June 14, 2008
<<On becoming a Portlander>>
I sold my car just over 2 months ago, and haven't looked back. Now I've sold 
my (now nearly useless) Kitty Cruiser (to a very deserving and extremely nice new mommy) and purchased a proper street/commuter bike. I'm planning on starting to commute to work by bike whenever possible. This morning I did a test run of the paths I had chosen, got a little lost, but all in all ended up at my destination downtown exactly 30 minutes from the time I left my living room. 5.5 miles separates me and my workplace, and without the lost-ness and stopping to afix my lock into a better position on my bike, I can probably get there in 25 (also with a bit less traffic at 6.30 in the morning). This is actually less time than it takes for me to get to work via MAX or by bus. The MAX is starting to get really packed in the morning, and though it gives me my most quiet time for reading (on the way to work, at least), biking to and from work pretty much negates the need for me to do the cardio stuff at the gym which I had been not doing anyhow. Thus, 3 birds with one stone shall be killed: faster commute to work, workout built-in (especially on the 70% uphill ride home), and better mobility for running errands. Oh yeah, and there's the no gas thing, too.
So today after the time trial, I took a trip up the Eastside esplanade 
and, following the bike paths, ended up in the Lloyd District, then Hollywood, and eventually home. The total round-trip was about 12 miles with a few pauses for sweat-mopping after some tough hillclimbs (hey, I haven't ridden like this in years). It was incredibly fun and I'm very much looking forward to the ride (back, mostly) getting easier before the weather turns too warm. I'm going to try to keep track of the different paths I take too and from work (along with any side trips) so I can track my progress. Many thanks go to Citybikes Workers' Cooperative for giving me an awesome deal on a bike and doing all the adjustments and the like.
June 12, 2008
<<Not to be taking this to the level of just complaining every post>>
But holy fuck, am I bored. I am so bored of people not listening, of having to repeat everything I say, of dealing with those who don't know how to do their jobs. There's an issue in this country with the unemployment of skilled workers, and I've found out why - because there are too many blathering idiots who are hired for positions far above their capacities. I know that I have to treat nearly every one I deal with like a thin-shelled little retarded egg, but this is getting ridiculous. I quite obviously shouldn't be in the position where I am. This is the same shit I was doing EIGHT fucking years ago. I didn't like it then, so I moved on, but due to economic issues and the fact that I didn't spend 4 years going to a state-run institution only to hand over the next 10 years of my indebted life for a piece of paper, I took a position that paid well for which I was ridiculously overqualified, and this is what happened. I always have this assumption that my qualities will be realized and that I may be lifted from my malaise and placed into a position where my skills might be utilized. Alas, that has not been done, and though I was fully screwed out of actually getting a raise this year, I was hoping to at least get up to the salary I was making in my last position, as cost of living has gone up, and I'm making what i made 5 years ago.
But above all, I am bored. So fucking bored. This feels like high school, and I barely made it out of there alive.
May 13, 2008
<<OMFG>>
So I haven't written here in forever, mostly because the only thing I want to do is complain. For 9 hours of my day, I'm stuck in a cube doing a job I did 6 years ago and holy fuck am I bored. I'm sure that some of my more knowledgeable coworkers could find this site, but I'm near the point of not caring now. I've never mentioned the name of the company I work for, or even what I do for said company or what the company does. Hopefully that allows me some kind of protection. I took this job because, well, I needed one before I could move here. I am overqualified and they got me for a steal. I was planning on moving up and out after my 90-day metamorphosis from a contractor to a full-time employee, but unbeknownst to me, I signed on to swab the deck of a sinking ship. My contractor status was stretched to 6 months; 6 months without paid holidays, time off, or insurance. 6 months that screwed me out of getting some kind of review and raise, as I was hired on *after* January 1st, which was the cutoff day for such employees. Due to some technicalities, there was some people on the same boat as I who ended up getting hired on right before the January 1st cutoff. Those people now have better jobs.
