13 Oct 2008

Good News, Good News and Bad News

Well I didn't get laid-off. But today I began training on one of our high-tech machines. I got bumped off my usual job by someone with seniority because he got bumped off his job by someone with more seniority than him. So the upshot of all of this is I'm still on dayshift during my training time but I'll get put on second shift once my training is done. For now it's OK, but in a month or so it's going to keep me out of bowling on Friday nights 'cause I'll be here at work.

That just means I need to get myself hired on at the VA really soon.

It's cool that the company is cross-training me instead of laying me off.  I thought I might have shot myself in the foot by turning down the position running the new product line. But I think it'll work itself out.

The guy who's training me said he'll string out my training time. He even said it might last until the beginning of the New Year. So that means I have until then to make my move to some other location if I can.

Later:

It's 1 o'clock and my trainer has left. He came in at 5am so he was done with his shift. I have to talk with the supervisor to make sure I can go home after 8 hours. In my other job here I had to work 8 ½ because they docked a half hour for lunch. In this job I work a straight 8 hours with no lunch break. Oh, I still get to have lunch, but they expect you to eat at the machine while running it. Oh, and I get a raise to an operators pay grade. Just how much, I'm not sure yet, but it should be around a dollar more an hour.

15 Oct 2008

Bored outta my skull.

This morning passed quickly since I was running that new machine I'm supposed to be training on. But now we're out of parts and we're just killing time.

So I went to lunch early and now I'll have to find something to do for another 2 1/2 hours. Sigh.

Finances and Common Sense:

I've got to do some research in the next few days and make some changes in my 401k. I did pretty good despite the recent Stock Market problems. I saw trouble coming and moved everything into safer places and didn't take the big hit that a lot of others here at work did. I knew last spring that something like this was going to happen. Well not as bad as this, but I knew something was coming.

I'm fairly certain that the worst is over in the stock market, but there are still world wide aftershocks coming. So a bit of study and maybe some adjustments will be made soon. 

I think that people should really look into those companies that the US Gubmint is buying into. These are going to be bargain stocks and with some good management over them, will show some really good profits in the long term (long term is 5 or more years).

 I really think that if many of these mortgage companies would just refinance (at a decent rates even) many of these broken loans, at least then they will be making some money instead of losing it all. But I guess that's just too much like common sense.

I mean, c'mon. Getting paid something is better than foreclosing, trying to sell the property (which with no one lending money right now is next to impossible!), and still being left with a balance on the original principle. And that balance may never be paid.

I dunno what in the world could be simpler. But that's why I'm not a CEO of a friggin bank. I have too much common sense. And too many scruples to screw everyone over even as I run the company into the ditch...

16 Oct 2008

Dang I'm good!

Today when I walked into work I figured it would be a bad day. There were still no parts for us to run and D (the guy training me) and I had run out at 11am yesterday.

But one of the supervisors said, "Lets fire up the GC2 machine and you guys can run that one."

Well D didn't know how to run it but I kinda-sorta do know how to run it. I should explain that I have never actually been trained to run this thing but I said, "Sure, what the heck," and away I went. Right now there are NO machines in the back part of the plant that I don't know how to run. Or at least keep running once some one has done the initial setup. I think I surprised the boss. Eh, I like that!

17 Oct 2008

I'm so freaking BORED!

Yes, once again I'm supposed to be training, but like yesterday we have no parts to run. So I've read todays paper twice, taken an extended break out in the car sleeping, and read through a want-ads rag. It's only 10:20am. *Sigh* I have to be here until 2:30. *Double sigh*

2:30:

I have done absolutely NOTHING today. ARGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

But I’m looking forward to bowling tonight.

18 Oct 2008

I should mention that bowling didn’t go so well last night. I didn’t do horrible but I didn’t rock it like last week. After bowling we went next door to a sushi place for some sushi and Adult Beverages. I got conned into trying sushi one night about a year ago and surprised myself. I really like it. And the funny thing is so does M, but she likes the Spicy Tuna Roll sashimi (which is cooked) and she’ll even eat tuna sushi (raw) when she doesn’t even like seafood normally.

But then I never said we were normal people, did I?

I’m Alive… So Far…