12:34 a.m. - 2002-11-08
Bits and Bobs
My supervisor called first thing this morning. Essentially the negotiations on the contract I have been working on have come to an end. No further work there. He said that he didn't have another assignment for me yet, but that he would call me as soon as he did "if I still wanted to work with him". He encouraged me to do what I needed to support my family in the meantime, suggesting I look for some temporary contracts. It was good of him to open that discussion; most management firms like this one are quite punitive if their non-permanent staff take on other sidework or contracts, even if it means they aren't bringing in any income for extended periods of time. For example, the first supervisor I had ordered me to quit the temporary contract I had picked up while waiting for a call from him. He had strung me along for about month before I acted and I had been working for about six weeks on the new contract, which was evening work, by the time the new assignment(the one my current supervisor took over). In otherwords, he had expected me to be without income for nearly three months to satisfy his power trip. He knew that I was the sole support of my family, that this wasn't pocket money. In retaliation for not dropping the other work on command, (I had about two weeks of crossover time and felt I owed it to that employer to follow through) he made the work conditions at the new place as punishing as he could. If my new supervisor hadn't shown up when he did I would have quit even though I really enjoyed the work I was doing at the time. I appreciate the honesty my boss strives to show even when it is not something that his supervisors would find acceptable.
I popped in to my chiropractor's office at lunch. We talked of his project in Central America. He has led a team of health care workers down there for several years now. All are volunteers who pay their own expenses. My doctor spends a lot of time getting donations of medical supplies and medicines in between trips. I have offered to assist with fund-raising because it is something I know well and that I can carry on at my own pace. He has always been reluctant to accept the help in the past because he believed it was important for the faith community involved to support its own projects. When he came back in May this year it was obvious something had changed his mind. Normally he really likes to talk about his experiences on the trip but this time he didn't want to say much at all. It was obvious he was judging himself very harshly about something that happened. All he would say, was that it was apparent that it would take a lot more than one week a year to achieve the results he was hoping for. The upshot is that he is willing to try some of what I can offer out so he can see the improvements for the families the team serves. We'll see what happens.
On my travels a little later, I heard from a source I would consider very reliable, that one of the major oil companies is about to do a huge layoff of staff. That usually means a takeover, merger, or sell off in the wind. The oil patch is quite jittery because of the Kyoto accord issue, el nino, and unstable markets. If this happens it could really set things in an uproar. Oh well, la plus ca change la plus ca meme - same stuff different day.
Had a really nice afternoon with one of the women I went through school with. She was really excited about the reunion and we sat and looked through my yearbook as we traded information on different people. Later we talked mostly of families and local politics. Being from a farming background I wanted to get her perspective on the Kyoto protocol too. It was quite helpful although there are always more questions raised as each layer of information is peeled back. It turns out we have developed a lot of the same interests and hobbies over the years - I think it will be fun to pick up our friendship where we left off.
I did receive an e-mail from another mom I went through school with today with more contact information. Touched base with the two people on the reunion committee that I've been working with. L and I were both too tired to go to the meeting tonight, but we decided to get together this weekend over at the Vietnamese restaurant in my community. Things are starting to fall into place quite nicely - I hope it keeps up.
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