It's about 11:00pm as I start to write this and while I should be going to bed, there are too many things going through my mind to allow me to go to sleep right now...a movie I just watched the end of, a disturbing trend I've noticed on the news and life in general.
We just started a free 90-day trials of a movie package through FiOS and tonight is the first night we have had access to it. I caught the end of a movie that just disturbed me somewhat. What happened was this...there was a couple that was engaged to be married, and his friends throw him a crazy frat house bachelor party. He does things he's not supposed to and gets caught in a situation he should not have been in in the first place. This was partly setup by his fiance's ex. Because of this, he is late to his wedding, arriving as his then former fiance is walking out of the church married to the ex that set him up. He (former ex, now husband) cheats on her almost immediately and she goes running back to the guy she was going to marry in the first place.
The whole premise of a bachelor party like that doesn't sit well with me in the first place. I know I would not have been able to look Traci in the eyes at our wedding and seriously mean the vows I said to her if I had been through something like that. I'm glad my bachelor was pretty cool...box seats to a Dodger game (where I was forced to wear a Giants hat for the entire game) driven there by limo (which was way cool!) and I think that was after we hung out for a bit at Dave & Buster's. My type of laid back gathering.
Along the same lines, we already have dates saved for three wedding next year, and each of them in a cool place! The first one is on a cruise ship, although sadly enough, we will not be able to go on the cruise with everyone else afterwards. The second one is in Colorado, which we would love to go to, but probably will not know until just before. The third wedding is two weeks after the second one and is in the Mid-west. I would love to attend all three if invited, but money will be the key issue. (Isn't it always!)
The second disturbing trend is kids being killed and more specifically being killed by crazy parents that are seeking to do harm. I have heard of two cases like this in the past week locally in So Cal. it's ridiculous to me. I don't care what the reason is for wanting to do harm, there is just no excuse for actions like this. My personal opinion is that is probably a lack of maturity, at least in some cases, and in others it could very well be a mental disorder. (I understand what it is like to have mental problems and think crazy things. That's where I was exactly one year ago.) One of the incidents was where a 19 year-old and her 10 day-old baby were killed by the father/ex-boyfriend when the mother wouldn't let him have the baby earlier in the day. Hearing about that reminded of a show I watched briefly for the first time the other day..."16 and Pregnant". I think it's on MTV. The girl was pregnant and the boyfriend was rarely home because of work and then hanging out with friends. He was ignorantly irresponsible; not for the work, but for always going out with friends (pretty much every day) after work.
Watch out, here comes my soapbox to pick me up. If you have sex, you know what the potential consequences are! (Perhaps my assumption is ignorant, but I like to think that people who get themselves into a situation where they can actually have sex have half a brain that works.) You should understand that before you put yourself into that situation. This leads into my beliefs on abortion (uh oh, rare controversial topic opinion ahead). It seems that many women and nearly all politicians are pro-choice. I would not have a problem with this concept if the baby inside the womb was able to say "I don't want my parents! They are stupid and are not capable of taking care of me!" There is only one situation where I think abortion is ok, and that is if the mother's life is in jeopardy. In other words, it is a matter of losing two lives or one. I have a friend who was unfortunately and unexpectedly in that situation. It was not something she wanted to do, but needed to do in order to try to fight for her life. Unfortunately, she passed away a year and a half later. The one aspect of abortion that I'm kind of semi-iffy on is rape. On one side, sex was forced not desired. On the other side, I don't believe in murder, and yes I do think abortion is murder. Please explain to me how stopping a beating heart is not considered killing life, or how eliminating something that will develop a beating heart is not wrong. Therefore, I still think that abortion from rape is not ok, even though it is probably not wanted. Ok, the soapbox has left.
Other things in life that are constantly running through my head all seem to revolve around my job situation. I have now been home from work for over a month, and although I am still on payroll through next Tuesday and have a severance package coming after that, I still wonder how long this will go on and how I will be able to provide for my family should this extend beyond our financial means. I do have one potential job in the works, but it's just that: in the works. Nothing is certain until I am on-site, being paid to work, and the prospective job would have me as a contractor, which is somewhat unsettling although I believe that once I'm in there, I will prove to them that they need to keep me around. I've heard of many instances where people are out of work for several months, some over a year, in this economy. So if this job does come through, I will consider myself lucky and privileged.
Well, I don't know about you, but I feel better and have cleared my mind somewhat. Hopefully I can sleep better now. Especially since we have soccer in the morning, followed by a 3-hour drive to Santa Maria where we are spending the night, courtesy of one of Traci's clients (high school friend) is paying for our hotel for us so that Traci can do a photo shoot for them. Oh, and I have to do more laundry, too. Gotta be sure we have everything ready for the trip that we need!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Job(less) Update
In my last post, I mentioned that I was expecting a call from a company (Kaiser) that seemed to have interest in me. Well, in the time since that post, I have had two interviews with them. The first was with the recruiter and lasted about a half hour. I made it past that screening and had a second interview yesterday. That one lasted an hour and 14 minutes, and I am not waiting to hear what happens next, which I was told I should know in the next few days. I feel good about how it went and am really hoping they feel the same way, which should mean a third interview, face-to-face finally...hopefully...since the first two have been via phone.
One thing that I feel good about is that I don't really get that nervous for interviews, especially over the phone. Also, since I have taken advantage of the career counselor services provided by Chevron, I was pretty well prepared for this last interview since I had been given a cd by my counselor about nearly 100 interview questions and how they should/could be answered. I remember two questions I was asked were worded exactly the same on the cd as they were in the interview. The interviewer, who would be my manager if I'm hired, seemed to be pretty interested in many of the things I was saying. he spent most of the interview asking me about a variety of different situations that I had experienced, which made the interview that much easier. There was only one that I had a little trouble coming up with an answer for, but I did come up with one.
