A Sad Thing

I had to experience one of the saddest things ever Tuesday. Monday our VP announced my company would close its very first plant ever opened in North America, due to market conditions. This plant is in Maine. I work with two of our plants for my programs, one is in Michigan and the other is Maine. The difference is night and day, and to be brief, I like Maine better. I've developed a close working relationship with an engineer, let's call her "Sue". She always, always helps me out with whatever I need. She goes the extra mile for me, and we work very well together. I do for her, and she does for me. I found out before hand this plant was closing, but they had no idea until Monday, when our VP went there in person and told them they were closing the plant. I called "Sue" on Tuesday morning to ask her a few questions, and she started bawling. It was such a hard thing to listen to. It wasn't like a normal cry, more of a wimper, a REAL pain in her voice you could tell, like the crying you see when someone dies or something really, really bad happens. I didn't even know what to say, which made it even more akward. What do you say? "I'm sorry" doesn't seem to cut it, it almost seems brash.

So I feel really, really bad for them. I feel bad that their plant pretty much established our presence in North America and now they're getting the boot and their products are going to the great land of slave labor known as Mexico, who can't make water with a hose. It's going to be awesome.

Today we had a information session with the VP, who tried to confidently and forcefully describe why this decision was made, and how we have to support it. Did I mention whenever he was asked a question the answer was "you know I'm going to leave that up to my team of experts...". That must be nice, to make over 100K a year (I'm speculating) and make decisions, and leave all the work up to other people. HOW do these people work in the real world? "Work" is a relative term. I'd use the term "shuffle" instead. I'm not sure ONE single person has the vision or insight a company needs to be successful, so why do they get the power?

So, since it's up to this "team of experts" I'm pretty much going to demand that I go to Maine in the next few weeks, and LEARN the product line. I design parts, and have NO idea how they're built, isn't that good? So, basically "team of experts" means I have no clue in hell what I'm doing, and we haven't made a plan, so we'll just figure it out as we stumble along. Nuh uh, that doesn't sit well with me. Since the travel budget was CUT for 2009, it's going to be interesting how all this is transfered from Maine to Mexico.

This make so much sense it's not even funny. (IRONY!)

Let Me Introduce To You...

I'd like to post about Leslie, my girlfriend. I guess I've sort of kept this relationship a little quiet to people who aren't immediate family or close friends, but I can let the cat out of the bag.

After a brief thing with Gina, my dad actually told me I should put a profile on eHarmony just to see what would happen. I'm really skeptical of meeting someone online, not because of safety or security, but mainly because of how you explain to someone how you met. I hate saying "we met online". Saying "we met each other when she dropped eggs in front of me at the grocery store" or "her door hit my car in a parking lot" or something creative like that. But, Leslie is great, and I'm going to tell you about her so that's how we met, and I'm okay with that now.

I decided to try out eHarmony for a few reasons:
- I wanted to meet someone completely new. Not a friend who "becomes" a girlfriend out of convenience, or not someone a co-worker introduces you to, but someone fresh, and new, that I have no connection with
- The HARDEST work (i.e. wondering if the person WANTS a relationship) is already out of the way. You don't have to "guess" if your partner wants things to progress to relationship status. You're both there for the same reason
- It's effective. I talked to a few people on the site through guided communication, and met one other, but Leslie and I just hit it off. I think the long list of questions you answer really does pair you with someone compatible.

So, Leslie and I entered the "open communication" stage on eHarmony right before Thanksgiving. We e-mailed each other, with just small talk. When I got back from Florida, we met one day in Troy at Panera Bread. It was going to just be a 1 hour or so get together, but we were there 3 hours and things felt very comfortable and relaxed. We left that night saying we'd get together again, which we did a few days later. Our second "date" was dinner in Royal Oak. Finally, she came over to my house and we went out to dinner in Plymouth. She showed up with dog pastries for Walter and a birthday present for me. I left to go to South Carolina for 2 weeks at Christmas, and didn't think a whole lot about leaving her for 2 weeks, but while at home, we talked everyday, literally. I'm not sure if the distance made us miss each other, but I actually really did start to miss her and I looked forward to seeing her again. Sending her flowers at work, while I was away, in my opinion sort of sealed the deal. She said it was her first time ever getting "just because" flowers and girls at her work were jealous and she loved it. Making someone you care about feel special and cared for is a wonderful feeling.

