Friday, June 24, 2005
Adventure 26: 24th June 2005
"another restructure ? How quaint...." Lo all yup it's only been four days but hey I've got stuff to write. Yes 6 months on and another restructure (reorganisation) is upon us....
Monday: 21st June 2005
08:20: Dropped Ryan off at the ASTOB lights, then returned home.
08:30: Got back Mandy is trying to coax Jack in to getting ready for school, he's not having any of it.
Skip forward
14:30: An hour and half before my interview with Sing! Direct, getting ready, the office is in Reading so, I've been trying to decipher various map web sites, autoroute and Sisterinlaw directions. Reckon I know where it is but you can never be too sure.
15:30: Get to the office half an hour early, which was pretty good, so I find a convienient place to park up and listen to Tim Henman's first round wimbledon match on the radio. Radio tennis is really bad, it starts of ok, "first serve to the forehand side..." then rapidly decends in to unintelligible chaos as the rally gets going, finishing up with a much calmer, "forehand winner down the backhand side"...any how he had us going for a bit but scraped through in 5 sets after being 2 sets down, something tells me it's not going to be his year this year.
15:50: I make my way to Sing! Direct's office, parking in the visitors car parking spaces, the car is telling me it's 30.5 degrees but thankfully even though I'm suited, my air conditioning is working at full pelt.
15:55: I open the door and nearly faint from the temperature change, put on my Jacket attempting to do so while the car door tries to split me half and then make my way to "reception"
15:58: I've taken a seat Dale Chip (an american I'm sure) is running a bit late, so Tom Bodger his network guy and prospective staff member comes and meets me. He's a northerner probably mancunian and I can tell by his attitude that he's really pleased to see me. He obviously has a problem shaking hands since it's one of the limpest hand shakes I've ever had.
16:05: Peter Niceguy, comes too and this is a much more hearty hand shake, they buy me a cup of canteen coffee that I swear has been heated on the hotplate for at least 24 hours if not longer. We sit down at a table and chat for a bit.
16:10: Dale Chip (very american) makes an appearance and apologises for his tardiness.
16:45: He's still quizzing me, about my management style and my background. We get to a natural end and he then tells me that Vincent Froggere, the IT director will be interviewing me next (a frenchman) Dale also tells me that he's Canadian (for some reason).
17:45: Man I'm desperate for a leak, Vincent is nearly done, he just now has to find the HR director who'll also be interviewing me, this is mental, I've been here now nearly 2 and half hours.
18:30: Finally make my exit from Sing!, they should give me the job just for putting up with the interview in my opinion.....
Tuesday 22nd June 2005:
Another interview today at 2pm, I say interview, this is more a "chat" at Simon's firm, Invasive Networks.
12:45: I make my way to Thatcham where the interview is and get there by 1:30pm so I sit in leisure centre car park for 20 minutes, which is just down the road.
15:30: The interview didn't go well, they're looking for more skills than a. I have and b. I'm likely to have ever. The one thing I've never done in my career is specialise in any particular area. Most of what I know is learned on the fly because I've had to, so answerring fairly technical (well for me anyway) questions about HSRP and Layer 2 protection and 802.1x etc, is a struggle.
16:00 I leave Invasive fairly disillusioned with the whole process, having been made to feel inadequate, something I object to quite a lot. Perhaps going for an interview at a Network Engineering firm was a mistake, since I've never claimed to be a network engineer and it'd be just the same if I went to a garage for an interview as a car mechanic.
Feeling fairly pissed off I return home....
Wednesday 23rd June 2005:
The grand wizard is being very chatty and bouncy, he even asks me if I enjoyed my two days off in the sun, yeah like he doesn't know why I was off...
13:45: Back from Lunch and the wizard calls us all together to say that we will be called in to a meeting with the Skunkmaster from about 3pm onwards. Rumours are abound about why, but since it's individually, I'm guessing it's not the same chat for everyone.
15:00: Corvette is first, she's in there about 20 minutes or so. When she comes out and we interogate her it turns out that she's just been told what she needs to concentrate on objectives wise. Rob has already gone in and then it's my turn....
16:00: I sit down with the Wizard on my right, the Skunkmaster begins, "as you know Paul when project clearasmud was done, we said we'd review things and I can tell you that we've been doing that for the last 5 months or so.." so basically they've been reviewing what they did at the last restructure, since the last restructure, "we've decided that Wizards team will be disbanded, He'll keep corvette, but you, the brentboy and silent Rob, will be moving back in to Service Lackofdelivery, Invisi-Dave will be moving into Martin Takeanap's team in the Centre of Excellence" centre of excellence ? What about Don't Be Daft is excellent ? Whatever it is it's in the centre I guess and Dave will be there...I point out to the SkunkMaster that this would be the third restructure within the last year and that kind of gives the impression that they're clueless, something we kind of knew already....
They can't tell me who my boss will be as there is some redundancies and frankly that job is up for grabs...now then I'm sat there with 16 years experience, 10 of those in managing a team such as the one I'm going to be working in...what do you have to do to progress your career at this place ? Perhaps it's golf, I really should look at learning how not to play this game and let your boss win, then just maybe my career would take off...I think I'll have to take the bull by the horns on this one...
Good of Bill Zunpronoucable to make an appearance / send an email saying "hi!" and welcoming us back...still I'm sure he has his reasons....
