Condition Green! Launch is GO!
Nov. 12th, 2001 05:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psipsyAn actual start date for my new job! Monday, my 27th birthday. Today. In fact, I'm shoving off rather soon. I would have preferred to have already started, to be honest. That means I can't do the night owl bit anymore, out of the seven months that I've been off. Again, I look back at all that time, and wonder about all the things I've done, and had I known I'd be off this long, what I could have done. Yes, it could have been a little better, but a lot worse. This has been one big, long vacation. A well deserved one, I would say. Being off like that has been good to me. A breath of fresh air, and plenty of time to reflect on myself. Time to sleep, without waking up to an alarm clock. Time to fix myself.
While I felt like the last couple months at Corning were rough on me, it can't be denied that I didn't leave as a pansy. My tolerance for bullshit of all varieties has gone up exponentially. And when I go into NG, I will go as a newbie, but a much different man than when I first went into Oak/Corning. I will have those experiences, and while unpleasant at times, they nevertheless built me. When I took the NG technician's test, and I got to the troubleshooting area, I flew. All those years of working on the stuff at Corning, came right back. Never mind that I hadn't touched the stuff for 6 months, there it was. And it was good. I dare say, I was actually having fun on that section. My fingers danced with the test equipment over the circuit boards. Got done with all the segments in half the allotted time. Had the thought of asking for more problems, but decided not to. Figured if I worked for them, I'd have plenty of it soon enough.
So in all fairness, perhaps I should reflect on some of the good times I had at Corning. Yes, I'll remember the cameraderie there, we were all just grunts with a job to do. The glory of late night overtime, when there was no one else to shove around, because the work was there and it needed done. Days when I was able to do anything I saw fit, which was at times a necessity, because at four in the morning, there's often no one else to fall back on for advice. I'll remember second shift more fondly than first, for a variety of reasons. While I was able to do more with the rest of my life on first shift, second shift just had more work related freedom. We made our own rules. We could stand on the tables, shove our fists in the air, and let out a battle cry when we started the day. That's what it was about. We were able to grit our teeth and do our job without interference. When I went to first shift, I gave that up for the sake of a promotion. Chased after a dollar, and lost my way.
Aside from the experiences, I also gained friends. Would my life be any better if I never worked there at all? I doubt it. My time on second shift enabled me to work with quite an interesting group of people, most of them friendly. I'd have to say that each crew had it's ups and downs, turning the workplace into something from Jerry Springer's wet dream, but overall a decent bunch. If my next batch of coworkers are anything like the ones at Corning, I should be ok.
However, it is said that this too shall pass. And, true to form, it did. It became increasingly clear that my time there was done. I could no longer see the future there. I could see it when I first started, but no more. If they called me up and offered me my old job, would I take it? No. Because I can't go back and expect everything to be just like the old days. We can go back, but we may not like what we find. One statement that I came up with shortly before my departure was "As we move forward, the world behind us burns." I thank them for laying me off, instead of simply firing me. I thank them for getting rid of me at all. Otherwise my roots would have gone too deep, and I didn't want that to happen. They did what I don't know if I could have done, and that was to say goodbye.
I can't say what the next big thing will be. Maybe the gig at NG is it. Or maybe it won't last either. Whatever happens, I think I'll have the sense to know where to go next. And for that ability, I feel blessed. There are doubts about whether this is really happening or not, and I hope that the rug doesn't get pulled out from under me. Yes, I'm worried about that. Mainly because I'm running on my last UC check now. It's all or nothing. There is forward, or there is failure. The safety net is gone, the time has run out, whatever saying can go here.
What else is in the plans for me? I dunno, lately I've been focused almost entirely on getting a job. Guess I'll have to come up with something else to concentrate on. Taking a break from taking a break. Well, there's always anime. Never mind the fact that I managed to go to five conventions during my layoff. Did it as cheaply as I could, but nevertheless went to them. But if all goes well, I'll be able to re-immerse myself in all things anime and manga, and lose myself to the real world again, coming out here and there only to earn a paycheck. Social life be damned. Who needs that when there's anime? I'm actually looking forward to doing that again, like the good old days.
Perhaps I should be getting myself ready to move. It's a big step for me, but one that must occur. See, while I love my mother dearly, it's about time for me to leave the nest while I still do love her. Most of my friends that still live at home are getting sick of their folks, and I don't want to get to that point. However, that's something that just came up. Originally my intentions of moving came from the desire to not have to commute an hour and a half each way. I like driving, but it's a lot better when it's not going to work. Maybe it's too soon for me to move out, maybe it's way overdue. But it must happen, for better or worse. Ideally I'd be getting my own house, but my friend is offering some space for me to rent. From what it sounds like, it'll be almost on top of my work. Good place to start, I say. I've lived away from home before, just not on as a permanent basis as this. Granted, I never thought I'd be planning on doing this at this point. Seven months ago, I thought I could just grab another job around this area, and be done with it, and keep going as things were. Wrong. But what I am glad for is that I'd be moving to an area that's not too far from here, someplace where if I want to visit friends and family, it wouldn't be too hairy of a drive. What matters is I get to keep that ability. Something I wouldn't be able to do as easily if I were to get a job somewhere like California. I'm sure it's a nice place to be, but there's no real reason for me to go out there. This is where my friends and family are, and they are more important to me than who can give the bigger paycheck.
