So let's continue to [BLEEP] about this work crap.  Apparently new management was quite pleased with their propaganda video presented to management and above at our annual meeting.  Therefore they are going to make us peons go view the video they prepared for upper management.  I have to go downtown at lunch to watch this this and will most likely be awe inspired.  I don't understand why we're having to go all of this distance when there are hotels and conference rooms all over the place right around the office.  And this one isn't an optional affair (and no free booze).  

I can't wait.

Update.  I'm bored to tears.

Glad I didn't go then. Communication is horrible. I popped off on one of the upper management ladies today.

They have no clue with how much [BLEEP] we do in CS all day. You can't just uproot an entire [BLEEP] team to dick around all day.

We're not a call center. We help assets, IT with testing, operations across the board, dispatchers, carriers, sales and marketing, actual customers, scheduling, onboarding, reporting etc. We're the only department that runs 24/7 and we only get Christmas and New Years day off since the company only allows that.

On top of me and some others answering [BLEEP] after hours around the clock to keep it moving.

It's frustrating. I pulled 10 hours Saturday and 12 hours Sunday after working all week. We've been asking for bodies now for over a year. We all knew it was wishful thinking. We'll be lucky to get anything approved.

I am spent man. Mentally and physically spent. I cant fake it around people. Thats why I didnt go today and last week. They just decided to move an entire department down further in Florida, after they just said three months ago they wouldn't be doing it anymore.

At this point. Just waiting for it to bottom out. I have a little bit of seniority to go back to being a clerk across the tracks if need be. But I'll keep doing what I have to do.

I was heated today. Just tired.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

sounds Like you work at the same place and after the buy out the company has pissed on its employees. I’ve known numerous family family members in similar situations. But yours seems to take the cake so far. Sorry to hear the company has [BLEEP] on their “#1” assets. Keep your chins up. Caldrac, you’re obviously younger. Maybe keep your eye out for other companies hiring for your skill set. No sense being miserable. No sense working to solely pay the bills. You’ve gotta enjoy life while working man.

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sounds Like you work at the same place and after the buy out the company has pissed on its employees. I’ve known numerous family family members in similar situations. But yours seems to take the cake so far. Sorry to hear the company has [BLEEP] on their “#1” assets. Keep your chins up. Caldrac, you’re obviously younger. Maybe keep your eye out for other companies hiring for your skill set. No sense being miserable. No sense working to solely pay the bills. You’ve gotta enjoy life while working man.

Wife's got our first one on the way. Due in April. My focus is just on getting the house ready for him. Support my wife. All that good stuff.

I am not really stressed. Its just frustrating if anything. I don't mind the work. I love the job. I love the grind. It's just the environment like Rico pointed out.

Feels like we're in limbo hell and it's a matter of hurry up and wait. There's a lot of great people there that are close to retirement or hanging on and I have been working with some of them since I was 19 years old.

It's been 12 years. Up's and down's like any place. But I take a lot of pride in where I work at. It's a legacy for me. Means a great deal being a 3rd generation railroad employee to me. I want to keep it that way.

Thankfully my house is affordable. Stole it before the market picked back up in favor of the bankers and lenders. If I get [BLEEP] canned I can at least breath knowing my mortgage is beyond affordable and I can work any job that I have to in order to get by.

I just miss having some free time is all. I miss fishing with my old man. Miss bull [BLEEP] with my two younger brothers. Miss mom's cookin" on Sunday's. Just hard to make time for them when you're working for a place that doesn't give a [BLEEP] about you. They don't want to get to know you.

I get it. It's a corportaion. We're just a "body' at the end of the day. But the tension is there. It's like working in a giant fish tank now. It's empty as hell. Lifeless. Bothers a lot of us. We're just all kind of waiting our turns to get [BLEEP] over like everyone else.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Whoa. Railroad. Ok. There’s only 2 here locally I know. Sounds like it may be the same as my wife’s and other relatives I’ve know. Luckily 2 have retired. My wife is still dealing with it. If it’s the bigger of the 2 RR’s no need to explain. I grew up watching my dad go through it and now living life with my wife going through it. I get it now.