Needless to say, I'm really hoping this will work out and that they realize that I'm the right person for them to hire. The commute (Pasadena) would be 2 miles longer than my current commute (El Segundo), which is manageable. This would also represent the third general area of the "Southland" that I have worked in: Irvine, El Segundo, Pasadena. To me that is kind of cool because it gives me more familiarity with southern California, especially when it comes to alternate route. I already have the alternate route to/from Pasadena recognized, and it would cut the commute to 21 miles via surface streets the entire way!
So what have I been doing with all this time at home? The biggest thing to me is spending time with the family. I get to take the kids to school and pick them up, which I love doing. I get to spend more time with Traci, although with the way Traci Steinman Photography is going, she is pretty busy now, not to mention that she is also co-coordinator for MOPS at our church, which is another job all by itself. I have been doing some job searching, although that has slowed considerably with the prospects of this job at Kaiser. Plus I have attended a few webinars related to job search preparations, via the career counseling services company.
I also spend time just hanging out. It's been nice to be able to watch the playoff games that are on during the day (even though the Dodgers are already playing golf) and I have taken Skyler to Disneyland a couple of times while Courtney has been in school. I'm planning on taking Courtney by herself on the 29th since she doesn't have school that day (parent conferences) so that we can do all the fast and crazy rides she wants since we're kind of limited when we usually go.
The highlight of my week has remained Saturday because of the joy I experience coaching Skyler's soccer team. I haven't felt that good about doing something in quite a while. The kids are great, the patents are great, my assistant coach is great and my team mom is great. Of course it helps that the Asst. Coach and Team Mom are family, but that makes it that much better.
Traci and the girls will be home from the gym soon, so I better catch up on the Yanks-Rangers game and hope that the Rangers are taking control of the series! Too late, they're home and need to get ready for bed...the girls anyway.
One thing that I feel good about is that I don't really get that nervous for interviews, especially over the phone. Also, since I have taken advantage of the career counselor services provided by Chevron, I was pretty well prepared for this last interview since I had been given a cd by my counselor about nearly 100 interview questions and how they should/could be answered. I remember two questions I was asked were worded exactly the same on the cd as they were in the interview. The interviewer, who would be my manager if I'm hired, seemed to be pretty interested in many of the things I was saying. he spent most of the interview asking me about a variety of different situations that I had experienced, which made the interview that much easier. There was only one that I had a little trouble coming up with an answer for, but I did come up with one.
Needless to say, I'm really hoping this will work out and that they realize that I'm the right person for them to hire. The commute (Pasadena) would be 2 miles longer than my current commute (El Segundo), which is manageable. This would also represent the third general area of the "Southland" that I have worked in: Irvine, El Segundo, Pasadena. To me that is kind of cool because it gives me more familiarity with southern California, especially when it comes to alternate route. I already have the alternate route to/from Pasadena recognized, and it would cut the commute to 21 miles via surface streets the entire way!
So what have I been doing with all this time at home? The biggest thing to me is spending time with the family. I get to take the kids to school and pick them up, which I love doing. I get to spend more time with Traci, although with the way Traci Steinman Photography is going, she is pretty busy now, not to mention that she is also co-coordinator for MOPS at our church, which is another job all by itself. I have been doing some job searching, although that has slowed considerably with the prospects of this job at Kaiser. Plus I have attended a few webinars related to job search preparations, via the career counseling services company.
I also spend time just hanging out. It's been nice to be able to watch the playoff games that are on during the day (even though the Dodgers are already playing golf) and I have taken Skyler to Disneyland a couple of times while Courtney has been in school. I'm planning on taking Courtney by herself on the 29th since she doesn't have school that day (parent conferences) so that we can do all the fast and crazy rides she wants since we're kind of limited when we usually go.
The highlight of my week has remained Saturday because of the joy I experience coaching Skyler's soccer team. I haven't felt that good about doing something in quite a while. The kids are great, the patents are great, my assistant coach is great and my team mom is great. Of course it helps that the Asst. Coach and Team Mom are family, but that makes it that much better.
Traci and the girls will be home from the gym soon, so I better catch up on the Yanks-Rangers game and hope that the Rangers are taking control of the series! Too late, they're home and need to get ready for bed...the girls anyway.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Time Off
So it has begun, the nerve-wracking time off from work. In one way it's nice because I don't have to worry about getting up early every morning, I don't have the stresses of work or sharing an office with someone who I do not feel very comfortable around. However, there are the other stresses from being home such as wondering where my next career move will be, financial concerns if nothing pans out before the money does and the (what feels like the remote-) possibility of heading back into depression, especially if money issues affect being able to medications.
The one nice thing is that although I would still love to be working for Chevron, financially, what's going on could be a ton worse. I turned in all my company stuff yesterday and now have no access to anything Chevron. However, I am on their payroll until November 9. This means that benefits are will remain in place through November 30 and that I will continue receiving my normal semi-monthly paychecks. If I don't have a job by November 9, I then qualify for 8-weeks of severance pay, plus unused vacation (1.5 weeks). In other words, we should be OK with money until the end of the year.
I have never enjoyed job hunting. I would rather negotiate the purchase of a car before job hunting. Fortunately, though, it appears I may have a lead on a potentially promising position with Kaiser Permanente (in Pasadena). A friend of mine who actually took over my first analyst position at Chevron, let me know about the position, which just got posted this week. From the sounds of it, this would be a great move for me as the job sounds very similar to what I have been doing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and praying and hoping that something comes of this. I've been told that I will be contacted, but so far, no call. Therefore, I assume nothing yet about it.
