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| Time for a Lil VacationSo much has been going on lately, that I can't wait to be on vacation. The good thing is, Miko is recovering well. He's with my folks being dogsat, and will get his stitches out on 6/2. In the mean time, only one more thing left holding down my spirits... I'm waiting for some final lab results about my dad. Recently he passed out while assisting with a surgery. This is the second time this has happened in the last couple months. So far the lab results are showing no cause, but we're still waiting on a few more tests. My spirits were low this weekend, and I didn't feel like socializing very much.... so I apologize to my girlfriends for being a party pooper on Saturday. I wish I would know the results before I go to Hawaii tomorrow, but I doubt that will happen. But maybe the waves of Maui will wash away my concerns temporarily!
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| Looking to 2009My grandmother in Thailand passed away last Friday, after many months in a coma. The relatives decided to have the funeral that following Sunday, so unfortunately my father could not attend in time. He almost never spoke of her, but I'm sure deep inside he's mourning. My cousin sent out photos from the funeral yesterday. Seeing the photos just made it that much more real to me. We all knew the time was coming, but it's still upsetting. She had alzheimers though, so prior to her coma she was usually confused, failing to recognize people. Yet she always had a smile in her face. Anyway, I try to think of her passing in a positive way though... No more dimentia, and maybe she's finally reunited with her husband who died decades ago? Or she's possibly with her favorite grandson who drowned back in 1996.
Thinking of all this makes it a little tough to be cheery around the in-laws, but I'm managing. Just hope 2009 will be better. | | |
| Week #1 down.... many to goOk so technically only 3 days down... since I started on Tuesday. My boss is really cool though, as are all my coworkers. I can basically roll into the office whenever i want, as long as I'm completing 40 hours/week somehow. There's also no dress code. The last two days were software training, and today was miscellaneous stuff --- i.e. cleaning/scrubbing down my office (cubicle), getting keys, getting an ID card, getting an email, etc. Now that all that miscellaneous stuff is done, I feel official!
Oh, and did I mention that it turns out my title is HR Manager? What a nice surprise that was. As my boss was introducing me to people as that, at first I was thinking, 'what is he talking about? i'm just a HR Specialist!' haha. It's funny how meaningful a title can be to people.... despite the fact that my department is technically only 3 people. haha... and that's including myself!
So I commute via Bart daily now. My hunnie drops me off every morning, and picks me up in the evening. It kind of sucks not getting home until like 6:30pm.... but at least I have income now. That's what matters. The thing is, I hate public transportation because I am a hygiene freak. And what do I get for that? A cold. I'm pretty sure someone on the train gave me a cold, because people are always coughing and sniffling on there. I tend to travel breathing in my own scarf most of the time... but that didn't help me, apparently. Damn sick people. I have to kick this cold before Monday though... because my real hands-on training begins on Monday! (The guy that held the position before me --- for 23 years --- is coming back just to train me for 3 days next week!)
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| Different Kind of WaitingSo I had an interview at Cal for a job in HR a couple weeks ago, and long story short I was overly caffeinated for it. But I guess they liked my energy and personality, because they called me last week and offered me the position! So now we are negotiating salary details..... this is a first for me, as I've never had any opportunities to negotiate salary in the past. (Or perhaps I was an amateur and just didn't recognize the opportunities, and just accepted whatever salaries they gave me?!)
All my hard work is hopefully going to pay off. What sucks though is, I did have other jobs that I had applied to, that I was also excited about.... but they haven't contacted me since I sent my resume... and I sent my resume to these maybe just a couple weeks ago. I even got a letter today from a community college saying that they are forwarding my application materials to the screening and interview committees and they'd contact me in four weeks if I make the cut. In four weeks, I'll probably already be working! *sigh* Time is of the essence, they say. And let's suppose I am working at Cal in HR and am offered a position at a community college.... which was a sort of dream career for me.... then what?
I've been thinking about this though... and even though I love teaching, I also just love interacting with people. Having HR on my resume opens doors to any industry, any company, anywhere. Teaching at colleges limits my options to only teaching in my field at few, very hard to find positions at colleges. And since I'm not open to relocating to other states (or even other parts of CA), it would make it that much harder to find a job if I lose a teaching job due to budget cuts, etc. Also, HR has the potential to pay roughly the same (and maybe even more) than what a professor earns. *sigh*
Having gotten some good advice from a friend who does HR for a living, I think I am on a new path in HR. I was advised to get a PHR certification to increase my marketability... so perhaps instead of a PhD, I'll have a PHR? I looked into it though, and I can't take the exam until I've worked in the field for at least two years.
Funny how my future plans could change in a matter of months, eh? But as I was always told.... sometimes you have to "be like the grass and bend with the wind."
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| The Final Meeting: East Meets WestSo I met with the Fremont guy again to go over the details of the revised offer letter, and to once again breach the topic of compensation. The meeting didn't go well, and was over within a matter of minutes....
I sat down in his office and proposed my ideas about either increasing the $3000/mo probation pay to $3500/mo, explaining that $3000 does not cover my mortgage after taxes. I then said that if it was not possible to do this, then I ask the agency to decrease my probation time to two months. Without even addressing my proposals, he said, "I don't understand why you are so focused on salary; you should be focused on the probation period and seeing if you can handle the responsibilities." He was clearly annoyed. I responded, explaining that I need to know a range for the position's salary, because I need to know that the post-probation pay is enough for me to live on. He again replied by saying that I shouldn't be so hung up on salary, and that salary just "depends." I said, "Depends on what?" He proceeded to dance around his response, giving me some sort of speech about how every individual is different. So I moved on, and asked him about benefits, and he could not give me much information about that.
So I moved on down my agenda further, addressing the fact that last time he mentioned that I may better opt to use my own laptop for my work...
Me: "What is the protocol, if my laptop is stolen or damaged on the job?"
Him: "It's never happened before."
[Awkward silence]
Me: "That's good to hear, but what IF it happens? Do you have a procedure for that?"
Him: "Well, it's never happened, but if it does, then your warranty should cover it."
Me: "My laptop was bought in 2004, so the warranty might be expired."
Him: "You might want to see if you can purchase an extended warranty on it. But most importantly, remember that it is the data that is more important than the laptop itself, I advise you to back it up somewhere."
UH... NO SHIT, of COURSE it's important to back up the data. That is irrelevant though! Basically he was telling me that I would be responsible for my lost/damaged/stolen laptop?! Then when I repeated his response, to make sure that I understood his response correctly --- and to make him see how stupid it sounded from a business perspective. He then mumbled something about how the company would 'probably' reimburse me for it. Of course, none of this is in writing, because their agency does not have a protocol/policy anywhere about matters such as this.
Long story short, I emailed the Cupertino lady to let her know that I met with the Fremont guy, and that I am unable to accept the full time position at this time because I cannot commit to every weekend, and thanked her for her time and consideration.
Thus... my job hunting continues --- not that it ever stopped!
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