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Ok, so Rico likes his job and JIB just recently has not looked forward to going into work.  So, a question for you two along with other “more experienced “ posters...   is that the norm??  I personally don’t hate my job.  I’m my own boss.  I make good money.  I don’t feel like I’ve actually gone to work in over 12 years.  But, I surely can’t say I like going to work.  If given the option, I’d rather stay home.  I’ve always thought work was what you did to pay bills and save/invest( or what not) for retirement.  Me personally, it’s a choice of lesser evils.  It pays well, I’m the boss, and I essentially do “chores” for the old, rich and lazy.  That is if I dumb it down.  Just doesn’t feel like work.  But I don’t love it.  Love the perks and [BLEEP] ton of time off in winter.  But are you really supposed to love your job? Or did you two get lucky or work extra hard to do what you wanted to?

I like my job but everything comes with sacrifices. I have zero corporate anything but the trade-off in being a laborer is the wear and tear you put your body through. 

Also, the stress gets to extremely unhealthy levels nearly every harvest season for me, but I think I'm on a good track to start helping with that right now. One or two more years. 

On the plus side, due to a light winter schedule, I've spent 4 of the last 6 weeks on South American beaches 

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sounds Like you work at the same place and after the buy out the company has pissed on its employees.   I’ve known numerous family family members in similar situations.  But yours seems to take the cake so far.  Sorry to hear the company has [BLEEP] on their “#1” assets.  Keep your chins up.  Caldrac, you’re obviously younger.  Maybe keep your eye out for other companies hiring for your skill set.  No sense being miserable. No sense working to solely pay the bills.  You’ve gotta enjoy life while working man.

Wife's got our first one on the way. Due in April. My focus is just on getting the house ready for him. Support my wife. All that good stuff.

I am not really stressed. Its just frustrating if anything. I don't mind the work. I love the job. I love the grind. It's just the environment like Rico pointed out.

Feels like we're in limbo hell and it's a matter of hurry up and wait. There's a lot of great people there that are close to retirement or hanging on and I have been working with some of them since I was 19 years old.

It's been 12 years. Up's and down's like any place. But I take a lot of pride in where I work at. It's a legacy for me. Means a great deal being a 3rd generation railroad employee to me. I want to keep it that way.

Thankfully my house is affordable. Stole it before the market picked back up in favor of the bankers and lenders. If I get [BLEEP] canned I can at least breath knowing my mortgage is beyond affordable and I can work any job that I have to in order to get by.

I just miss having some free time is all. I miss fishing with my old man. Miss bull [BLEEP] with my two younger brothers. Miss mom's cookin" on Sunday's. Just hard to make time for them when you're working for a place that doesn't give a [BLEEP] about you. They don't want to get to know you.

I get it. It's a corportaion. We're just a "body' at the end of the day. But the tension is there. It's like working in a giant fish tank now. It's empty as hell. Lifeless. Bothers a lot of us. We're just all kind of waiting our turns to get [BLEEP] over like everyone else.

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I'm just trying to get by another 2.5 years.  Hopefully I don't go bonkers before then.  I really don't want to go looking for a new job at my age.  In all honesty, you're going to be dealing with a lot of this BS in any 'corporate' environment.  I think that's probably what I'm most tired of.  And it's just gotten worse over the lat 20-25 years.  I've seen enough of it over my 40-year career.  

I think another part of it was that I was a consultant for 17 years.  I never really got a chance to get tired of an environment.  I think the longest I was on any project was 2 years....and that was out of the norm.  Usually 6 months to a year...then onto something else.  Only problem with that was, lots of travel.  That's how I ended up here.  Just got tired of that grind.  Hell, they were about to make me start travelling to China when I started looking for a job, then ended up here.  Sorry...22 hours in airports/airplanes to get to work just wasn't happening for this guy.

The nice thing about my line of work is that I'm not tied to one industry.  IT is IT.  Show me the databases and files and I'll paint you a pretty picture.  Problem is, these guys are paying me so well that the salary is going to be tough to match.  Which is another large reason I'm trying to stick this out.  If they lay me off, it sure as hell isn't going to bother me too much.

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Wife's got our first one on the way. Due in April. My focus is just on getting the house ready for him. Support my wife. All that good stuff.

