Filed under: Work
I did a little piece yesterday on corporate buzzwords over at my buddy’s blog, What Do You Think? His blog is more business-minded than mine. Anyhow, it was highly therapeutic. If you’re interested, you can see it HERE.
Also, in keeping with Tracy’s “favourite videos” post over at Cogito Eggo Sum – and in keeping also with the aforementioned subject at WDYT? – here’s one of my favourite videos ever: SuperFriends Office Space. It’s worth it for Robin alone.
- BC
- 667: The Neighbour Of The Beast
Filed under: Work
… I am an office drone now.
Arrrrgh.
Yours,
BC
- Putting the cover sheets on all of the TPS reports now
Filed under: Work
After six years, my last day is tomorrow. Sad!
My first day is Monday, and the boss won’t be there for my first week. Scary!
- BC
- The “Director” title is nice, though
In an effort to try to get myself into more picture-taking [I think my pics are the best part of this blog], I’m starting Five Frame Fridays. Every Friday I can, I’ll post five new pictures [without writeups] that either Tania or I have taken that week, or that comes from my library. This week, it’s about the kids, the cats, and other forms of family.
- BC
![Down By The Water [GREAT Picture]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v119/bigclumsy/CALvanists/PERSONAL/100_0815.jpg)
So I’ve been chasing a job elsewhere recently, and the company that interviewed me last week offered me a position as Facilities Director at a major office building last week. The offer gives me $12,000 more a year and %10 of my annual salary in bonuses. So last Friday, I gave my notice to my current employer.
Surprisingly, the big boss apparently thought that they should match the money offer, and my boss Bernie made that clear to me. I was thrilled at the idea of a $12,000 raise and staying at a job I love. As it turns out more than a week later, however, I’m instead left with no decent counter-offer and a bitter taste in my mouth for the company that I’ve had a great relationship for six years.
Bernie was forced to go to another boss in our company for financial direction, and the idea of the bonus and any promise of advancement went right out the window. I was told as much, and countered to Bernie that if H&R matched the salary money, I would consider staying. Tuesday had already gone by. Wednesday went by without a real word as well. And after making it clear to Bernie today that I would not accept an offer after Wednesday – I mean, I have to sign with the new place by Thursday, I told them, and was not interested in waiting until the last day – he called me to tell me that this other boss of his was coming into my building tomorrow with another operator to see how much work I do, and possibly make an offer then.
I said no.
In the most blunt conversation I’ve ever had with Bernie, I told him that I didn’t think that it was especially fair to me after six years of service that this had been dragging on for so long (I told them Friday), and that someone I don’t know coming in with some other building guy to see if I’m worth the pay I’m asking for was sort of off-putting. He gave me the standard “no, no, it’s not like that” speech, but it was exactly like that and we both knew it. I mean, he was embarassed by this – you could hear it in his voice. In the end, I told him to save this operator guy the trip, because I was cutting the cord and accepting the new place’s offer if a counter-offer was not coming today. It was clear that it wasn’t, so I said goodbye as politely as I could. I hung up and called the new company and formally accepted their offer. My last day is October 20th.
So while I’m initially told that my employer will match the prospective employer’s package, I’m finally told six days later that they’re not only not going to match the money but they also won’t give me the bonus. On top of that, they would bring in a superintendent-type to evaluate how much my job is worth before counter-offering the day after my deadline. Hey, if they don’t know what I do after six years, to hell with ‘em.
Ahh, well – onwards and upwards. I start at the new place on October 23rd, and lookin’ forward to it.
***
Gentleman Jack is doing well. He’s a total lap cat now, and he LOVES to play with balls and whatnot ALL the time. But in addition to his rag-tag ear and fangs that hang on the outside of his face, he also has no front teeth! Weird. Anyways,Jack D’Ass (as he’s called when he bites me) is doing much, much better, and getting along alright with Abby, too.
- BC
I’ve always loved superheroes. Superman, Batman, and Captain America rank among my all-time favourites; even now at thirty-five I’ve got t-shirts depicting the emblems of all three. I really enjoyed the Canadian super-hero team Alpha Flight, absolutely loved the Spider-Man books, and got completely enthralled with Teen Titans years ago. As I got older, I stopped collecting comic books but remained somewhat in touch with the changing comic book world by discovering both The Sandman graphic novels and Hellblazer. Both were fantastic. But it may surprise you to learn that while I’d call Sandman, V For Vendetta, Watchmen, Kingdom Come and The Dark Knight Returns amongst the best books I’ve ever read, I consider my favourite hero to be Green Arrow.
I got hooked on Green Arrow in my teens, when Mike Grell did a series called Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters. Grell took a minor DC character in Oliver Queen, got rid of the silly boxing glove and glue arrows, and turned him gritty, realistic-feeling figure who sometimes opted to kill rather than capture. Grell wrote a story for mature readers, bringing in infidelity, death and nudity into a genre that just wasn’t doing those things yet. He had a long run with Arrow, and it really turned me on to the character in a big way.
So when I decided to start finding statuettes and action figures to slap on my side desk at work, Green Arrow was someone I wanted to collect. A few years ago, my sister went to Jay & Silent Bob’s Secret Stash in New Jersey and bought me a statue of Pinhead from Hellraiser, and a year or two later sent my Buddy Christ up from that same store. Somewhere along the way I picked up a Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man figure from the Ghostbusters movies, and after pro wrestler Eddie Guerrero died in 2005, I added a figure of him to my desk as well. My cleaner’s kids play with them, and it’s a good laugh for everyone who comes into the office. So given that I found a Green Arrow figure when I took Liam and Hailey to Toys ‘R’ Us recently, I thought it might be a good time to start buying some more.
I am, however, somewhat unimpressed.
Looks pretty awesome, doesn’t he? Yeah, I thought so too, when I was looking at the box. He’s got a very angular stance that reminds me of the Rob Liefield stuff, back when he was drawing X-Men. I quite dig it. And the whole Legion of Super-Heroes is available, too, from Supe and Bats all thew way down through Hawkgirl and Captain Atom. It’s a veritable cornucopia of geekdom for the taking! But after purchasing Oliver here and bringing him to work, I’m highly disappointed.
First off, take a look at the back of the box. In this picture, Green Arrow is clearly holding his arrow by the shaft, right? Well, the figure can’t actually do that. He actually has to hold it like this. Maybe it’s not the end of the world, but that’s a photo of the actual figure on the box there and not a drawing, and I’m a little miffed that it can’t do what it says it can do. And you can’t put it in his other hand, because that hand won’t hold it either, and his right hand won’t hold his bow [apparently he holds it in his right, as illustrated on the side of the box].
Most annoying about the action figure, though, is the sloppy glue job.
Do you see his breastplate there? The glue’s come out of it, and it looks like crap. I don’t think I’m being too picky about asking that the figure I spent my own money on not have exposed glue parts on it, am I? I think too picky would be pointing out the circular mark on his feathered cap, or noting that his painted parts aren’t all that perfect. I don’t care about that. I just want a figure without frickin’ glue running out of it THAT CAN ACTUALLY HOLD IT’S OWN ACCESSORY.
It’s too bad, really, because he does look pretty neat from afar. But apparently, Mattel has been bought out by United Consumer Fuckers, and Captain Atom’s going to have to wait until I complain to them in writing.
- BC
***
Gentleman Jack is getting more comfortable every day, and he loves his blankie. He’s an incredible suck, as it turns out, so that’s good. Abby, too, seems unconcerned with Jack-Jack’s presence, and hopefully remains secure in her heart that she’s still numero-uno in our hearts.