When I came back, we spent a whole day together and it was great. Things just picked right back up where they had left off, and a little more. She's really special to me. I have never dated a girl who made me feel so relaxed, happy, and cared for. In Michigan where a ton of people are "woe is me" she's got a smile on her face and is joking, and doesn't work in automotive...a breath of fresh air for me! Her family is really great, she has funny and easy-going parents and siblings, and they seem very normal. Leslie took me to a bar to meet her friends last week and I never thought a great deal about it, but meeting "the friends" is a big step, because that tells you a LOT about a person; who they associate with. Her friends were really great, most of them were teachers, a dental hygenist, and a nurse. She said she got a ton of texts after we left and they all said they approved and liked me.

I think about her a lot. A LOT. And at work my mind sort of wonders off and I think about how she is, and what she's doing. I've never felt like this about a girl before, we just connect on a good level. I'm sure I'm pretty hard to find a match for, because I'm probably a little unique as far as humor and relaxing, but this is just no issue for her at all, she puts me right at ease. It's going really well.

I just wanted to "formally" introduce her, to you, how we met, how things happened, and where we are now. I'll keep this updated, because there are a ton of great things to say about her.

Well, That Didn't Take Long

Today is Tuesday, 1 week and 2 days back into work and I hate it again. That happened a lot sooner than I thought. I figured I could make it until March or something before this set in. I've thought a lot about it and I feel one of the main reasons I feel the way I do is more ethical than anything. To sum it up shortly, I was asked point blank, to lie (not tell the whole truth) and now it's a rush covering up lies while finding a solution. I just don't want any part of it, and to be frank, I don't care. I don't have any motivation to find a solution because as far as I'm concerned this is messed up because of lies.

So, if you had a migraine headache, how would you like to spend 4 hours this afternoon:
1) Chewing glass
2) Splashing your eyes with battery acid
3) Sitting in a pile of fireants
4) Listening to some German with an agenda read a 36 page technical document full of stuff that DOESN'T MATTER

Which one did you choose? Well I had to endure scenario #4 this afternoon. I'm trying to be as patient as possible, to find my purpose here. It's not this job, I'm pretty sure of that much. Something has to change.

Also, I do have a hernia. I have an inguinal hernia, and it will require surgery to be corrected. The surgery is up to me, as far as when I would like to have it done, and I'm leaning more toward sooner than later.

X-Rated Picture, Beware

We're all adults here, so don't get upset at the picture. That's the best description of my condition. Originally all the reading and research I had done told me I didn't have a hernia, because none of the symptoms matched. I then found out about the inguinal hernia, and suprise, that's matches my symptoms and the picture pretty much confirms it. I will know more tomorrow after I have a doctor examine me, but I'm pretty sure this is what my problem is. The bulge shown in the picture isn't always evident, but after physical activity, such as shoveling snow or bowling, for example, the protrusion becomes very evident followed by a pain that's not severe, just irritating.

There was a ton of snow that fell yesterday so now we have about a foot or so on the ground. That makes driving really fun, because the roads still aren't all the way clear.

Tomorrow after my doctor's visit I can update on my condition more thoroughly.

Little Tricks For You

2 Things:

1) When you turn 25 years old, like I just did, and if you own a 2008 Honda Civic LX 4 door, your insurance premium will drop $136 every 6 months. Poof, just like that, here's $136 for turning 25.

2) I have a hernia, or a tumor, I'm convinced.

Vacation Over Means Blog Posting Is Back On

The Christmas break is over, and it's time to get back to work. Alright, I hate that attitude. I just want to ease back into it all. It feels like being gone for summer and going back to school. I even got a whole new wardrobe for Christmas so it really feels like back to school. Two weeks is a long time, and at the same time it was short. So, I'd like to do a list blog post of sorts, hitting the highlights.

Events:
Roundtrip driving: MI to SC back to MI = ~ 1,300 miles
My 25th birthday
Christmas
New Year: 2009
Cosmo's death after 13 years
My car being fixed, finally

Movies:
7 Pounds
Singles
An American Crime
My Cousin Vinny
Roger and Me
Anti-Trust
The Day The Earth Stood Still

Books:
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell
Crank
Atlas Shrugged (still working on this one)

Friends:
Paul
BJ / Laura
Scott
Maryann
Megan

Other Events:
Keeping a "talking" relationship going while away = successful return!
Flipping a Saturn in 2 weeks


I feel well rested and rejuvenated. Everything feels in order right now which is good. I feel like now, I have a little more going for me than just a career which is a relief, and something else to focus my effort on. Here's to starting a great 2009!