The longest thread ever

[budwom]

Best of luck to Clemmons. Take no more of their gas! Now back to wedding festivities. There are signs that the chicks adore 🥰 me!

[DukieInKansas]

Getting ready for a high school graduation - great-niece Charlotte

[bundabergdevil]

Robin Hood and Little John running through the forest.

[YmoBeThere]

I don't know your age or point in your career, but I've had to do this a couple of times over the years and I think it's paid off in showing that I'm loyal. And, to be honest, weighing the pros and cons of taking a few hours for an important work call during vacation vs. possibly dealing with the fallout for missing it, it's really no comparison. I've been with my company for 22 years now and I know if/when it suits them they will let me go (with a package). That's just the way corporate America is these days.

But I'm like you, unless my manager said she'd cover or it's no big deal if I miss the meeting, then I too would choose to attend rather than make a big deal about it. But I'd also make sure my manager knew that I was a team player doing the right thing by her. Frankly, anyone above her probably wouldn't care that it inconvenienced me, but she's the one who has to put in for my pay raises and promotions.

When I first started in corporate America, a good friend gave me this advice: "The only person who you should care what they think about you is your manager." I try to live by that and it's served me well over the years.

Rich,

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm 52(a few years behind you I believe) and have been at this company for a year. Careerwise, I've been at a string of Fortune 100 companies with both people leadership and individual contributor roles. My current and the last couple prior roles have been as an IC. I've favored those roles lately as I've found it easier to leave my job at work. For the first couple of decades, I was probably overly accommodating with my time from a work-life balance to the detriment of my personal life. No one to blame but myself. So, I'm trying to adjust that balance.

Two things influenced my thinking(old me would have said whining), lack of vacation time and compensation. Because we are a retailer disguised as a tech company, we have very retailer oriented HR policies. In other words, I get little to no vacation in the first year. I took no vacation calendar year 2022; I lost three days of time off to Covid caught while on a work trip. I don't recommend that scenario by the way. I'll take maybe 8 days off this year, 2 in Feb., 3 for this trip in June, and one each around July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, this was my real vacation for the year. Five days away to relax and recharge. And while I know it is only a few hours, it likely includes a couple on Monday to tweak meeting materials, a bit before the meeting on Tuesday, the actual meeting on Tuesday, and then some gameplanning based on decisions made Tuesday. Not to mention having to carry all my work stuff with me. All minor inconveniences I know, but this all leads down a slippery slope when trying to shift the balance from work to life.

Compensation is an interesting thing, in theory I am capped out. Basically, you negotiate your comp for the first four years prior to starting. They may make small adjustments to your base based on performance(and I got one), but there isn't much more incentive that can be offered except at a few levels up. And given that we are in cost cutting mode, I hear those were nonexistent this cycle.

All this to say, yes I'll be on the call and do the prep work and post work. At some point I have to say no; that time isn't here yet.

[YmoBeThere]

Getting ready for a high school graduation - great-niece Charlotte

Congrats to her! Similar reason why there will be mariachis at 9 PM tonight. I think the neighbor's opened the margaritas bar a few hours ago.

[YmoBeThere]

Okay, almost time to travel.

[bundabergdevil]

Rich,

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm 52(a few years behind you I believe) and have been at this company for a year. Careerwise, I've been at a string of Fortune 100 companies with both people leadership and individual contributor roles. My current and the last couple prior roles have been as an IC. I've favored those roles lately as I've found it easier to leave my job at work. For the first couple of decades, I was probably overly accommodating with my time from a work-life balance to the detriment of my personal life. No one to blame but myself. So, I'm trying to adjust that balance.

Two things influenced my thinking(old me would have said whining), lack of vacation time and compensation. Because we are a retailer disguised as a tech company, we have very retailer oriented HR policies. In other words, I get little to no vacation in the first year. I took no vacation calendar year 2022; I lost three days of time off to Covid caught while on a work trip. I don't recommend that scenario by the way. I'll take maybe 8 days off this year, 2 in Feb., 3 for this trip in June, and one each around July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, this was my real vacation for the year. Five days away to relax and recharge. And while I know it is only a few hours, it likely includes a couple on Monday to tweak meeting materials, a bit before the meeting on Tuesday, the actual meeting on Tuesday, and then some gameplanning based on decisions made Tuesday. Not to mention having to carry all my work stuff with me. All minor inconveniences I know, but this all leads down a slippery slope when trying to shift the balance from work to life.