Be that as it may, I chose this job partially because of the supposed opportunities that are available to people here for advancement and the like. Since I started here last July, half of the workforce in my current are has been reduced, either by attrition or by layoffs, and only now are the opportunities starting to show. Unfortunately, because of the lack of workforce, most of us have been busting our asses to get our work done and mostly failing miserably. There are a few employees who seem to not care, and get far less done than the rest of us. Some of these employees happen to be extremely buddy-buddy with the management, and "get away" with not doing their work when it's supposed to be done because of it. Being a perfectionist and a snitch, this really bugs the hell out of me. If anyone were to find this and get me fired, it would be one of those people.
I have given suggestions both to my immediate management and to higher-ups that I think would boost our productivity while lowering financial burden across the board. None of these have been put in place. As I have worked in similar functions for the past... jesus... 10 years, I personally think I have something to say on the way things are run here, because overall, they are run only fairly, and that's with at least 10 people working their fingers to the bone, pumping water from the hull only to have the water lap up to their kneecaps. So supposedly, we're getting some new-hires who will allow the rest of us some time to finish up our own work while working on other projects that might have something to do with our ... careers. What a horrible word. The ship has a new captain and some new lieutenants and the like, but they all still seem like mutineers to me, or at least people I don't really trust.
Base line here: I don't know if I even want to stay here. I don't know if I can deal with the b.s. that's been going on in this company and I think that this ship may flounder and run aground. I've worked for a sinking ship before, but I actually really liked that company, and I gained a lot of knowledge that is now being completely wasted more every day I step into my building. When I start to do my job every day, I get nauseous and feel (quite seriously) dumber at the end of each day. At this point, I've lost skills with only paid off debts to show for it. I'm so stressed out here my skin has started fighting against me, and every single day I leave exhausted and don't want to touch anything at home. I'm at a loss as to what to do about it. I have good benefits, and although I'm being paid less than what I'm worth, it's still a fairly good wage for someone who lives in a dual-income-no-children household.
Have I mentioned I'm going to Vancouver this weekend? I'm fucking ridiculously excited. And it's Ichi's birthday again, which means it's only a 1/4 year until my birthday, too. I don't think I'm going to make some of the goals I have before turning 30, but I'll have to get over it, I guess. At least sometimes life seems worth living.
April 29, 2008
<<Travails and travailler>>
So last week, when my mom and aunt visited, I ended up with some kind of sickness that laid me out for the rest of the work week. Amazing, I know, not being able to return to work after a nice long weekend, but I really was quite miserable. I would like to thank my mom and aunt publicly, however, for not only giving me my most liver-wrenching weekend in a very long time, but also for doling out the cash for an awesomely huge amount of raw fish at Masu (delicious, as always), Kell's (3 times, I think?), and various other places. They are incredibly awesome and we had entirely too much fun.
My mom drove back to Idaho in my car. Yes indeed, I sold my car. I was only driving it every 3-4 weeks and was paying far too much for gas and insurance (which was pitifully low, anyhow). I take TriMet to work and play, mostly, and walk/Max to the store. Ichi has a truck, so we take that for the big shopping trips outside of our neighborhood (Fubonn, 50# bags of rice, etc), and his vehicle does way better going over the west hills to the coast. So really, why need a car? I don't. So I got rid of it.
I almost regretted the decision when I had to take Baby Kitty to the vet yesterday in her wee carrier. Ichi was still at work, and not only did I have to break into my house directly after work (left my keys in the house), but had to hustle the cat into the box and out the door to the bus stop within 20 minutes. Since Baby Kitty understands what's going on when I toss the treats in her carrier and smile brightly, I ended up tucking her legs under and pushing her in. Her first bus rides (had to transfer once to get down to Powell) left her really quite freaked out, which was expected. Thankfully Ichi whisked us away and to the Greek deli where we picked up gyros and beer, and then back home to relative safety (at least for the cat). The whole ordeal really tired me out, but I'm still happy with the choice to rid myself of the gas-powered vehicular ball-and-chain, and just hope that I don't have to take her back to the vet again for a good while.
I've been rather neglectful of sc.net, as I've been writing elsewhere for a bit. Maybe one day I'll post links to the site, but for now I'd like to keep them separate. I have started up The Clever Chef again, so hopefully we'll get some goods going on over there as well. Updates soon...