So that's what it comes down to. My summer vacation, finally over. It seems to have ended just as quickly as it arrived.
While I felt like the last couple months at Corning were rough on me, it can't be denied that I didn't leave as a pansy. My tolerance for bullshit of all varieties has gone up exponentially. And when I go into NG, I will go as a newbie, but a much different man than when I first went into Oak/Corning. I will have those experiences, and while unpleasant at times, they nevertheless built me. When I took the NG technician's test, and I got to the troubleshooting area, I flew. All those years of working on the stuff at Corning, came right back. Never mind that I hadn't touched the stuff for 6 months, there it was. And it was good. I dare say, I was actually having fun on that section. My fingers danced with the test equipment over the circuit boards. Got done with all the segments in half the allotted time. Had the thought of asking for more problems, but decided not to. Figured if I worked for them, I'd have plenty of it soon enough.
So in all fairness, perhaps I should reflect on some of the good times I had at Corning. Yes, I'll remember the cameraderie there, we were all just grunts with a job to do. The glory of late night overtime, when there was no one else to shove around, because the work was there and it needed done. Days when I was able to do anything I saw fit, which was at times a necessity, because at four in the morning, there's often no one else to fall back on for advice. I'll remember second shift more fondly than first, for a variety of reasons. While I was able to do more with the rest of my life on first shift, second shift just had more work related freedom. We made our own rules. We could stand on the tables, shove our fists in the air, and let out a battle cry when we started the day. That's what it was about. We were able to grit our teeth and do our job without interference. When I went to first shift, I gave that up for the sake of a promotion. Chased after a dollar, and lost my way.
Aside from the experiences, I also gained friends. Would my life be any better if I never worked there at all? I doubt it. My time on second shift enabled me to work with quite an interesting group of people, most of them friendly. I'd have to say that each crew had it's ups and downs, turning the workplace into something from Jerry Springer's wet dream, but overall a decent bunch. If my next batch of coworkers are anything like the ones at Corning, I should be ok.
However, it is said that this too shall pass. And, true to form, it did. It became increasingly clear that my time there was done. I could no longer see the future there. I could see it when I first started, but no more. If they called me up and offered me my old job, would I take it? No. Because I can't go back and expect everything to be just like the old days. We can go back, but we may not like what we find. One statement that I came up with shortly before my departure was "As we move forward, the world behind us burns." I thank them for laying me off, instead of simply firing me. I thank them for getting rid of me at all. Otherwise my roots would have gone too deep, and I didn't want that to happen. They did what I don't know if I could have done, and that was to say goodbye.
I can't say what the next big thing will be. Maybe the gig at NG is it. Or maybe it won't last either. Whatever happens, I think I'll have the sense to know where to go next. And for that ability, I feel blessed. There are doubts about whether this is really happening or not, and I hope that the rug doesn't get pulled out from under me. Yes, I'm worried about that. Mainly because I'm running on my last UC check now. It's all or nothing. There is forward, or there is failure. The safety net is gone, the time has run out, whatever saying can go here.
What else is in the plans for me? I dunno, lately I've been focused almost entirely on getting a job. Guess I'll have to come up with something else to concentrate on. Taking a break from taking a break. Well, there's always anime. Never mind the fact that I managed to go to five conventions during my layoff. Did it as cheaply as I could, but nevertheless went to them. But if all goes well, I'll be able to re-immerse myself in all things anime and manga, and lose myself to the real world again, coming out here and there only to earn a paycheck. Social life be damned. Who needs that when there's anime? I'm actually looking forward to doing that again, like the good old days.
Perhaps I should be getting myself ready to move. It's a big step for me, but one that must occur. See, while I love my mother dearly, it's about time for me to leave the nest while I still do love her. Most of my friends that still live at home are getting sick of their folks, and I don't want to get to that point. However, that's something that just came up. Originally my intentions of moving came from the desire to not have to commute an hour and a half each way. I like driving, but it's a lot better when it's not going to work. Maybe it's too soon for me to move out, maybe it's way overdue. But it must happen, for better or worse. Ideally I'd be getting my own house, but my friend is offering some space for me to rent. From what it sounds like, it'll be almost on top of my work. Good place to start, I say. I've lived away from home before, just not on as a permanent basis as this. Granted, I never thought I'd be planning on doing this at this point. Seven months ago, I thought I could just grab another job around this area, and be done with it, and keep going as things were. Wrong. But what I am glad for is that I'd be moving to an area that's not too far from here, someplace where if I want to visit friends and family, it wouldn't be too hairy of a drive. What matters is I get to keep that ability. Something I wouldn't be able to do as easily if I were to get a job somewhere like California. I'm sure it's a nice place to be, but there's no real reason for me to go out there. This is where my friends and family are, and they are more important to me than who can give the bigger paycheck.
So that's what it comes down to. My summer vacation, finally over. It seems to have ended just as quickly as it arrived.
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Date: 2001-11-12 07:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2001-11-12 08:07 am (UTC)HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!
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Date: 2001-11-12 03:42 pm (UTC)The new job is cool enough to qualify as a legitimate birthday present. Either I'm getting older, or the events of the day were too distracting, but my mind was certainly not on my b-day. Much. Heheh.