Ok...

So maybe yesterday's post did nothing more than allow me to vent my fustration with my current situation. Let me add today, that I have no intention of quitting. I will not walk away from a paying job, no matter how bad it seems, unless I have something else ready to go. Right now, there is nothing out there, and so I stay.

On the funny side, I have to carry a pager. I have to carry a cellphone/PDA given to me by the company, to keep tabs on me. I also have a personal cell phone that I carry, so Mrs. Ninjamunkey and I can talk for free. So once I get all of my goodies together, and strapped to my belt I am converted, to "Nick Burns, your company's computer guy" like the skit from SNL. I get more than one look from security guards at retail establishments around here, mainly because I look like an old west gunslinger. I can quick draw, take your picture, email it to my PDA, and then post it to the web faster than most can answer the phone.

I have also taken to using the camera phones for a new use. Sure I love to snap photos of the baby munkey, but I have also seen individuals that have jobs worse than me. For instance, I took a picture of a walking cheeseburger the other day. Imagine that job. Wait, I sort of had it in highschool. I wore the A&W Rootbear suit around the mall. All summer. Getting hugs, kicks, screams, laughs, points, all the fun stuff. So here is to you mr. cheeseburger. Yesterday, I saw a circus tent being constructed (yes it would be erected, but that looks so....dirrrrty) and the carnival folks working on it. Imagine going from town to town, putting up the tent, taking down the tent, cleaning up after the elephants and camels, covering puke with sawdust, and all the other lovely things you know these guys do. That is what they get for running away to join the circus. Not everyone is cut out to be the lion tamer.

In closing a quote..."yeah today sucks, but just let it suck and then get on with tomorrow..." Tom from the current Survivor. True, true.

Is it me???

So maybe its just me. I thought I would post and get input, and see what my friends have to say about it. I have been on this contract since 11/04. When it started, I knew my duties would only be working on incoming calls, mostly warranty repair work for Dell, HP, and IBM. Some Apple stuff, but not a huge load. After about a month, I realized they needed someone good with apple hardware. I volunteered my services, working on warranty machines, non warranty, doing hardware diagnostics and repairs. I was still working incoming calls, but had a good routine, and while it was hectic, I enjoyed the fast pace.

One of the first issues was being told to not get overtime. So I clocked my 40 hours. However, I was still catching incoming after hours calls, and really, being a nice guy glad to have a job, I did not charge them for the extra time I was putting in. Really it was only an hour or 2 every week or so. No big deal.

So now I am working the desk, working on machines, and carrying a pager. I have a boss who really does not do much of anything, and so I get most of the calls, questioned about laptops that are taking longer than normal, and all of the after hours calls. All the while she is boasting how she demanded extra pay for carrying the pager.

Last month I was told they wanted to bring me on fulltime. Yay! Of course, there would have to be adjustments, since the money I was getting as a contractor was not in their budget, but if I was willing to take all the calls, be on pager all the time, and take my bosses position so she could be a program manager. Ok I was already doing all of that, so sure.

2 weeks ago, while working on a laptop, I put a screw in the wrong location, and managed to fry the motherboard, which is going to cost around 900 to fix. I was told that I could no longer work on the apple products. I was a liability. In truth, I think the mistake has been made by hundreds of techs, hundreds of times, but I was popped.

I am still waiting to be full time. Still clocking hourly pay, with nothing for the amount of overtime I put in. For example, a server dies at 5 am, I am at the office at 6:15, and only bill from 7:30-4:30. I left yesterday at 4:20 instead of 4:30, mainly because I cut my lunch short to get back here for another server issue. I was called at 4:30 while on the road, and told I just “did not understand my hours, and that I was not to leave early. I explained my justification for leaving, and was told, in essence, so what. I also explained that any calls that would come in would be caught, since I am paged on every voicemail. Not to mention the fact that Monday, I had a server issue around 5, and did not really complete it until 2 hours later. They just want me here until 4:30, and that is that. I am thinking that I am being taken advantage of, and don’t know if I am or not. Maybe I am bitching about nothing, and should just shut up and deal with the things that I cannot change. There are hundreds still looking or work in the IT field, and I should be thankful that someday, I will get a full time position. What do you think?

Ain't easy being green...

So what is it about books? Why do I have a desire to read one as quickly as possible? Why can i get so involved with the characters and plots? The biggest question, why do I feel sad when I finish a book? Its like saying goodbye to a friend. Very odd, to say the least.

Mr. Bright Side

So I don't really feel like posting anything today, not because I am in a bad mood or anything, but because nothing has happened. I have been working on setting up my new Ipod, working my butt off at work, trying to spend quality time with the family, and get stuff done around the house. The news has been boring, unless your a cheerleader. Apparently no more striptease routines during halftime.

thats all for now. Gotta get ready to go home. Schedule change means busy from arrival to departure.

Top O' The Mornin To Ya...

ok I missed St. Patricks day. I used to be a bartender, manager for Bennigans, and St. Paddy's day was a huge holiday for me. You see I would get sloshed during the evening, but at the same time I could clear anywhere from 3-500 bucks. For the day! Seriously. Last night, I was going to have some drinks, but life gets in the way. It happens.

Most disturbing thing I saw on my drive in this morning. A billboard for "Disney presents: Finding Nemo on Ice". Let me point out something to you. If you find Nemo on ice, his ass in either in one of those long counters at Kroger, or in a fish market somewhere. I never understood the whole "on ice" idea. No movie is better being on ice, short of a hockey movie. I don't get it.

Leaving earlier than usual this morning due to a network crisis with one of my clients in Atlanta, I finally figured out why traffic is so bad when i normally do leave. Its those two cars that were choosing to drive 35 miles an hour in a 65 Zone. You might have seen them. One was a giant red truck, with ladders hanging off of it, and a sign for residential electrical work. The other was that old lady in the white cadallac, you know, she was just blue hair and white knuckles from behind.


I also passed a truck loaded down with insulation. The sign on the truck said, and I swear "Insulation services, sheeting and blows." Umm huh? What do they do with that truck after hours?


That is all for now, I will work toward getting some of my older stuff moved over her, or maybe this is a clean start for me.

Home on the Range

So here I am. I have moved in, and I am surrounded by virtual boxes of my old blogs. I am not so sure I will "upack" all of them here, I might actually just bring over the ones that made me giggle. The reason I am moving is simple. Zoomshare is not my favorite place to post. It does not load well on Mac, PC, Linux, Sandscrit, or those cool clay tablets. So, look for more info later. Hopefully things will slow down, and I can get some stuff up about my recent family dramas, those always provide entertainment.

Until then, blame Andye.