In the meantime, this next week should be pretty productive as I will be establishing communication with the Chevron people (a specific corporate team) that will be looking out for other Chevron positions that I could perform based on my experience and the like. I will also be attending a webinar orientation for the company that will help me market myself, sharpen the resumes and such in order to successfully navigate the job market (outside Chevron). Both of those services are paid for and provided by Chevron...not bad.
One thing that has very quickly become the highlight of every week for me, especially with the current circumstances, is coaching Skyler's soccer team, the Green Gators. It has been so much more fun than I expected. It's awesome to watch the kids get better and better each week, We've now played 4 games and have 6 to go. Our first two games, we tied. Our last two games, we've won! So we are undefeated after 4 games: 2-0-2. I would not have expected this based on my significant lack of knowledge of soccer. In that sense, this has been a good learning experience for me as well as the kids. I think some of them know a lot more that I do about the sport. Some of them are just flat-out studs/studettes!
Thanks to my friend, I was able to take in one last Dodger game this year last night. Of course the Dodgers lost 7-5, but what happened in the game did not compare to my experience in my seat. For the first time ever, in about 25 years of going to Dodger games, I caught a game ball! We had pretty good seats on the Loge (second) level about seven rows behind third base. The ball initially landed two rows and one section past me, but took a hop or two off a chair and/or fan who didn't know how to catch. All this while my friend was up getting a drink or hitting the restroom...but, oh well.
The one nice thing is that although I would still love to be working for Chevron, financially, what's going on could be a ton worse. I turned in all my company stuff yesterday and now have no access to anything Chevron. However, I am on their payroll until November 9. This means that benefits are will remain in place through November 30 and that I will continue receiving my normal semi-monthly paychecks. If I don't have a job by November 9, I then qualify for 8-weeks of severance pay, plus unused vacation (1.5 weeks). In other words, we should be OK with money until the end of the year.
I have never enjoyed job hunting. I would rather negotiate the purchase of a car before job hunting. Fortunately, though, it appears I may have a lead on a potentially promising position with Kaiser Permanente (in Pasadena). A friend of mine who actually took over my first analyst position at Chevron, let me know about the position, which just got posted this week. From the sounds of it, this would be a great move for me as the job sounds very similar to what I have been doing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and praying and hoping that something comes of this. I've been told that I will be contacted, but so far, no call. Therefore, I assume nothing yet about it.
In the meantime, this next week should be pretty productive as I will be establishing communication with the Chevron people (a specific corporate team) that will be looking out for other Chevron positions that I could perform based on my experience and the like. I will also be attending a webinar orientation for the company that will help me market myself, sharpen the resumes and such in order to successfully navigate the job market (outside Chevron). Both of those services are paid for and provided by Chevron...not bad.
One thing that has very quickly become the highlight of every week for me, especially with the current circumstances, is coaching Skyler's soccer team, the Green Gators. It has been so much more fun than I expected. It's awesome to watch the kids get better and better each week, We've now played 4 games and have 6 to go. Our first two games, we tied. Our last two games, we've won! So we are undefeated after 4 games: 2-0-2. I would not have expected this based on my significant lack of knowledge of soccer. In that sense, this has been a good learning experience for me as well as the kids. I think some of them know a lot more that I do about the sport. Some of them are just flat-out studs/studettes!
Thanks to my friend, I was able to take in one last Dodger game this year last night. Of course the Dodgers lost 7-5, but what happened in the game did not compare to my experience in my seat. For the first time ever, in about 25 years of going to Dodger games, I caught a game ball! We had pretty good seats on the Loge (second) level about seven rows behind third base. The ball initially landed two rows and one section past me, but took a hop or two off a chair and/or fan who didn't know how to catch. All this while my friend was up getting a drink or hitting the restroom...but, oh well.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Top Ten Potential New Owners of the Dodgers!
I may not be David Letterman, but I can still make a top ten list with a little bit of humor (or so I think). So here's my latest attempt. (Are there any other lists you want me to try? Let me know.)
10. Peter O'Malley - Why not?
9. Me - If the Dodgers are community property, and I'm a part of the community, then I should already own them!
8. Lady Gaga - I would love to see the Dodgers new uniforms!
7. Japan - Free baseball player pipeline
6. China - They already own half of America
5. Vince McMahon - I would love to see baseball played inside a steel cage!
4. City of Bell Officials - This is something legal they could do with all that extra money they've collected
3. President Obama - He's throwing money everywhere else to make things better. Why not include the Dodgers?
2. Mark Cuban - Seriously...Mark Cuban
1. Preparation H - They might make us feel better since current ownership is such a pain in the @$$!
10. Peter O'Malley - Why not?
9. Me - If the Dodgers are community property, and I'm a part of the community, then I should already own them!
8. Lady Gaga - I would love to see the Dodgers new uniforms!
7. Japan - Free baseball player pipeline
6. China - They already own half of America
5. Vince McMahon - I would love to see baseball played inside a steel cage!
4. City of Bell Officials - This is something legal they could do with all that extra money they've collected
3. President Obama - He's throwing money everywhere else to make things better. Why not include the Dodgers?
2. Mark Cuban - Seriously...Mark Cuban
1. Preparation H - They might make us feel better since current ownership is such a pain in the @$$!
Monday, September 20, 2010
The Best Engineers
So, being the weirdo that is fascinated by spiders that I am, I was watching one of my friends in the backyard last week as it moved from the center of its web up to the tree where it is attached at one point. As I angled to see just how the web as setup and where exactly it went, I began to appreciate the instinctively intelligent design of it. If you've ever watched an Orb-Weaver create its web, it really is something pretty cool, if you aren't freaked out by the spider.
