheduled in a few weeks, and am going to meet for a free 2 hour consultation with a financial planner next week. If people offer it, I am going to take them up on it!

One of my favorite authors ever, Jeffrey Deaver, is coming in town today to the Decatur Library. I am going to get dinner and see him tonight, and I am really excited. =)

Jackets to the Super regionals!

After a 2+ hour game delay last night, I got to see Tech whoop Vandy 8-4 at last night's super-regional qualifying game. Next week we play for 2/3 in the series against College of Charleston to fight for a spot in the College World Series in Omaha! We've had a good season, and I think we can go all the way!! I am behind you, Jackets! =)

Because I know everyone is on the edge of their seats, I'd just like to share that this weekend was another wedding-less weekend...something that doesn't happen nearly as much as the opposite lately. But I got to relax a bit, meet a few neighbors, get a hair cut, shop, dance, and I am sitting Reuben while the rest of the family hits the beach - certainly relaxing more than I am.