Last week I felt like I could change the world. This week, not so much.
November 2008
Why I was laid off
My former place of employment was an interesting place: one with a split personality. There were offices in the U.S. and a headquarters in Germany, with radically different business styles. Different styles is precisely why two offices are needed – a company needs to understand the business culture of the country in which it does business. What works in Germany does not work here and vice-versa.
It was in this cultural tug-of-war that I got caught. My official boss was in Germany while at the same time I had a boss that was local. Each had different visions for what my role was supposed to be. The adage about pleasing two masters applies here in a big way.
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Job hunting
I updated my resume last night and snagged about six job descriptions off the Internets to get me started. I’m holding out for a cabinet-level position with Obama’s administration but if that doesn’t come through I’ll need a backup plan.
Still trying to decide what I’d like to do. There are plenty of things I can do, but I’m not the same person now as I was when I did those things.
I should have more to say about the layoff experience later today. Right now I’ve got a Parks and Rec tour of Sanderford Road’s new neighborhood center to attend.
Proud Mary
Proud Mary
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Left a good job in the city,
Working for The Man every night and day,
And I never lost one minute of sleeping,
Worrying ’bout the way things might have been.
Big wheel keep on turning,
Proud Mary keep on burning,
Rolling, rolling, rolling on the river.
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One thing after another
Just when I thought my week could only get better, today I was laid off. It was purely a financial decision, from what I gather, though the specifics are highly questionable.
Maybe that expected wreck settlement will be used in other ways. More later.
Totaled
Just got word this morning that the minivan’s a total loss. Apparently I smacked into that tree hard enough to bend the frame, though if you looked at everything but the driver-side door you’d think the van was in great shape. Ah well.
On the bright side, my coworker pointed out that with the economy in the pits and the end of the year approaching, its a great time to buy a new car. I don’t know if we’ll go that route but its good to know.
War and peace on Veterans Day
Walking around the State Capitol building on Veteran’s Day, it occurred to me again how strange its monuments would seem to visitors from another planet.
“Why do you celebrate war so much?” they might ask.
Good question. The Capitol grounds are peppered with statues of warriors toting weapons. Kids play on cannons and machine guns. Its as if conflict is the only path to glory.
But where are the peacemakers? Why are there no statues of Dr. Martin Luther King? Or Mother Teresa? Or the countless home-grown heroes in every town of our great state, quietly doing their part to make a difference in someone’s life? The teacher, police officer, coach, or parent: the one person who gave a kid a glimpse of his or her potential.
Then I remember the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, forever strolling outside of Marbles Kids Museum, and it gives me hope that someday we’ll get it right.
A Raleigh ambassador
I was out taking my downtown lunchtime walk when I passed the Marriott hotel. Looking inside, I was amazed to see every table occupied at my neighbor Gianni’s restaurant. The AASHE conference (aashe2008) is in town and business is obviously good!
With the Posta restaurant full, some hungry conference attendees spilled out onto the sidewalk. They were discussing lunch options as I walked by. What the heck, I thought, why not give them some advice?
I walked back to the group and introduced myself to a Canadian man and a woman from Maine. Then I walked with them to a few other downtown restaurants, chatting as we went.
Call me a boy scout, but I sure do love showing off this city.
Mobile phones
I got a mailer the other day from Sprint, begging me to back as a mobile customer. I expected to see some sort of deal being offered. Instead, I was shocked at what they considered a bargain for mobile phone service: a hundred bucks a month?
Have I been so spoiled with my Net10 pay-per-use phone that what everyone else considers reasonable strikes me as highway robbery? What are y’all paying for mobile service?
History of the Dixie Cup
Google’s Veterans Day logo got me interested in Dixie Cups, as that’s the nickname for an enlisted sailor’s hat. Here’s an interesting article about the history of the Individual Drinking Cup Company, makers of the Dixie Cup.
Incidentally, Dixie Cups were not made in Dixie until 1982, when the American Can Company (which merged with Dixie in 1957) was sold to the James River Corporation of Richmond, Virginia. Dixie Cups actually got their name from a line of children’s dolls from the Alfred Schindler’s Dixie Doll Company.