Typically, you have one master strand that is strung from two high places that is the main line used to create the rest of the web, from which they drop down one new strand for a third attachment point of the web, sometimes on or close to the ground. Upon watching the spider crawl along the main strand back into the tree, where it hangs out when it's not in the middle of its web, I noticed that it had at least three other strands attached to that main strand, from the tree, to support it while the large spider (it's body is pretty close to the size of the fingernail on my pinky finger) crawls along it. The main strand only sagged a little while crawled along it. That's what got me to thinking about how smart these spiders are in terms of web design (and I'm not talking IT here). And it's all instinct...no schooling needed!
Typically, you have one master strand that is strung from two high places that is the main line used to create the rest of the web, from which they drop down one new strand for a third attachment point of the web, sometimes on or close to the ground. Upon watching the spider crawl along the main strand back into the tree, where it hangs out when it's not in the middle of its web, I noticed that it had at least three other strands attached to that main strand, from the tree, to support it while the large spider (it's body is pretty close to the size of the fingernail on my pinky finger) crawls along it. The main strand only sagged a little while crawled along it. That's what got me to thinking about how smart these spiders are in terms of web design (and I'm not talking IT here). And it's all instinct...no schooling needed!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tick, Tick, Tick...Goooooooooooooooooooooooal!
As each day goes by, I continue to wonder what God has planned for me and the family. No news on the job front is not a good thing in my mind. Then again, the news I have already gotten hasn't been good either; a number of thank-you-but-no-thank-yous, and no interviews. I'm trying to stay optimistic, which can be tougher on some days than others, because I don't want to think of what may happen if I wind up with no work. I'm determined to make something happen, though. So I check the internal postings daily at work and am noticing that the number of openings seems to have dropped pretty dramatically within the last week or so. I still have a number that I'm waiting to hear on or the postings haven't closed yet. I'm getting in the mindset that we will be moving because I'll get one of those internal jobs I've applied for. (The only way I can stay with Chevron at this point, is to accept a position in another location.)
There is this one phrase that I have gotten used to, which is a good thing: "It is what it is". The first time I really remember hearing that phrase was at my last employer, when my manager there would use it, typically in a negative way. So everytime I hear the phrase, I think of him, which makes me a little tense because of how I left there and the fact that I didn't like him. I hear it so often now that it doesn't bother me as much although I always picture him saying it when I hear it. Fortunately, I can make myself laugh though because I picture the chef from Ratatouille saying it. He and that manager look eerily similar. (Traci even agrees!)
There's not a whole lot to do at work since I turned all my contracts over to a co-worker. Contracts were about 80% of my job even though my title is Procurement Analyst. The other 20%, the analysis, I'll be turning over to my "roomie" here at work next week when she's back from vacation. I will not miss sharing an office with her. She's very smart and knowledgeable about the work she does, but she comes across as talking down to you when she explains something. I've gotten used to sharing an office with her so it's not bad. She just wouldn't have been my first choice.
On the home front, Skyler had her first soccer game last Saturday, which was also my first coaching experience. I was happy with how it went. We tied 2-2, but at the age of these kids (4-5 year olds), that doesn't matter much. The idea is to teach them some basics of the game and to have fun playing the game. It seemed like most of them had fun. The only one I think that wasn't enjoying himself was my assistant coach's nephew. I'm hoping he warms up to playing as the season goes on. If he starts running with the kids in the game, I'll consider that a victory. There's another kid on the team who is extremely shy. I was excited during the game when he kicked the ball and looked back at me (I was on the field also) with a smile that said "I kicked the ball!" That was great to see.
It was fun to see which of the kids seem to have a talent for the game and how each of them performs. They all followed the ball really well and for the most part knew which way to kick it. Both us and the opposing team kicked one into our own goal. The ref didn't count either one, although it turns out it wouldn't have mattered. I think I'm really going to enjoy coaching this team, even if soccer isn't my sport. This Saturday will be a little more fun than usual too. One of the coaches on the opposing team was a high school baseball teammate of mine. (It all comes back to baseball!) Then in the afternoon, we have our team's first party of the year...the always enjoyable pizza party!
There is this one phrase that I have gotten used to, which is a good thing: "It is what it is". The first time I really remember hearing that phrase was at my last employer, when my manager there would use it, typically in a negative way. So everytime I hear the phrase, I think of him, which makes me a little tense because of how I left there and the fact that I didn't like him. I hear it so often now that it doesn't bother me as much although I always picture him saying it when I hear it. Fortunately, I can make myself laugh though because I picture the chef from Ratatouille saying it. He and that manager look eerily similar. (Traci even agrees!)
There's not a whole lot to do at work since I turned all my contracts over to a co-worker. Contracts were about 80% of my job even though my title is Procurement Analyst. The other 20%, the analysis, I'll be turning over to my "roomie" here at work next week when she's back from vacation. I will not miss sharing an office with her. She's very smart and knowledgeable about the work she does, but she comes across as talking down to you when she explains something. I've gotten used to sharing an office with her so it's not bad. She just wouldn't have been my first choice.
On the home front, Skyler had her first soccer game last Saturday, which was also my first coaching experience. I was happy with how it went. We tied 2-2, but at the age of these kids (4-5 year olds), that doesn't matter much. The idea is to teach them some basics of the game and to have fun playing the game. It seemed like most of them had fun. The only one I think that wasn't enjoying himself was my assistant coach's nephew. I'm hoping he warms up to playing as the season goes on. If he starts running with the kids in the game, I'll consider that a victory. There's another kid on the team who is extremely shy. I was excited during the game when he kicked the ball and looked back at me (I was on the field also) with a smile that said "I kicked the ball!" That was great to see.
