OT - What are you doing now? (2024)

kl8ton

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Work for yourself, own your own business ….

and 3 days before we leave for Paris our admin decides she is quitting.

That's my dislike. Sorry man. I had a main guy quit while I was on vacation. It's so hard not to make it personal and keep emotion out of it. Are you postponing the trip?

Ozzie_Isaac

fishlessman said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

JohnInCarolina said:

Booking flights to Austin in February.  I'm set to give a talk down at UT.  Probably won't have much time to sample the local brisket (sorry Frank!) but I was very happy to see that Delta now has several direct flights each day from RDU to Austin.  There didn't used to be any of those.  

Austin ain't in Utah my friend.  Might reconsider your flights.

fishlessman said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Work for yourself, own your own business ….

and 3 days before we leave for Paris our admin decides she is quitting.

aint it fun......i remember someone telling me that my best employee will let me down when i need them most. that was about 30 years ago. wash rinse repeat

ColbyLang said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Work for yourself, own your own business ….

and 3 days before we leave for Paris our admin decides she is quitting.

Ain’t it great? And if you kiss ass and they stay, they got ya. And if they walk, they know they got you over a barrel. 

I keep making the mistake of assuming these folks want a career and they just want a paycheck.  Work, drive, willingness to improve is hard to find.  I cut my teeth managing engineers and with all their problems, they all wanted to do their best and get better.  Admins making $50K-$60k a year don't have the same aspirations, even though the role would easily grow into a $100K+ opportunity.

Wait til a long time employee/book keeper tries to walk out the door with a quarter mil. That's when it gets interesting. Liens on her property, passport in my safe, took me a month to track it all down, cost her her husband's pension fund. Big party, accountants, lawyers, police, the irs.....a lot of bluffing involved, the law works against you.  She still wanted her job. Be careful

oof!  That sounds like a nightmare, but one I could easily see happening.  You need/supposed to trust these people to do their portion of the job.  If we need to follow up and check every step, might was well just do it ourselves.

Gulfcoastguy

Ever hired someone and had him ghost you? I worked for a state government and had an opening for unskilled inspector trainee. Admittedly the initial pay was laughable but it came with health and life insurance and a defined benefit pension and a promotion likely within 6 to 12 months. 

I went through all of the thick stack of paperwork. His wife was Air Force enlisted so he didn’t really need the insurance. Anyhow he missed one signature requiring him to come in and sign it. He came in sweating like a pig and with some shakes. That should have been my clue but we corrected the paperwork. That was the last time that I saw or heard from him. A bit embarrassing but no telling what he would have screwed up if he had actually shown up.

JohnInCarolina

I once had a student in a class who quit on himself, mid semester.  

RRP

Well, this afternoon I spent 5 hours baking 15 dozen cookies using a recipe my late Mother started 73 years ago thereby carrying on a Pratt family tradition! That made me feel good.

Ozzie_Isaac

Gulfcoastguy said:

Ever hired someone and had him ghost you? I worked for a state government and had an opening for unskilled inspector trainee. Admittedly the initial pay was laughable but it came with health and life insurance and a defined benefit pension and a promotion likely within 6 to 12 months. 

I went through all of the thick stack of paperwork. His wife was Air Force enlisted so he didn’t really need the insurance. Anyhow he missed one signature requiring him to come in and sign it. He came in sweating like a pig and with some shakes. That should have been my clue but we corrected the paperwork. That was the last time that I saw or heard from him. A bit embarrassing but no telling what he would have screwed up if he had actually shown up.

Yikes! Sounds like a problem that resolved itself!

JohnInCarolina said:

I once had a student in a class who quit on himself, mid semester.  

Students don't leave classes, they leave instructors. 

JohnInCarolina

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Gulfcoastguy said:

Ever hired someone and had him ghost you? I worked for a state government and had an opening for unskilled inspector trainee. Admittedly the initial pay was laughable but it came with health and life insurance and a defined benefit pension and a promotion likely within 6 to 12 months. 

I went through all of the thick stack of paperwork. His wife was Air Force enlisted so he didn’t really need the insurance. Anyhow he missed one signature requiring him to come in and sign it. He came in sweating like a pig and with some shakes. That should have been my clue but we corrected the paperwork. That was the last time that I saw or heard from him. A bit embarrassing but no telling what he would have screwed up if he had actually shown up.

Yikes! Sounds like a problem that resolved itself!

JohnInCarolina said:

I once had a student in a class who quit on himself, mid semester.  

Students don't leave classes, they leave instructors. 

My teaching evaluations speak for themselves, lol.  

Legume

It does kind of sound like "I had a customer leave once"

JohnInCarolina

Legume said:

It does kind of sound like "I had a customer leave once"

It sucks when you work for tips.

Ozzie_Isaac

I wish I had my son’s confidence.  I love his tapestry pants.

Botch

JohnInCarolina said:

I once had a student in a class who quit on himself, mid semester.  

