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Journal TechnoLust's Journal: Ordered my Zaurus / work sucks... 9

Journal by TechnoLust
I just ordered my Sharp Zaurus from MobilePlanet. I also ordered the Linksys CF 802.11b wireless card, so I can surf and check email from work, at home, and from my neighbor's house. (my wireless should reach.) I haven't yet, but I plan on ordering a MR. FLASH 512MB CompactFlash memory card to store MP3s on. (The Zaurus will play them.) I can hardly wait for it to get here. I know they aren't shipping yet, but I ordered anyway, I'm excited.

Now for the "work sucks" part. We just got an email telling us they (corporate HQ) want all salaried employees to take at least ONE WEEK off WITHOUT PAY! We're already working 50/60 hour weeks because they have cut heads left and right and we don't have enough manpower to get shit done, and now they want us to take time off without pay? Sure we can get unemployment for the second week if we take two weeks off, but it isn't half what I would make if I was working. That's ok, though, because it can be anytime 2Q, so I took the week before Memorial Day and the week before the 4th of July and used 3 vacation days so I can have 16 days in a row off at that time. I'm going to buy a couple hundred gallons of gas and hit the water with my Sea Doo. I'm also planning on going to a few interviews. :-) That'd be great to call in on one of my vacation days (someone told me it was against federal law for them to call me when I'm on Unpaid Leave, and I'm not supposed to call them) and tell them to use the rest of my vacation days, and that will be my 2 week notice! That'd be pretty sweet. "Yeah, I'll be back moday... no, not next Monday, the one two weeks from now. Yeah, I'll be there to get my things and say bye to people (and maybe fuck you to some others.) " And if stuff doesn't get done... oh well, at least we saved a few bucks.

I know some of you are thinking, hey maybe they can't afford to pay you, you should chill and be glad they aren't firing more people. The thing that really got me was, after telling me I have to take a week off without pay, they had the audasity(sp?) to ask me to drive a lady some 40 minutes away to pick up a BRAND NEW $38,000 company van! And we don't have enough money to pay the salaried workforce, right.

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Ordered my Zaurus / work sucks... More

Ordered my Zaurus / work sucks...

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  • Nice thing about paid vacation not taken is that they are required by law (dunno if its state or federal) to pay you the time if you don't take it. So if you leave, and start another job immediately, and have 2 weeks paid vacation you haven't taken, its like a bonus check...

    Just an FYI.

    You aren't a J2EE programmer, BTW, are you? I could hook you up if you are....
    • I'm a fledgling J2EE programmer, I've been to 2 weeks of training at Sun Microsystems, (and of course a background in C++) but as for practical use, I haven't had that much experience yet. I'm seriously considering leaving, although I'm hoping to find something else around here (Tennessee.) I just bought a house down here and I love the area. There are many rivers and lakes and forests and trees, and it's cheap as hell to live here. The only problem is the jobs are fewer and don't pay as much as those in Atlanta or any large city.
  • What kinda Sea Doo do you have? Brother and father used to have a couple of Yamaha's. I think brother's was a 750 of some sort. Father had one of the first three cylinder/three seaters. That thing was a dream. Bit of a tank, but still pretty damned fun.

    How are the Honda 4-stroke PWC's? I've heard about them, but don't read the PWC mags anymore.

    • It's lemon yellow, with neon graphics. It is fast as hell, I've gone a little bit above 65 MPH. I almost hit 70 MPH once, but not quite. The engine is a 787cc rotax marine, but it performs better than a 900cc Yamaha, and will almost match the 1100 Yamaha 3-seater, but the 1100cc Kawasaki Zxi (2 seater) will flat outrun it. The great thing about it is though it burns less gas than those larger engines. My favorite thing about it though would have to be the seat. I've had several PWCs in my life, mostly Yamaha, but I did have a Kawasaki. After a weekend of solid riding, my back usually felt like someone was hitting it with a hammer. The seat on the Sea Doo is hinged at the front and has a shock absorber at the back, so it cushions all the waves you run into. It isn't as steady as the Yamaha 1100 my friend has, and not as fast the Zxi, but overall, I think it is one of the best PWCs out there. My next one will probably by a 4-stroke yamaha, though. I have a friend who is a Honda mechanic, and he said the 4-strokes are going to rock. This summer I plan on getting a bunch of fellow PWC riders together and going up the Tennessee River as far as we can (time permitting). We'll take a boat with extra tanks of gas and food, and with that and the marinas on the river, we should be able to make a good trip out of it.
      • My brother wanted to look at SeaDoos when he got his Yamaha, but the local dealers had sold their annual allotment by the time he started looking (early June?).

        Sounds sweet. Personally, I'd prefer one of the jetboats, or a small Donzi (yeah, you pay for the name, but damned those things look nice).

        • Yeah, I've been thinking of getting a jet boat. I don't know if I'll do that or just get a full-on ski boat. I used to waterski all the time, then I tore my knee up in a motorcycle accident and I haven't since. I'm trying to lose some weight though, and I think if I can lose a little more, my knee might be able to take it. I've snow skiied since my knee, but coming out of the water is hell on it. I may have to learn to jump off the dock or some wierd shit like that.
          • My father always thought the snow was harder on the knees than the water (of course, he was water skiing for ~40 years before snow skiing:)

            I never could water ski: not enough hand strength to haul my fat ass out of the water.

  • (I love The Princess Bride!) :-P

    My roommate has been out of work for almost 3 months now... Java programmer with about 2 years of experience, and he's not finding anything good right now here in Columbus, OH.

    Me - my company just ditched 450 employees and is closing two more offices even after they said 3 months ago that we had "plenty of cash-on-hand" to "weather the storm." "No one is going to get fired in the foreseeable future." - Yeah, right. This is all common news of course. http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/020319/n19225400_2.html [yahoo.com]

    I really feel for your position, I do. All we can do now is be glad we still have a job. :(

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