It was fun to see which of the kids seem to have a talent for the game and how each of them performs. They all followed the ball really well and for the most part knew which way to kick it. Both us and the opposing team kicked one into our own goal. The ref didn't count either one, although it turns out it wouldn't have mattered. I think I'm really going to enjoy coaching this team, even if soccer isn't my sport. This Saturday will be a little more fun than usual too. One of the coaches on the opposing team was a high school baseball teammate of mine. (It all comes back to baseball!) Then in the afternoon, we have our team's first party of the year...the always enjoyable pizza party!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Job Update & More
And the job search goes on. So far within Chevron, I have been rejected for 3 and have 12 more I'm waiting to hear on. Of the 12 I'm still waiting to hear on, they are located in Bakersfield, CA (6), San Ramon, CA (4), Salt Lake City, UT (1), Covington, LA (2), and Houston, TX (1). There are no positions available in El Segundo where I currently work. Therefore, if I stay with Chevron, which is my preference, we will need to relocate. Fortunately, Chevron would pay for almost all of the moving costs. It would still be a hassle though.
Outside of Chevron, I have submitted for 8 different positions located from Whittier to Universal City. I submitted all of those today so nothing has happened with any of them yet.
I took the girls to Disneyland tonight and realized that as of tomorrow (Sept. 4), it will be exactly 11 years since I last worked at Disneyland. It doesn't seem like that long ago, but I think that's because I always think about it and how much I enjoyed and wish I could work there again. Hey, there's another place I need to look at for work!
Traci continues to amaze me. She ran (and finished) her first half-marathon this morning! I couldn't be more proud of her. She has built up quite a bit of endurance since she started running. I need to try to catch up to her.
Outside of Chevron, I have submitted for 8 different positions located from Whittier to Universal City. I submitted all of those today so nothing has happened with any of them yet.
I took the girls to Disneyland tonight and realized that as of tomorrow (Sept. 4), it will be exactly 11 years since I last worked at Disneyland. It doesn't seem like that long ago, but I think that's because I always think about it and how much I enjoyed and wish I could work there again. Hey, there's another place I need to look at for work!
Traci continues to amaze me. She ran (and finished) her first half-marathon this morning! I couldn't be more proud of her. She has built up quite a bit of endurance since she started running. I need to try to catch up to her.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Busyness All Over
I guess it comes with this time of the year, but it seems like there are so many things going on. Everytime I ask Traci what we have going on, it's like a while new list! I figured I would try to organize my thoughts while I have a little time, even though it's getting pretty late and this weekend gets really busy tomorrow. So here's the haps...
First of all, the biggest issue right now is my job situation. Chevron (Global Downstream operations) is in the process of downsizing. They are currently neat the end of the seventh of eight rounds. This seventh round is the one I'm involved in. The first week of this month, I put in my request for the five positions I'm most interested in. Three of them are in El Segundo, where I currently work, and two are in Brea, which would be a very nice commute (< 30 minutes one way). This week, my (new) manager was at HQ up in San Ramon with all the other managers associated with this round, in meetings to determine who would be offered what positions. I have an appointment with him on Monday afternoon, as do the other 11 in our department that are going through this at the same time. Of the 12 of us going through this joyous process, only 7 of us will remain after this is all said and done. There are others in our department who have already gone through this process and they all ended up with jobs within our department, sot his will be the first bad news for the group and where all the changes will really take place, although we did layoff two support staff at the end of June and didn't replace one who left earlier this year. I also have other potential options within Chevron that I have been pursuing but one of those doors is now shut I learned yesterday; still several others open, although I'm not sure I should hold my breath for any of those. The good thing is that my depression has not comeback during this more-stressful-than-usual time.
Outside of work, personal life is going pretty well although starting to get really busy for all of us. Traci is in her first semester of co-leading MOPS at our church and she has already been very busy with that. Courtney starts first grade on September 1 and Skyler starts Pre-K two days earlier. At least we already have Skyler's school supplies bought and ready to go when she meets her teacher(s) next Friday.
Also, Skyler will be playing soccer in our Youth Kicks league at church and I'm the head coach of the team. I find that ironic because my only soccer experience was in PE classes in school, and I have never really liked the sport that much, I think mainly because my feet do not function well in sports. Running was always the weakest part of my baseball game. We went through some training last weekend and it just confirmed that soccer is not my sport. However, I was asked by the Sports Pastor at our church if I would be willing to coach, and I accepted. I figure there's not really a whole lot to teach since they will all pretty much be chasing the ball like a swarm of bees. Besides, I'll have a cool Assistant Coach in Traci's cousin Bryan. It should be a fun season and I'm really looking forward to it. The fact that all practices are immediately before the games on Saturdays (at 8AM) is nice too since it will still leave Saturdays very open for us. We take team pictures next weekend and the season starts September 11.
In preparation for the season, I will be spending tomorrow, most of the day, at church helping construct the new indoor soccer walls for the upcoming season. I'm excited because I may be able to use my screw gun, which doesn't get a whole lot of use, and I really enjoy using it when I do. Plus it will be good to know that I have helped get the church gym ready for the season. (Traci will be at an all-day meeting for Women's Leadership for our church, so the grandparents will enjoy some quality time with the girls.)
Sunday will be made up of church,and Sunday School BBQ/game day and then a birthday party (out in Corona). it should be a pretty fun day and I'm looking forward to all of it, but I know I'll be pretty tired at the end of the say, not to mention probably sore from Saturday's work day.