Curious as to what level; Bachelor, Master, or PhD?  Mid-semester is an odd time, unless there were family issues.  

Gulfcoastguy

Ozzie_Isaac said:

I wish I had my son’s confidence.  I love his tapestry pants.

As someone born in 1960, who once owned a lime green leisure suit with a paisley shirt, I can throw no stones. It was required for a choir tour but I’m sure that pictures exist. Bell bottoms, parachute pants, 501’s, I’ve seen the worst and occasionally the best of each decade.

JohnInCarolina

Botch said:

JohnInCarolina said:

I once had a student in a class who quit on himself, mid semester.  

Curious as to what level; Bachelor, Master, or PhD?  Mid-semester is an odd time, unless there were family issues.  

It was a joke, Botch.  Apparently my caustic wit sometimes misses the mark.

Buckwoody Egger

Gulfcoastguy said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

I wish I had my son’s confidence.  I love his tapestry pants.

As someone born in 1960, who once owned a lime green leisure suit with a paisley shirt, I can throw no stones. It was required for a choir tour but I’m sure that pictures exist. Bell bottoms, parachute pants, 501’s, I’ve seen the worst and occasionally the best of each decade.

+1 on parachute pants, jams, paisley shirts, whatever other 1980s mtv tricked us into.  and +1 to both as, yes, confidence it was. 

thanks for sharing the tapestry Ozzie needed a good laugh this morning!  reminds of this and the pic is from wikipedia….

DoubleEgger

When you expect other people to care as much as you do, you are simply
setting yourself up for failure. 

It is just a job for many people. How many kids dream of being an office assistant when they grow up? 

Foghorn

Gulfcoastguy said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

I wish I had my son’s confidence.  I love his tapestry pants.

As someone born in 1960, who once owned a lime green leisure suit with a paisley shirt, I can throw no stones. It was required for a choir tour but I’m sure that pictures exist. Bell bottoms, parachute pants, 501’s, I’ve seen the worst and occasionally the best of each decade.

We watched Christmas Vacation last night.  My 27 year old son pointed out that some of Cousin Eddie's outfits would be considered very hip in today's world - particularly the outfit he wears while shopping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPjzAcO-MYk

He also said he thought the leisure suit was pretty cool. 

But not the faux turtleneck dickey...

fishlessman

DoubleEgger said:

When you expect other people to care as much as you do, you are simply
setting yourself up for failure. 

It is just a job for many people. How many kids dream of being an office assistant when they grow up? 

being a no-brain non caring not responsible assistant sounds like a pretty good job right now where do i sign up

RRP

Foghorn said:

Gulfcoastguy said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

I wish I had my son’s confidence.  I love his tapestry pants.

As someone born in 1960, who once owned a lime green leisure suit with a paisley shirt, I can throw no stones. It was required for a choir tour but I’m sure that pictures exist. Bell bottoms, parachute pants, 501’s, I’ve seen the worst and occasionally the best of each decade.

We watched Christmas Vacation last night.  My 27 year old son pointed out that some of Cousin Eddie's outfits would be considered very hip in today's world - particularly the outfit he wears while shopping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPjzAcO-MYk

He also said he thought the leisure suit was pretty cool. 

But not the faux turtleneck dickey...

Chevy Chase was here in Peoria, IL over the weekend and last night was present at a special showing of that hilarious movie. Followed with a presentation including a Q&A session. Wish I could have attended but couldn't.

Ozzie_Isaac

DoubleEgger said:

When you expect other people to care as much as you do, you are simply
setting yourself up for failure. 

It is just a job for many people. How many kids dream of being an office assistant when they grow up? 

I made a mistake during the interview and reference check process.  Thought I was hiring someone who understood the vision and said she was onboard and this would help her achieve her personal goals, which she would be well positioned for.

Turns out she wanted personal goals with a 5hr a day job including a 1.5 hr lunch.  Even though I have a very clear rec that defines all the activities and tasks.

oh well, better to know now than in a year.  Although it was clear about 2 weeks in that her experience/skill set did not align with her resume or interview answers, but that can be fixed through training.

kl8ton

Foghorn said:

Gulfcoastguy said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

I wish I had my son’s confidence.  I love his tapestry pants.

As someone born in 1960, who once owned a lime green leisure suit with a paisley shirt, I can throw no stones. It was required for a choir tour but I’m sure that pictures exist. Bell bottoms, parachute pants, 501’s, I’ve seen the worst and occasionally the best of each decade.

We watched Christmas Vacation last night.  My 27 year old son pointed out that some of Cousin Eddie's outfits would be considered very hip in today's world - particularly the outfit he wears while shopping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPjzAcO-MYk

He also said he thought the leisure suit was pretty cool. 

But not the faux turtleneck dickey...

My 13-year-old son asked why cousin Eddie was dressed so nice if he was so poor?

Ozzie_Isaac

kl8ton said:

Foghorn said:

Gulfcoastguy said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

I wish I had my son’s confidence.  I love his tapestry pants.

