Vicissitudes

Where was I?  Somewhere around Washington D.C. I believe.  We had some fun yet the stress of traveling was weighing on me quite heavily.  The parade was interesting for the children and I enjoyed watching their faces light up at the sight of “Bob the Builder” floating by.  I realized we were in D.C. and were not experiencing the landmarks, or reason we were there.  Finally, everyone started to move.  Snapping a photo now and then I was excited to finally see the WWII memorial, Vietnam memorial and all the ins and outs of our nation’s capital.  I guess the others we were with had different ideas.  We walked right past the WWII memorial and right to the cherry trees.  While they were nice, I could not get past the fact that we were following someone who lived there.  I am sure they visited the sights so much they became an everyday thing for them.  Much like Niagara Falls is for me – who cares?   Let me skip ahead – for the sake of boredom.  We walked into the WWII memorial.  A wave of emotion I cannot fully express shook me almost to my knees. 

 Again, I have to stop – just as I start getting into the good stuff.

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Several months passed with no response. My brother took over for me at work. He got a nice increase in his salary and began to pickup where I left off. I helped him along the way. An answer here a push there but soon he outgrew my help. He began to feel the pressure I felt which built up through the years. One person just was not enough to support that place properly. Normally, one person for about 70 employees is difficult but is acceptable. However, when you are dealing with engineers and the advanced technology I put in place there, one support person just will not properly support their need. He soon found himself looking for a job. Quickly, he landed a position with a local school as their head IT person. As quick as possible he made the switch.

Nevertheless, enough about him this is about my road to where I am today. Sometime within that period, I found a contract opportunity. It was an excellent opportunity. I was the Lead Technology Consultant for the (I have to keep the name out of here for certain reasons – here on referred to as WF) stores divestiture. I will not get into the specifics but I had the responsibility to make a headquarters for the new WF owners. The contract was for one month yet lasted three. I made some good money yet my wife spent it all as usual instead of stashing it away. During this contract, position is where things started to turn even worse for me. I did not get along with those running the show. Good thing it was not with the owners of WF but with a company they hired to control all aspects of the conversion. They would not accept any of my recommendations nor did they believe I knew what I was doing. I do not blame them and have since forgiven them for the questionable business tactics they forced me into doing. I found myself treating people poorly upon their request. I sacrificed my morals and learned never to do that again, no matter what the cost. I did find a good friend through the stress of the contract. We shall call him Chester. Chester was responsible for everything about the divestiture they did not directly deal with technology. He is good! Chester and I confided in each other. He was always good to talk with. Chester is much older than I am, well educated, soft spoken with a drive that should have slowed years ago. He lives in Canada, about 1.5 hour drive from here. Every week he would drive down Monday evening and stay until Friday morning, leaving his family. The sad thing about Chester is that toward the end of his involvement with the divestiture his wife passed away. I felt so sad for him. Here is a man spending most of his time here, away from his wife in her last few weeks of her life. He did not deserve that. How unfair can life get? Chester and I keep in touch still through e-mail from time to time. I sincerely hope he makes his way back to the states sometime. I miss my friend.

I am going to get back on track now yet it appears that every digression is part of the story. Toward the end of the contract, I had a few interviews but nothing came of them. I felt that with the bad feeling between these people and myself they somehow blackballed me in the area. I would not put it past them. July came around and I no longer had any responsibility to them or WF. The network was up and running, all connections were stable and business was running. Now I was free! Free from the tyranny of their negative energy, from their constant yelling and belittling of everyone around them. I spend most of the next few months passively looking for a job, almost living it up like a child on summer holiday. We did not do much, go anywhere or visit anyone.

Hold on, that is not exactly true. We went to Washington DC for the cherry tree festival. I would not consider it much of a festival except for the parade. Nonetheless, it was enjoyable. We went with some of my wife’s online friends.

Saving for another day.

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They gave me the opportunity to come in if I wanted for as long as I wanted. They offered to pay me for three months, and pay my vacation. That did not last long. As soon as they realized they would have to pay me for three months and give me two month’s vacation pay they changed their story. They then told me they would use the vacation time during the three months following my separation. How much could I argue? It was their word verses mine and they will always win.

I was happily unemployed. I was making money doing nothing, riding out the severance. I started my job search. I posted my resume to Monster, Dice, and numerous other job boards. I received daily updates on new job openings in the area.

I have to stop there for tonight as my mind is on the events of the day.

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Now, I do not want anyone to think I am going to evangelize, or judge, or even try to convince anyone of anything. This is just the short story that began last year this time, and the events that brought me to where I am today, one year later.

Looking back over the last few month my life has taken a major turn. I guess it is unfortunate that it takes something tragic to bring someone like myself closer to God however, those of us who find the answers we were looking for are quite fortunate. If you do not mind, allow me to take you back to about a year ago.

Last January I found an e-mail to my boss in the spam filter. He was always aware that I scan the filter for false-positives. In the mass of porn, ink jet ads, and general junk, I noticed a single e-mail that would set the stage for a major change of life. The subject was “contingency plan”. With curiosity, duty, and indifference, I read a few lines. I do not remember the words exactly, but the general idea was that my position was going to be eliminated and they needed a backup plan with an outsourcing firm incase my brother (and employee) decided to quit. As a good employee I forwarded the message and added “do we need to talk?”. Making the stress level worse, my boss was out of the office for the next few days. Looking for advise, comfort and so on I confided in a long time friend (only from working there) the controller. Obviously, she knew nothing.

The days went by with my stress level growing. What am I going to do? How will I provide for my family? Who needs this lousy job anyway; there are plenty of places out there willing to pay me more for less responsibility! Just a few of the thoughts bouncing around my head while I waited for the inevitable.

Soon the time came when I was called into the president’s office. I felt like a child commanded to the principal’s office after that time I threw a sulfur “stink bomb” in the “john” in the sixth grade. Actually, I never was caught; believe it or not, I turned myself in to protect the others who each laid a finger on the tiny vial as we threw it. Maybe I will tell that very short story sometime. Sparing the details, since they are pretty much a blur by now, they told me it was nothing I did or did not do, just the firm was shrinking and they needed to cut costs. I told them I understand and it was the right business decision. They gave me their stories of how they were fired from other jobs but who would really care at that time?

I left the office rather smug. I thought; “this is my beginning – my chance to find a new company who will work with me to make a difference.

I will have to end this story for now right there. I will continue until I feel the story has ended.

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