I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Dis, dat, and da udder ding

The day thing is going through a bit of a change. The good news is that I have a job going forward. It pays the same, but is a non-union position. I'm working through what that all means. The position is mostly created, made from need. Right now they're outsourcing most of this work, and the person I'm going to be reporting to is swamped. Hours will be slightly different. I also don't get the extra week of vacation starting in May, I'll still be at two weeks until next year.

This vacation thing is a recurring theme in my employment. I have only had one job where I've had more than 10 days, and that was after working there for seven years (at my 8 year anniversary I was laid-off). Most of my working career I've only had 5 days or less. As a consequence, we haven't really taken vacations over the years. Most of them have just been long weekends. I also have trouble relaxing, although one of the things I loved about this job is that my head didn't feel like it was going to spin off when I got home.

Lots of other things stay the same. Because this group is so far behind, I go back to 5-day weeks. At least for now.

Now we're re-examining purchases and other things we had put on hold. Penguicon is just too close for me to change my mind on, and finances really are shored up enough. Plus I'm going to need that weekend for critique. Plus, it's my SOs b-day.

And speaking of b-days, mine is this weekend. So for my b-day I get a new job and get to keep cash flow. Also, I'm turning 43. Last year (okay, I know I wrote out goals, but I'm not looking back, yet) I made my major goal of having a story accepted for publication (thanks William, for both the opportunity and accepting my story) and a poem accepted for publication next year. I didn't get the novel written, but I'm working on a new one that I really like. So maybe this will be my practice novel, and that'll let me write the others better and with more confidence.

6 comments:

Mer said...

Hey, and maybe your practice novel will net you an agent.

I mean. It happens. *whistles*

Elizabeth said...

Happy birthday this weekend, and hooray for the job.

Steve Buchheit said...

Thanks, Elizabeth. I'm pretty hopped up about the job (although, last night, two designer jobs appeared in my monster searches).

Mer, ch'yeah. And, like, I could also post it to my blog and have PNH come by and offer to publish it garnering me thousands of adoring fans, a stable income from secondary right sales and royalties, Hugo awards, and a spacial palace on the edge of farmsville. Oh wait, I'm not Scalzi either. :) (but at least I'm taller, bwahahaha).

Not all of us are Merrie Haskells you know.

But yeah, I have those fantasies. The ones that end with accepting the National Book Award. Then there are the other fantasies which end with begging for change on the street.

vince said...

Then there are the other fantasies which end with begging for change on the street.Now, now, let's not be cynical.

I think a job is a great birthday present, so congrats on that. And I'm sure other presents will come your way. As for the writing, all you can do is keep hammering at it.

Practice makes perfect, you know.

::ducks::

Nathan said...

As a DGA member, a small percentage of every check I get is "Vacation Pay". In theory, this is fantastic. In reality, it's just part of my take-home...it doesn't get set aside so that in June, I can go, "Hey, time for that vacation I got paid for already!"

Steve Buchheit said...

Thanks Vince. It keeps me out of trouble and sleeping indoors, so a job is a good thing. In marching band we had a saying that practice doesn't make perfection, practice makes permanent, improvement helps toward perfection. If you continually practice wrong, that doesn't help.

Nathan, strangely enough I'm exactly the same way with self-employment taxes. I wonder why that is? :)