As someone born in 1960, who once owned a lime green leisure suit with a paisley shirt, I can throw no stones. It was required for a choir tour but I’m sure that pictures exist. Bell bottoms, parachute pants, 501’s, I’ve seen the worst and occasionally the best of each decade.

We watched Christmas Vacation last night.  My 27 year old son pointed out that some of Cousin Eddie's outfits would be considered very hip in today's world - particularly the outfit he wears while shopping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPjzAcO-MYk

He also said he thought the leisure suit was pretty cool. 

But not the faux turtleneck dickey...

My 13-year-old son asked why cousin Eddie was dressed so nice if he was so poor?

I occasionally wore a pastel yellow suit with white patent leather loafers, and a gold cane and gold sunglasses to school 😂. I miss high school.  No worries just girls, parties, and fun, occasionally interrupted by school and a job, basically as low stress as it gets.

DoubleEgger

fishlessman said:

DoubleEgger said:

When you expect other people to care as much as you do, you are simply
setting yourself up for failure. 

It is just a job for many people. How many kids dream of being an office assistant when they grow up? 

being a no-brain non caring not responsible assistant sounds like a pretty good job right now where do i sign up

Some days, I am envious of the guy twirling the stop/slow sign in a construction zone. 

DoubleEgger

Ozzie_Isaac said:

DoubleEgger said:

When you expect other people to care as much as you do, you are simply
setting yourself up for failure. 

It is just a job for many people. How many kids dream of being an office assistant when they grow up? 

I made a mistake during the interview and reference check process.  Thought I was hiring someone who understood the vision and said she was onboard and this would help her achieve her personal goals, which she would be well positioned for.

Turns out she wanted personal goals with a 5hr a day job including a 1.5 hr lunch.  Even though I have a very clear rec that defines all the activities and tasks.

oh well, better to know now than in a year.  Although it was clear about 2 weeks in that her experience/skill set did not align with her resume or interview answers, but that can be fixed through training.

Next time, ask what they have specifically done to work towards those personal goals. You’ll hear crickets or total BS more times than not. 

It’s always the follow up questions that trip them up. 

fishlessman

DoubleEgger said:

fishlessman said:

DoubleEgger said:

When you expect other people to care as much as you do, you are simply
setting yourself up for failure. 

It is just a job for many people. How many kids dream of being an office assistant when they grow up? 

being a no-brain non caring not responsible assistant sounds like a pretty good job right now where do i sign up

Some days, I am envious of the guy twirling the stop/slow sign in a construction zone. 

i have often wondered what their pay is in different states. in mass they are police officers with double their pay (add hazard pay) coffee and donuts delivered, free tank of gas in their car and extra pay for bringing their own car.   they wont belittle themselves by holding a sign, they usually direct traffic from inside their car. lets assume the sign twirlers in surrounding states dont make as much in mass, that really is a great job

Gulfcoastguy

DoubleEgger said:

fishlessman said:

DoubleEgger said:

When you expect other people to care as much as you do, you are simply
setting yourself up for failure. 

It is just a job for many people. How many kids dream of being an office assistant when they grow up? 

being a no-brain non caring not responsible assistant sounds like a pretty good job right now where do i sign up

Some days, I am envious of the guy twirling the stop/slow sign in a construction zone. 

You mean the guy who has to testify for 5 years in the accident lawsuits? 

zaphod

RRP said:

Chevy Chase was here in Peoria, IL over the weekend and last night was present at a special showing of that hilarious movie. Followed with a presentation including a Q&A session. Wish I could have attended but couldn't.

Pretty cool to have Chevy in your nape of the woods, neck of the wape ... where you live. 

Ozzie_Isaac

Back to the round-a-bout discussion.  Here is what we have in Arizona.  You can just drive straight instead of doing the roundy part, some don't even have the center decorations.  It is pretty nice option, and as you can see by tire tracks fairly common.  Basically it becomes a 4 way intersection with no rules.  Perfect.

dbCooper

Ozzie_Isaac said:

DoubleEgger said:

When you expect other people to care as much as you do, you are simply
setting yourself up for failure. 

It is just a job for many people. How many kids dream of being an office assistant when they grow up? 

I made a mistake during the interview and reference check process.  Thought I was hiring someone who understood the vision and said she was onboard and this would help her achieve her personal goals, which she would be well positioned for.

Turns out she wanted personal goals with a 5hr a day job including a 1.5 hr lunch.  Even though I have a very clear rec that defines all the activities and tasks.

oh well, better to know now than in a year.  Although it was clear about 2 weeks in that her experience/skill set did not align with her resume or interview answers, but that can be fixed through training.

@Ozzie_Isaac - This reads like mgmt. taking responsibility for the failures of their underlings.  In today's world that is quaint, and in my experience a recipe for success.

ColtsFan

Bacon sliced and put away. Test batch was tasty. 

alaskanassasin

do you have chickens yet @ColtsFan ?