Let me back in time slightly. Last night turned out to be quite the interesting night. Since Traci was hosting a MOPS leadership meeting at our house, I needed to take the girls somewhere for a while and Disneyland was the first place we all thought of, but we didn't have enough gas in either car and we didn't have enough money to put gas in either car until I got paid today so, Disneyland was out. So off to my parents' house we went. The girls always have a good time over there and last night was no exception. Things got interesting very quickly towards the2 teeth had been knocked out: the two top front teeth. The right one was already hanging on by a thread so it didn't bleed as much as the other which was loose, but not nearly as loose as the other one. I'm assuming that was the one she was holding in her hand since there was so much blood on it. My mom and I had her sit on the couch to put pressure on her gums, with a paper towel, where the teeth had fallen out. Within about a minute, the paper towel was half red with all the blood has absorbed. Fortunately, it began clotting pretty quickly after that and after 5-10 minutes, the bleeding was done. We started looking for the other tooth but couldn't find it. (Fortunately, my parents found it as soon as we left and brought it over.) So now Courtney has a big gap in the front of her mouth since the two top teeth are no longer there and one on the bottom (immediately to her left of the middle teeth) recently also fell out. Now there is another tooth hanging on by a thread on the bottom on the other side of the middle teeth. That one could easily fall out anytime as it can already be pushed pretty far forward and back. So she has lost 5 teeth by the time she is 6 1/2 (today) with a sixth ready to go. School pictures should be classic this year!
Now that it's just past midnight and I need to get to bed, I'll sign off. Until next time!
First of all, the biggest issue right now is my job situation. Chevron (Global Downstream operations) is in the process of downsizing. They are currently neat the end of the seventh of eight rounds. This seventh round is the one I'm involved in. The first week of this month, I put in my request for the five positions I'm most interested in. Three of them are in El Segundo, where I currently work, and two are in Brea, which would be a very nice commute (< 30 minutes one way). This week, my (new) manager was at HQ up in San Ramon with all the other managers associated with this round, in meetings to determine who would be offered what positions. I have an appointment with him on Monday afternoon, as do the other 11 in our department that are going through this at the same time. Of the 12 of us going through this joyous process, only 7 of us will remain after this is all said and done. There are others in our department who have already gone through this process and they all ended up with jobs within our department, sot his will be the first bad news for the group and where all the changes will really take place, although we did layoff two support staff at the end of June and didn't replace one who left earlier this year. I also have other potential options within Chevron that I have been pursuing but one of those doors is now shut I learned yesterday; still several others open, although I'm not sure I should hold my breath for any of those. The good thing is that my depression has not comeback during this more-stressful-than-usual time.
Outside of work, personal life is going pretty well although starting to get really busy for all of us. Traci is in her first semester of co-leading MOPS at our church and she has already been very busy with that. Courtney starts first grade on September 1 and Skyler starts Pre-K two days earlier. At least we already have Skyler's school supplies bought and ready to go when she meets her teacher(s) next Friday.
Also, Skyler will be playing soccer in our Youth Kicks league at church and I'm the head coach of the team. I find that ironic because my only soccer experience was in PE classes in school, and I have never really liked the sport that much, I think mainly because my feet do not function well in sports. Running was always the weakest part of my baseball game. We went through some training last weekend and it just confirmed that soccer is not my sport. However, I was asked by the Sports Pastor at our church if I would be willing to coach, and I accepted. I figure there's not really a whole lot to teach since they will all pretty much be chasing the ball like a swarm of bees. Besides, I'll have a cool Assistant Coach in Traci's cousin Bryan. It should be a fun season and I'm really looking forward to it. The fact that all practices are immediately before the games on Saturdays (at 8AM) is nice too since it will still leave Saturdays very open for us. We take team pictures next weekend and the season starts September 11.
In preparation for the season, I will be spending tomorrow, most of the day, at church helping construct the new indoor soccer walls for the upcoming season. I'm excited because I may be able to use my screw gun, which doesn't get a whole lot of use, and I really enjoy using it when I do. Plus it will be good to know that I have helped get the church gym ready for the season. (Traci will be at an all-day meeting for Women's Leadership for our church, so the grandparents will enjoy some quality time with the girls.)
Sunday will be made up of church,and Sunday School BBQ/game day and then a birthday party (out in Corona). it should be a pretty fun day and I'm looking forward to all of it, but I know I'll be pretty tired at the end of the say, not to mention probably sore from Saturday's work day.
Let me back in time slightly. Last night turned out to be quite the interesting night. Since Traci was hosting a MOPS leadership meeting at our house, I needed to take the girls somewhere for a while and Disneyland was the first place we all thought of, but we didn't have enough gas in either car and we didn't have enough money to put gas in either car until I got paid today so, Disneyland was out. So off to my parents' house we went. The girls always have a good time over there and last night was no exception. Things got interesting very quickly towards the2 teeth had been knocked out: the two top front teeth. The right one was already hanging on by a thread so it didn't bleed as much as the other which was loose, but not nearly as loose as the other one. I'm assuming that was the one she was holding in her hand since there was so much blood on it. My mom and I had her sit on the couch to put pressure on her gums, with a paper towel, where the teeth had fallen out. Within about a minute, the paper towel was half red with all the blood has absorbed. Fortunately, it began clotting pretty quickly after that and after 5-10 minutes, the bleeding was done. We started looking for the other tooth but couldn't find it. (Fortunately, my parents found it as soon as we left and brought it over.) So now Courtney has a big gap in the front of her mouth since the two top teeth are no longer there and one on the bottom (immediately to her left of the middle teeth) recently also fell out. Now there is another tooth hanging on by a thread on the bottom on the other side of the middle teeth. That one could easily fall out anytime as it can already be pushed pretty far forward and back. So she has lost 5 teeth by the time she is 6 1/2 (today) with a sixth ready to go. School pictures should be classic this year!
Now that it's just past midnight and I need to get to bed, I'll sign off. Until next time!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Frustration, Anxiety and Patience, Oh My!
Work is as interesting as it has ever been right now. As you may or may not know, Chevron is downsizing. Well, the Global Downstream part of Chevron is downsizing. There are 8 stages to it. They refer to it as ROM (Resource Optimization Management). You know, one of those big fancy corporate terms that sounds better than downsizing.
