New job on the horizon?

I finally had some good news on the job front in the way of an offer. A real offer, not from a temp service, not for a temp job--it is sort of cool to feel wanted. Anyway, I have a drug test Monday, though I don't see how that will pose any obstacles, unless it turns out I can't get out of work early.

Today was gorgeous, and I spent most of the day outside.

Depending on my daily mood, maybe I will spend the week trying to write something interesting, as it seems my desires at the beginning of April didn't really manage to carry through very long, though I am at least still updating.

Friday update

It is Friday afternoon, and I am fighting to stay awake. With a bit more than an hour to do, there is little that I feel like doing here, rather I would like to just head home. Realistically, I don't think that is much of an option. I don't know what the weather has been like today, so I don't know if going home means mowing the lawn or not.

The week has been uneventful for me, so which is one reason there is very little in the way of daily updates. Somehow I need to make my daily work sound exciting enough for people to enjoy reading about. Perhaps with a bit of practice that will happen.

During lunch today, while reading "The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman" I came across a very fun chapter describing how Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, "Eroica" is like having sex. It was odd reading that at lunch in the cafeteria, one of those passages where you wonder what people would think if they decided to read over your shoulder.

Also today, there was a "Peeps Show." My original idea didn't pan out, since I forgot all about it last night, but after lunch today, I decided to make "Peep cubes." Peep cubes were made by some creative cutting, folding, and taping of Post-It notes into the form of a six cube ice tray, then stuffing peeps into five of the spaces. While it may not have been the most creative idea in the world, I think it made wonderful use of materials at hand.

Today has been a day of too many sweets and a lunch that was deep fried (fish, shrimp and tator tots). With luck, I will eat something healthy for dinner, to balance with my healthy pre-donut breakfast, which was Muesli with Yogurt. [Dinner ended up being Chili, which was a better choice than it could have been.]

another (less than manic) Monday

Nothing quite like the nightmare return of Monday, and the headache inducing monotony of a pointless project. In reality, it seems now that the project we are on is less important than working as grunts for the Sr. Buyers. Perhaps I wouldn't mind the additional work if I enjoyed anything about being here, but as it is, I am only ticked off at what appears to be an extension of my sentence. I overheard someone on their cell phone as they walked in today comment they were in the dungeon and would talk with them later--and that wasn't a temp talking.

I really need to focus on something pleasant about this place, something that will make me feel as if I am accomplishing something. I have tried to find such a thing, but so far the only "good" thing is a regular paycheck, which is less of a good thing and more of a cultural expectation. Somehow we have become trained to give up our lives for a paycheck, to forgo so many things we would prefer to do for a paycheck. I guess in truth all I need to do is learn to live on less, then I could work less, but that is task of a different nature. There is a reason the phrase "wage slave" was created, and it really does describe many people in the world.

New (Used) Car

Well, after years of borrowing cars off others and taking advantage of a deal my father set up when I was attending university, I have finally purchased my own vehicle, a '98 Dodge Neon.

I haven't named her yet, but I am sure that something will prompt itself as I get to know her better.

Cat Fight

An interesting reinterpretation:


http://youtube.com/watch?v=OvLt1olovKM

I tried to embed the player, but couldn't figure it out after the error message commenting: "Tag is broken"

Reverse Auctioneering

Currently, I am doing temp work. Temp work provides some odd insights, and creates more than its fair share of questions.

My current place of work has decided the next big cost savings will be in reverse auctions. For those unfamiliar with the concept, imagine an auction, now a starting price of say $50. As a participant, you are unable to bid more than the starting price, and the winner is theoretically the bidder who has offered the lowest price. That is all well and good, and this is something that is normally done with commodities, rather than custom built parts.


Now then, here is how the same process is being worked at my current place of work. After identifying the products that can be reverse auctioned, basically everything, the company then asks its vendors for quotes. After receiving the quotes, which I assume to be competitive, they choose the lowest as the starting point of their auction. Then, the vendors who have quoted are notified that an auction is going to be held, and they need to register for it. After everything is set up, then on the day of the auction, a buyer from my place of work logs into the auction site and determines that the vendors are present, and if they aren't, calls are made to get everyone on board. Of course, during the auction, calls are made to the participants verifying there aren't any technical problems, especially if bidding seems slow. When the auction is over, my place of work now has a new, lower price than the one on its lowest bid. Though there is one more caveat, the lowest bid isn't guaranteed the contract.

What happened recently is that the auction process moved forward on some custom parts which had been bid out prior to the auction. During the auction, the company whose bid was the most competitive, Bob's Pins and Needles, also had the misfortune of being the company whose bid was used as a base for the reverse auction price. Bob's opened bidding at the base auction price, and during the course of the thirty minute auction, there was only one other active participant, each company bid once. Now, as it turns out Bob's Pins and Needles was the prefered vendor and will probably receive the contract, even though its bid wasn't the lowest. The difference is that now management at my place of work doesn't believe Bob's wants to play ball, and Bob's Pins and Needles has the distinct feeling that someone believes Bob's isn't providing competitive pricing.

This could only be called successful if damaging relationships is the goal of these auctions. My beliefs fall into the more old-fashioned line of thought that companies which work together are more likely to succeed than companies which are antagonistic partners, and what I see is the creation of distrust among partners.