What you did today

[Nepenthe]

First off Calax, don't send the letter. In the end nobody will care why you left once you are gone. You are going, that's the end of it. Even when you give your exit interview you should say nothing but positive things about the company, the time you spent there, and the people you worked with. Even the fools. Heck, especially the fools. Thanks them for the opportunity and try to forget for a moment every s****y thing about working there. What you say in your last interactions with management is what will be recorded and remembered about you. If you ever need to use them as a reference, odds are the person giving will not know you, or have ever met you. All they will not is what is recorded in your file when they look it up. you don't want anything that would cast you as being malcontented.

 

Telling someone off, clearing the air, bringing up grievances, even if done politely, might feel good but it is ALWAYS self defeating. Nothing you say will change the company one iota or improve the experiences of anyone else down the line. All it will do is leave a poor impression of you later on.

 

So keep your cards close, smile, shake hands and wish everyone well, lie if that is what it takes. Nobody will care why you are leaving and it does not matter anyway. Just make sure you are remembered well.

That said, sometimes you don't have the opportunity for a clean exit, but it's always something to strive for. I had a fairly epic thing go down at the last place, but in a smaller professional organization, it's always a bit different - references would be only given by a former immediate superior etc.

 

Been doing my taxes, looks like I'll be getting quite a bit back this year. Kind of answers my question of "where did all that money go" from when I was working at the old place...

[Walsingham]

I wholly approve of looking out for Calax, GD. But I think you're giving him a poor steer.

 

1) Long term I don't see him relying on this reference, do you?

2) It's true I've never seen a single exit interview do any bloody good - HR being ineffectual oxygen thieves - but it's a paper trail that mounts up over time.

3) Surely you'd be one of the first to concede that there is such a thing as self-respect, and integrity through forthrightness? Being honest is often tactically unsound, but overall it's the only way to ****ing go.

[Raithe]

Having a slow start to the day here with one of those draining headaches grinding along on the forebrain.

 

My mother is having a major cleaning/reshuffle of things around in her room.  Which with the furniture and odds and ends and her moving around doesn't really leave room for anyone to help her. Plus it's that "carefully constructed stacks of things" that only she knows how she wants them organised. So I'm pretty much staying out of it except when there's a need to shift the bed/furniture around and provide those chunks of manual labour...

 

Tis hot and sunny and bright outside.. so I'm pretty much lurking to the shade inside and avoiding the feeling of life today..

[Rosbjerg]

I wholly approve of looking out for Calax, GD. But I think you're giving him a poor steer.

 

1) Long term I don't see him relying on this reference, do you?

2) It's true I've never seen a single exit interview do any bloody good - HR being ineffectual oxygen thieves - but it's a paper trail that mounts up over time.

3) Surely you'd be one of the first to concede that there is such a thing as self-respect, and integrity through forthrightness? Being honest is often tactically unsound, but overall it's the only way to ****ing go.

 

True, but you never know who you're gonna meet again.. I left a job with 12 others in protest over a really incompetent boss (I mean horrible!) and decided to go to the CEO with complaints from all 12. That felt great true, but later I apply for a dream job, only to find the crummy Boss' buddy at the helm.. Strangely enough I didn't get it.

[Guard Dog]

I wholly approve of looking out for Calax, GD. But I think you're giving him a poor steer.

 

1) Long term I don't see him relying on this reference, do you?

2) It's true I've never seen a single exit interview do any bloody good - HR being ineffectual oxygen thieves - but it's a paper trail that mounts up over time.

3) Surely you'd be one of the first to concede that there is such a thing as self-respect, and integrity through forthrightness? Being honest is often tactically unsound, but overall it's the only way to ****ing go.

 

There is no way to know what he is going to need in the future. Don't burn the bridge you might need to cross later. Like Gifted said, what good comes of "clearing the air"? It might make you feel a little better in the short term but not if it harms you even a little bit somewhere down the road in some way you can't even conceive now. It costs nothing to lie and smile at everyone, it might cost something to speak the truth and I promise you this, it will not change anything. That company has been around for 70+ years and it has been amess this whole time. Nothing Calax is going to say, no matter how true or how politely stated is going to change anything so why do it?

 

Ros just reminded me of an old saying, "The toes you step on today might be connected to the a*s you have to kiss tomorrow."

[LadyCrimson]

Spent the last few hours trying to figure out mic's vs. distance+keyboard clatter+breathing vs. NR settings vs. my tendency to mumble. *shakes fists* ... I could still use to try to find a better microphone setup I suppose. Never know how to shop for such things...

[Walsingham]

Well, different strategies, I suppose. I'd make a couple points before dropping it:

 

1) It's not a short term approach to feeling good. Feeling good about yourself and having honest integrity is a long term commitment, and a long term benefit.

2) If a boss needs you to kiss their ass, then they're a ****ing disaster area. Transfer out of their control asap. Rosbif's "perfect job" probably wasn't. 

 

EDIT: WTF is up with my inability to spell? I keep misspelling their/they're/there!

 

Postedit:

 

I'm reminded of a poem I found through Field Marshal A.P.Wavell's Other Men's Flowers.

 

...Speak not when the people listens;    
Stop thine ear against the singer;            
From the red gold keep thy finger;    
Vacant heart and hand and eye,    
Easy live and quiet die.

 

To paraphrase the great soldier's commentary, he thought this advise was pure bull****.

Edited May 2, 2013 by Walsingham

[Calax]

When I've got another confirmed job, and I've done my exit interview, I'm probably gonna go into the office and just ask to talk to her then. It seems like nobody really knows if anything is going on with me beyond the two people who I've mentioned to that I'm looking. 