This week is the beginning of ROM7, or the seventh round of ROM, and it happens to be the round I am in. Here's how it works. At the beginning of the week, they post all of the positions worldwide that are included in this round. In this case, that number is 1,431, of which 273 were in the US, about 20-25 in Southern California, and about 8 in El Segundo (all our department...lucky me). We each choose 5 positions we would like to apply for and then meet with our manager to discuss which four he would like to nominate us for and then one choice we nominate ourselves for.
On Monday, I reviewed the positions available and put in for three procurement positions (within my department) and two in Brea that I think I could do well. Next week, nothing happens. The week after that, all managers who oversee the position affected in this round meet in HQ in San Ramon and discuss/debate who should be placed in what position. The following week, we are told what position we have or that we have been "left standing" as they put it. So at this point in time, I basically have to wait for at least two weeks to find out my fate.
However, in wanting to head this off and not go through this whole process, I have applied for five other positions with Chevron, but in the Global Upstream part of the business (and not in Procurement). Four of the five positions have closed (no longer accepting applicants) and one closes on Monday. At this point, the four that are closed are in the process of determining who they want to interview and who they want to issue the "Thank you, but no thank you" e-mails to. I haven't received any e-mails yet, so that's a good thing, but I haven't received an invitation for an interview yet either. Being in holding position as I am now with these five, as well as the other five, is not very comfortable.
Here's how I see it. I am at a 3-way fork in the road. One direction keeps me going straight ahead with a very similar position to what I have now, one represents the unknown, and one represents BIG changes. The worst part of being at this 3-way fork is that I don't have much control over it. I'll be happy as long as I am not sent down the unknown road. That road is like the road that fades off into the fog: you know it's there, but you have no idea where it will take you.
So, that's where I'm at...very on-edge about work. I guess for now all I can do is keep doing the job I have, and pray. After all, I know God has a plan for me. I just wish I knew what it was.
This week is the beginning of ROM7, or the seventh round of ROM, and it happens to be the round I am in. Here's how it works. At the beginning of the week, they post all of the positions worldwide that are included in this round. In this case, that number is 1,431, of which 273 were in the US, about 20-25 in Southern California, and about 8 in El Segundo (all our department...lucky me). We each choose 5 positions we would like to apply for and then meet with our manager to discuss which four he would like to nominate us for and then one choice we nominate ourselves for.
On Monday, I reviewed the positions available and put in for three procurement positions (within my department) and two in Brea that I think I could do well. Next week, nothing happens. The week after that, all managers who oversee the position affected in this round meet in HQ in San Ramon and discuss/debate who should be placed in what position. The following week, we are told what position we have or that we have been "left standing" as they put it. So at this point in time, I basically have to wait for at least two weeks to find out my fate.
However, in wanting to head this off and not go through this whole process, I have applied for five other positions with Chevron, but in the Global Upstream part of the business (and not in Procurement). Four of the five positions have closed (no longer accepting applicants) and one closes on Monday. At this point, the four that are closed are in the process of determining who they want to interview and who they want to issue the "Thank you, but no thank you" e-mails to. I haven't received any e-mails yet, so that's a good thing, but I haven't received an invitation for an interview yet either. Being in holding position as I am now with these five, as well as the other five, is not very comfortable.
Here's how I see it. I am at a 3-way fork in the road. One direction keeps me going straight ahead with a very similar position to what I have now, one represents the unknown, and one represents BIG changes. The worst part of being at this 3-way fork is that I don't have much control over it. I'll be happy as long as I am not sent down the unknown road. That road is like the road that fades off into the fog: you know it's there, but you have no idea where it will take you.
So, that's where I'm at...very on-edge about work. I guess for now all I can do is keep doing the job I have, and pray. After all, I know God has a plan for me. I just wish I knew what it was.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Vacation!
I have taken this week off from work for vacation. We don't have any travel plans, but we're just doing fun stuff around here. It's always nice to take trips when I have time off from work, but it's also nice to not feel like we have to go anywhere either. So here's a little snapshot of what's been going on and what's lined up.
Last Friday, I won the battle of the smog test with my car. It failed the first time and wasn't ready yet the second time we took it in to have it re-tested. Finally, when we took it in Thursday, it passed and now I await the sticker for my car. It was due Friday, so I barely got it done on time. If only we had money for a new car...
Saturday was fun. It started off with a half-birthday party since the baby's birthday is Christmas and throwing a party around Christmas is, well let's say, nightmarish. I like the concept of a half-birthday party if you're not going to throw a traditional birthday party. The girls had some fun waterplay with a some of their friends at the party.
After that we rested for a while and then went to my buddy's house for his housemate's birthday. I don't get over to his place in Long Beach very often, so it was nice to get down there and visit with him and his fiance. I'm really looking forward to their wedding, whenever they set the date, and assuming I'm invited.
Sunday was a lot of fun too. Church in the morning where the girls actually sat through the service, although half of it was in the foyer. Then after a little rest at home, we were off to out 4th of July party at my brother-in-law's mother-in-law's house. I actually spend a couple of hours in the pool which was fun. It was fun when Courtney and my niece and nephew decided it was time to climb on me. Normally, I'm not big on that kind of play, but they were being fun and not too rough, so it was good. We got a really cute picture of it too! Finally, after the pool time and very yummy BBQ, it was time for fireworks...in a city where they are actually still legal (stupid Whittier). The kids always love them, and even though Skyler was scared at first, she was loving them by the end.