Compensation is an interesting thing, in theory I am capped out. Basically, you negotiate your comp for the first four years prior to starting. They may make small adjustments to your base based on performance(and I got one), but there isn't much more incentive that can be offered except at a few levels up. And given that we are in cost cutting mode, I hear those were nonexistent this cycle.

All this to say, yes I'll be on the call and do the prep work and post work. At some point I have to say no; that time isn't here yet.

I’ll do a few acrobatics in exceptional circumstances but I’ve found in corporate America there are very few true emergencies that cannot wait.

I’m also of the mind that I might not take the next promotion (were it to be offered) because it would bump me into a level where I typically see people constantly plugged in and I just don’t wanna.

[TruBlu]

Okay, almost time to travel.

Is that you, Hansboro?

[YmoBeThere]

Is that you, Hansboro?

I'm throwing the falg, personal foul - unnecessary roughness.

Oh wait, that's me too. Dammit, I've been doxed.

[bundabergdevil]

So, like, OPK is a narc now.

[ClemmonsDevil]

So, like, OPK is a narc now.

I always assumed he was undercover.

[OldPhiKap]

IMG_0936.jpg

[Bostondevil]

Hey Clem - that article that you posted in the other thread refers to "Raleigh's Research Triangle Park". 75% of the RTP is in DURHAM County. RTP does not belong to Raleigh.

When the geographically challenged who fly in and out of RDU assume the R and the D are interchangeable, no true Durham native lets that misconception lie. Durham is NOT Raleigh. They share an airport and not much else. (OK, maybe they share the RTP, but not really. )

[Bostondevil]

Yes, I read the Prez thread today.

Today's discussion of juries reminded me to recommend the Amazon Prime show "Jury Duty". Did I do that already? That show managed to be hilarious and restore my faith in human nature at the same time!

[ClemmonsDevil]

In an effort to stay on OPK's good side I would like to inform you all that those stories about the honeymoon were actually about me.

[TruBlu]

In an effort to stay on OPK's good side I would like to inform you all that those stories about the honeymoon were actually about me.

You were on OPK’s honeymoon?!? The plot thickens.

[Bostondevil]

Twelfth Night opened yesterday under sunny skies with slightly damp ground.

It started raining 3/4ths of the way through the last Act. We went ahead and finished.

Does anyone know who gives the last speech in Twelfth Night and what they say? I'll paste the text of the final speech a bit later.

Oh - our Malvolio's chronic pain condition flared up, badly, so our understudy went on. She is also in the show as Fabian - so her understudy went on too, which left us with no Priest. The Priest appears in two scenes near the end and has one speech. I learned that one speech backstage during the show and went on as the Priest. Also, the actors got an entrance wrong and skipped a crucial scene. I worked out how to get the missing scene back in and communicated it to everyone involved while I was putting on the Priest's costume. Fixing things on the fly however, required our Olivia to manage a costume change in about 30 seconds. Done.

When green room conversation turns to Humorous and or Horrific Theater Stories, actors will tell tales of this performance for the rest of their lives. My advice to the actors who blew the order of the scenes? "Be a goldfish."

[ClemmonsDevil]

You were on OPK’s honeymoon?!? The plot thickens.

Camera guy.

[Phredd3]

Camera guy.

I thought you were trying to stay on OPK's good side?

[Phredd3]

Twelfth Night opened yesterday under sunny skies with slightly damp ground.

It started raining 3/4ths of the way through the last Act. We went ahead and finished.

Does anyone know who gives the last speech in Twelfth Night and what they say? I'll paste the text of the final speech a bit later.

Oh - our Malvolio's chronic pain condition flared up, badly, so our understudy went on. She is also in the show as Fabian - so her understudy went on too, which left us with no Priest. The Priest appears in two scenes near the end and has one speech. I learned that one speech backstage during the show and went on as the Priest. Also, the actors got an entrance wrong and skipped a crucial scene. I worked out how to get the missing scene back in and communicated it to everyone involved while I was putting on the Priest's costume. Fixing things on the fly however, required our Olivia to manage a costume change in about 30 seconds. Done.

When green room conversation turns to Humorous and or Horrific Theater Stories, actors will tell tales of this performance for the rest of their lives. My advice to the actors who blew the order of the scenes? "Be a goldfish."

What a great story. Sounds like a pretty impressive group to adjust that well on the fly. I would have to look up who gets the final speech and what they say, though, so I'll just wait for the follow-up.