 

Either way, phone interview on tuesday with Wells Fargo.

[Gorgon]

I sortof have the reverse problem. I'm stuck in a crummy job because I like the people there. It's comfortable and familiar which eats away at my ambition.

[Walsingham]

I feel obliged to clarify that Wavell wasn't any kind of amazing soldier. i just think it would have been fun to soldier with him. Mad old bugger.

[Raithe]

I feel obliged to clarify that Wavell wasn't any kind of amazing soldier. i just think it would have been fun to soldier with him. Mad old bugger.

 

"There are two kinds of officers, sir: killin' officers and murderin' officers. Killin' officers are poor old buggers that get you killed by mistake. Murderin' officers are mad, bad, old buggers that get you killed on purpose - for a country, for a religion, maybe even for a flag."

[Woldan]

Almost blew my face off today, shot handloaded ammunition and it was way, totally WAAAAAY overpressure, massive gas leakage at the primer pocket, badly deformed sticky brass cases, an awful lot of recoil. I'm a perfectionist when reloading ammo - so what happened? Faulty powder!

Turned out the powder granulation was all over the place, especially lots of small powder pieces which make gas pressure go through the roof in rifle cartridges.

I can only imagine what pressure spikes my rifle hat to endure, I'm still surprised it didn't disintegrate in my hands, along with my face.. 

 

Here is a pic of normal rifle stick powder:

 

 

And here is a pic of said '' I'll blow your goddamn head off!'' faulty powder:

 

 

 

That could have been the result:

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2013 by Woldan

[Walsingham]

 

I feel obliged to clarify that Wavell wasn't any kind of amazing soldier. i just think it would have been fun to soldier with him. Mad old bugger.

 

"There are two kinds of officers, sir: killin' officers and murderin' officers. Killin' officers are poor old buggers that get you killed by mistake. Murderin' officers are mad, bad, old buggers that get you killed on purpose - for a country, for a religion, maybe even for a flag."

 

 

Walsingham's addendum: Officers tell you where to die, NCOs get you there on time, commissars make sure you do.

[LadyCrimson]

Here is a pic of normal rifle stick powder:

Those pics make me think of the rec room scene in Tremors.

[Raithe]

 

 

I feel obliged to clarify that Wavell wasn't any kind of amazing soldier. i just think it would have been fun to soldier with him. Mad old bugger.

 

"There are two kinds of officers, sir: killin' officers and murderin' officers. Killin' officers are poor old buggers that get you killed by mistake. Murderin' officers are mad, bad, old buggers that get you killed on purpose - for a country, for a religion, maybe even for a flag."

 

 

Walsingham's addendum: Officers tell you where to die, NCOs get you there on time, commissars make sure you do.

 

 

"An experienced NCO outranks a 2nd Leutenant without a clue. A running Ordnance Disposal guy, outranks EVERYBODY."

[LadyCrimson]

Wonder if I can convince hubby to take a drive down to Saratoga for the Peter Frampton/BB King concert at the Mountain Winery. I know he'd love the concert, but getting him to do anything with crowds is always a challenge. But BB King might not be around much longer...we saw him a few times at the Circle Star, when it still existed. He's the man.

 

The Monkees are also playing this summer ... but just wouldn't be the same without Davy Jones.

And when did Jeff Bridges start doing country music? I'm not into country, but it's still tempting to go see Jeff play/sing. Heh.

[Rosbjerg]

So I decided to test just how colourblind I am.. Apperantly very.. The lower the score the better, I got 90

 

 

In case we ever end up in a situation where our lives depend on cutting the correct coloured wire, let's just agree right now that you do it.

[Oerwinde]

A few weeks back I got a jury summons. They wanted me for 20 days at 20 bucks a day, which is like a 1200 dollar pay cut. So I jokingly threw around a few racial slurs about it and a good laugh was had by all. Except one person, who for some reason took the whole thing seriously and is now telling everone she meets how racist I am, which I found out this morning.

[LadyCrimson]

@Rosbjerg - I've seen that test site before. That's a 90? It is pretty off by individual squares, but you did get the general scaling concept. eg, no bright pink square next to a starting purple square, so I think you could still tell a gold wire from a turqouise wire. Just not a blue-green wire from a green-blue wire.

 

I usually get a 0/perfect on that website (in the past and just now), but I did get a 4 once. Some of the gradients (especially on a monitor) cause a bit of a color illusion.

[Gfted1]

The lone time (knock on wood) I received a jury summons I was selected to be a jury member. It was a mind numbing case of a trucker sueing a repair shop over bunk workmanship. Also, one of my pet peeves is when your in a group activity and things are about to wrap up, when some lone dumbass in the group has five more questions. Jurys are rife with that.

[Gorgon]

I thought that was the test. It's the answer. Good. I'm not colour blind then.

[Gorgon]

Yeah now that I look at them the last two bars don't look right.

[Oerwinde]

The lone time (knock on wood) I received a jury summons I was selected to be a jury member. It was a mind numbing case of a trucker sueing a repair shop over bunk workmanship. Also, one of my pet peeves is when your in a group activity and things are about to wrap up, when some lone dumbass in the group has five more questions. Jurys are rife with that.

Mine was a criminal case, but I was able to get an exemption because I would have been unable to pay rent or buy groceries if I did it.

[Rosbjerg]

Yeah now that I look at them the last two bars don't look right.

 

This was exactly how I felt doing the test..

[LadyCrimson]

At least it wasn't a 1500+ score!