I am not really stressed. Its just frustrating if anything. I don't mind the work. I love the job. I love the grind. It's just the environment like Rico pointed out.

Feels like we're in limbo hell and it's a matter of hurry up and wait. There's a lot of great people there that are close to retirement or hanging on and I have been working with some of them since I was 19 years old.

It's been 12 years. Up's and down's like any place. But I take a lot of pride in where I work at. It's a legacy for me. Means a great deal being a 3rd generation railroad employee to me. I want to keep it that way.

Thankfully my house is affordable. Stole it before the market picked back up in favor of the bankers and lenders. If I get [BLEEP] canned I can at least breath knowing my mortgage is beyond affordable and I can work any job that I have to in order to get by.

I just miss having some free time is all. I miss fishing with my old man. Miss bull [BLEEP] with my two younger brothers. Miss mom's cookin" on Sunday's. Just hard to make time for them when you're working for a place that doesn't give a [BLEEP] about you. They don't want to get to know you.

I get it. It's a corportaion. We're just a "body' at the end of the day. But the tension is there. It's like working in a giant fish tank now. It's empty as hell. Lifeless. Bothers a lot of us. We're just all kind of waiting our turns to get [BLEEP] over like everyone else.

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I'm just trying to get by another 2.5 years.  Hopefully I don't go bonkers before then.  I really don't want to go looking for a new job at my age.  In all honesty, you're going to be dealing with a lot of this BS in any 'corporate' environment.  I think that's probably what I'm most tired of.  And it's just gotten worse over the lat 20-25 years.  I've seen enough of it over my 40-year career.  

I think another part of it was that I was a consultant for 17 years.  I never really got a chance to get tired of an environment.  I think the longest I was on any project was 2 years....and that was out of the norm.  Usually 6 months to a year...then onto something else.  Only problem with that was, lots of travel.  That's how I ended up here.  Just got tired of that grind.  Hell, they were about to make me start travelling to China when I started looking for a job, then ended up here.  Sorry...22 hours in airports/airplanes to get to work just wasn't happening for this guy.

The nice thing about my line of work is that I'm not tied to one industry.  IT is IT.  Show me the databases and files and I'll paint you a pretty picture.  Problem is, these guys are paying me so well that the salary is going to be tough to match.  Which is another large reason I'm trying to stick this out.  If they lay me off, it sure as hell isn't going to bother me too much.

I hope you make it man. I really do. 22 hours in airports and airplanes sounds like purgatory to me. The BS is tiresome. Just leave me be. Let me work. 40 years is a long run. I am just a flea on a dog's [BLEEP] in experience. LOL. But I can see for myself now that this is really something I don't want to keep doing for another 30 years. I don't think it's sustainable. Whether I want it to be or whether the corporate masters want it to be. 

I honestly wouldn't mind being a clerk over there again though. It's less political. You kind of work at your own pace. Don't really have to eat the BS like you have to do over here. This place is all I know really. I literally went from being a snot nosed kid slinging sandwiches as a little punk manager at 17, 18 years old for Subway to come right over here to the RR. Worked my way up the ladder. Thankful for where I am at now. 

It's just the lack of communication that bothers me at the moment. The uncertainty in the air. It's uncharted territory for me but I just know that no matter what happens I can't let it bog me down. My dad worked his [BLEEP] off and moved us around quite a bit. He didn't shy away from taking on new challenges. And I feel like I have that instilled in me as well. I'll be fine no matter what. 

Like you pointed out though. They're paying us pretty good. Granted, that all came from previous ownership. But at least they haven't tried going after us quite yet. If things start to look better going into 2020 I think I'll cut out some time if that's possible to get educated in a field or two if the company still grants funds for that. Put it off for way too long.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

So, the Darlo clan is growing by one and this was our Facebook reveal!




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Yooo!

Congrats dude.