Yesterday, we implemented a new reward system for the girls and they are eating it up! It the whole marbles in a pail thing where for certain actions, they earn marbles to put in their pail and for certain actions, they have some marbles taken out. The seem to really enjoy this and we had to remove the first marbles from Courtney's pail today (not a big surprise). She was extremely upset when this happened, and I may have made it a little harder, when I had her remove the marbles from her own pail. She was in tears. However, we encouraged her to earn them back by doing some of the things on the list, and sure enough she did.
Also yesterday, even though I'm on vacation, the girls started VBS. However, since our church is not doing it this year due to extremely tight finances and major construction underway, our friend told us of a church (Green Hills Baptist Church) near them in La Mirada that is doing it this week for free. So far, they love it. Also, I have to admit I am very impressed with how this church has run it so far from what little I've seen. It is nice having a little time together with Traci though.
Tomorrow we all go see Toy Story 3! I think all four of us are excited to see it. We'll go after VBS and lunch. It should be good. And in the evening I'll be hanging out with the guys since one of my friends is in town for a few days. It's always good to see him.
Thursday will be very exciting for me as I start my All Star Week Volunteer duties, which will have me on the field at Angels Stadium! I'm not sure what my exact duties are, but I'll find out when I show up. I know I work a few hours Thursday and Friday afternoons and I get two tickets to All Star Fan Fest as a result. It's very exciting since there were 5,000 applications for 2,000 volunteer positions, and not only did I get chosen, but I will be a big league field for the first time ever! Did I say I'm excited?
Finally on Sunday, Traci will be running the All Star Charity 5K (and Fun Run) at Angels Stadium. I'll take the girls to document it. It would be awesome if I could get a picture of Traci with Jillian Michaels since she will be there. We'll see how that goes.
Then it's back to work on Monday. However, it won't quite be work as normal. Last week at work, I applied for three internal jobs at work (in a part of the company that is not affected by the downsizing!) and the postings all close next week at various times. So I could hear next week about whether or not I get to interview for any of those positions. I'm hoping I can at least interview for the positions, but I don't want to set the expectations that I will, which I'm afraid I already have. So if I don't get contacted, I will probably be disappointed, but I will also know it is part of God's plan. And then it's back to the anxiety of reapplying for positions the first week of August
Last Friday, I won the battle of the smog test with my car. It failed the first time and wasn't ready yet the second time we took it in to have it re-tested. Finally, when we took it in Thursday, it passed and now I await the sticker for my car. It was due Friday, so I barely got it done on time. If only we had money for a new car...
Saturday was fun. It started off with a half-birthday party since the baby's birthday is Christmas and throwing a party around Christmas is, well let's say, nightmarish. I like the concept of a half-birthday party if you're not going to throw a traditional birthday party. The girls had some fun waterplay with a some of their friends at the party.
After that we rested for a while and then went to my buddy's house for his housemate's birthday. I don't get over to his place in Long Beach very often, so it was nice to get down there and visit with him and his fiance. I'm really looking forward to their wedding, whenever they set the date, and assuming I'm invited.
Sunday was a lot of fun too. Church in the morning where the girls actually sat through the service, although half of it was in the foyer. Then after a little rest at home, we were off to out 4th of July party at my brother-in-law's mother-in-law's house. I actually spend a couple of hours in the pool which was fun. It was fun when Courtney and my niece and nephew decided it was time to climb on me. Normally, I'm not big on that kind of play, but they were being fun and not too rough, so it was good. We got a really cute picture of it too! Finally, after the pool time and very yummy BBQ, it was time for fireworks...in a city where they are actually still legal (stupid Whittier). The kids always love them, and even though Skyler was scared at first, she was loving them by the end.
Yesterday, we implemented a new reward system for the girls and they are eating it up! It the whole marbles in a pail thing where for certain actions, they earn marbles to put in their pail and for certain actions, they have some marbles taken out. The seem to really enjoy this and we had to remove the first marbles from Courtney's pail today (not a big surprise). She was extremely upset when this happened, and I may have made it a little harder, when I had her remove the marbles from her own pail. She was in tears. However, we encouraged her to earn them back by doing some of the things on the list, and sure enough she did.
Also yesterday, even though I'm on vacation, the girls started VBS. However, since our church is not doing it this year due to extremely tight finances and major construction underway, our friend told us of a church (Green Hills Baptist Church) near them in La Mirada that is doing it this week for free. So far, they love it. Also, I have to admit I am very impressed with how this church has run it so far from what little I've seen. It is nice having a little time together with Traci though.
Tomorrow we all go see Toy Story 3! I think all four of us are excited to see it. We'll go after VBS and lunch. It should be good. And in the evening I'll be hanging out with the guys since one of my friends is in town for a few days. It's always good to see him.
Thursday will be very exciting for me as I start my All Star Week Volunteer duties, which will have me on the field at Angels Stadium! I'm not sure what my exact duties are, but I'll find out when I show up. I know I work a few hours Thursday and Friday afternoons and I get two tickets to All Star Fan Fest as a result. It's very exciting since there were 5,000 applications for 2,000 volunteer positions, and not only did I get chosen, but I will be a big league field for the first time ever! Did I say I'm excited?
Finally on Sunday, Traci will be running the All Star Charity 5K (and Fun Run) at Angels Stadium. I'll take the girls to document it. It would be awesome if I could get a picture of Traci with Jillian Michaels since she will be there. We'll see how that goes.
Then it's back to work on Monday. However, it won't quite be work as normal. Last week at work, I applied for three internal jobs at work (in a part of the company that is not affected by the downsizing!) and the postings all close next week at various times. So I could hear next week about whether or not I get to interview for any of those positions. I'm hoping I can at least interview for the positions, but I don't want to set the expectations that I will, which I'm afraid I already have. So if I don't get contacted, I will probably be disappointed, but I will also know it is part of God's plan. And then it's back to the anxiety of reapplying for positions the first week of August
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