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Ok, so Rico likes his job and JIB just recently has not looked forward to going into work.  So, a question for you two along with other “more experienced “ posters...   is that the norm??  I personally don’t hate my job.  I’m my own boss.  I make good money.  I don’t feel like I’ve actually gone to work in over 12 years.  But, I surely can’t say I like going to work.  If given the option, I’d rather stay home.  I’ve always thought work was what you did to pay bills and save/invest( or what not) for retirement.  Me personally, it’s a choice of lesser evils.  It pays well, I’m the boss, and I essentially do “chores” for the old, rich and lazy.  That is if I dumb it down.  Just doesn’t feel like work.  But I don’t love it.  Love the perks and [BLEEP] ton of time off in winter.  But are you really supposed to love your job? Or did you two get lucky or work extra hard to do what you wanted to?

Well the short answer is no, it's not the norm (at least in my case).

20 years ago when I started this line of work after serving in The Navy it was fun and I enjoyed it.  I enjoyed troubleshooting and solving problems, enjoyed working with the people that I worked with and made very good money.  Now keep in mind, during this time-frame I actually worked for a few different companies (I am a government contractor).  The industry is kind of unique and pretty much an "everyone knows everyone" community of mainly retired military or prior military people.  I have known many of the people that I work(ed) with for well over 20 or 30 years.

When this last contract got awarded it went to the company that I currently work for solely because they were the lowest bidders.  The division that I work in is downsizing and the program is "sun-setting".  Being the lowest bidders the company that was awarded the contract has cut corners in any way possible including shrinking the workforce required to operate productively.  This pretty much made much of our work force decide to retire or move on elsewhere, and because of the legacy nature of our equipment, the few new hires had no clue and needed to be trained.

With the talent and experience of people leaving our building I was placed in a "management" position while still having to do my regular duties.  I am NOT a manager and I hate paperwork (which I have to do a ton of).  I do get paid very well, but in my mind the extra money almost doesn't seem worth it.  I have just a few more years to go until I can finally retire and walk away.

I can give you more details via PM since I would not want to post some of this stuff publicly.

The bottom line is, I really like my job and what I do as far as the technical aspect.  I don't like the management and "corporate [BLEEP]" part of it.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

I’m a panhandler.


You going to eat all that?

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I often wondered why I needed to hear some of that stuff too.  

Does that mean you like your work, or you just want to do your work and not be bothered?

I like what I do but it is becoming increasingly difficult to really enjoy it in this environment.

Plus, getting close to retiring, I'm less and less tolerant of the unnecessary corporate baloney. 

And I need another coffee....

Short timers disease is real!

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I'm really upset that somebody didn't bring in donuts today.

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I'm really upset that somebody didn't bring in donuts today.

Equally upset. Should start egging bigwig's car every Friday (when he's actually here) when they don't meet our demands.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

I'm really upset that somebody didn't bring in donuts today.

Equally upset. Should start egging bigwig's car every Friday (when he's actually here) when they don't meet our demands.

And it's Friday....Friday.  Where's my damn donuts...or at least bagels?

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Well it IS Friday the 13th, NO Donuts for you..........

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You know trouble is right around the corner when your best friend tells you to hold his beer!!

Well it IS Friday the 13th, NO Donuts for you..........

Bought my team pizza today for lunch. Out of my pocket. Hoping to get some good karma for that on a day like this. Knowing my luck? Two people will call out sick on Monday and I'll have to come into work. 

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Watching the 6 underground that had khans ship in it, holy crap it’s the size of a small city

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Watching the 6 underground that had khans ship in it, holy crap it’s the size of a small city

"Report: Speculation Jaguars are moving to Kismet as Khan announces project to build 40,000 seat stadium on the Aft Deck."

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

So we have a Christmas 'pot luck' lunch on Wednesday. Looks like a bunch of good food on the signup list. However, it's scheduled to be outside...in the shade. I hope somebody notices that it's only supposed to be around 50 degrees at lunchtime tomorrow and moves it inside.

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So we have a Christmas 'pot luck' lunch on Wednesday.  Looks like a bunch of good food on the signup list.  However, it's scheduled to be outside...in the shade.  I hope somebody notices that it's only supposed to be around 50 degrees at lunchtime tomorrow and moves it inside.

I remember when 50° used to be considered cold. In the shade (especially with wind) it can be chilly for sure, but cold not so much. Having lived here in NC for 8 years now cold is 30s and 40s. I might actually put on a hat in that weather.

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