Thursday 23rd June 2005:
Nothing much happening today, apart from us all trying to stick unsticky stickers to our kit in the vein hope it might be relocated to the right desks when we get moved over the weekend....
Monday: 21st June 2005
08:20: Dropped Ryan off at the ASTOB lights, then returned home.
08:30: Got back Mandy is trying to coax Jack in to getting ready for school, he's not having any of it.
Skip forward
14:30: An hour and half before my interview with Sing! Direct, getting ready, the office is in Reading so, I've been trying to decipher various map web sites, autoroute and Sisterinlaw directions. Reckon I know where it is but you can never be too sure.
15:30: Get to the office half an hour early, which was pretty good, so I find a convienient place to park up and listen to Tim Henman's first round wimbledon match on the radio. Radio tennis is really bad, it starts of ok, "first serve to the forehand side..." then rapidly decends in to unintelligible chaos as the rally gets going, finishing up with a much calmer, "forehand winner down the backhand side"...any how he had us going for a bit but scraped through in 5 sets after being 2 sets down, something tells me it's not going to be his year this year.
15:50: I make my way to Sing! Direct's office, parking in the visitors car parking spaces, the car is telling me it's 30.5 degrees but thankfully even though I'm suited, my air conditioning is working at full pelt.
15:55: I open the door and nearly faint from the temperature change, put on my Jacket attempting to do so while the car door tries to split me half and then make my way to "reception"
15:58: I've taken a seat Dale Chip (an american I'm sure) is running a bit late, so Tom Bodger his network guy and prospective staff member comes and meets me. He's a northerner probably mancunian and I can tell by his attitude that he's really pleased to see me. He obviously has a problem shaking hands since it's one of the limpest hand shakes I've ever had.
16:05: Peter Niceguy, comes too and this is a much more hearty hand shake, they buy me a cup of canteen coffee that I swear has been heated on the hotplate for at least 24 hours if not longer. We sit down at a table and chat for a bit.
16:10: Dale Chip (very american) makes an appearance and apologises for his tardiness.
16:45: He's still quizzing me, about my management style and my background. We get to a natural end and he then tells me that Vincent Froggere, the IT director will be interviewing me next (a frenchman) Dale also tells me that he's Canadian (for some reason).
17:45: Man I'm desperate for a leak, Vincent is nearly done, he just now has to find the HR director who'll also be interviewing me, this is mental, I've been here now nearly 2 and half hours.
18:30: Finally make my exit from Sing!, they should give me the job just for putting up with the interview in my opinion.....
Tuesday 22nd June 2005:
Another interview today at 2pm, I say interview, this is more a "chat" at Simon's firm, Invasive Networks.
12:45: I make my way to Thatcham where the interview is and get there by 1:30pm so I sit in leisure centre car park for 20 minutes, which is just down the road.
15:30: The interview didn't go well, they're looking for more skills than a. I have and b. I'm likely to have ever. The one thing I've never done in my career is specialise in any particular area. Most of what I know is learned on the fly because I've had to, so answerring fairly technical (well for me anyway) questions about HSRP and Layer 2 protection and 802.1x etc, is a struggle.
16:00 I leave Invasive fairly disillusioned with the whole process, having been made to feel inadequate, something I object to quite a lot. Perhaps going for an interview at a Network Engineering firm was a mistake, since I've never claimed to be a network engineer and it'd be just the same if I went to a garage for an interview as a car mechanic.
Feeling fairly pissed off I return home....
Wednesday 23rd June 2005:
The grand wizard is being very chatty and bouncy, he even asks me if I enjoyed my two days off in the sun, yeah like he doesn't know why I was off...
13:45: Back from Lunch and the wizard calls us all together to say that we will be called in to a meeting with the Skunkmaster from about 3pm onwards. Rumours are abound about why, but since it's individually, I'm guessing it's not the same chat for everyone.
15:00: Corvette is first, she's in there about 20 minutes or so. When she comes out and we interogate her it turns out that she's just been told what she needs to concentrate on objectives wise. Rob has already gone in and then it's my turn....
16:00: I sit down with the Wizard on my right, the Skunkmaster begins, "as you know Paul when project clearasmud was done, we said we'd review things and I can tell you that we've been doing that for the last 5 months or so.." so basically they've been reviewing what they did at the last restructure, since the last restructure, "we've decided that Wizards team will be disbanded, He'll keep corvette, but you, the brentboy and silent Rob, will be moving back in to Service Lackofdelivery, Invisi-Dave will be moving into Martin Takeanap's team in the Centre of Excellence" centre of excellence ? What about Don't Be Daft is excellent ? Whatever it is it's in the centre I guess and Dave will be there...I point out to the SkunkMaster that this would be the third restructure within the last year and that kind of gives the impression that they're clueless, something we kind of knew already....
They can't tell me who my boss will be as there is some redundancies and frankly that job is up for grabs...now then I'm sat there with 16 years experience, 10 of those in managing a team such as the one I'm going to be working in...what do you have to do to progress your career at this place ? Perhaps it's golf, I really should look at learning how not to play this game and let your boss win, then just maybe my career would take off...I think I'll have to take the bull by the horns on this one...
Good of Bill Zunpronoucable to make an appearance / send an email saying "hi!" and welcoming us back...still I'm sure he has his reasons....
Thursday 23rd June 2005:
Nothing much happening today, apart from us all trying to stick unsticky stickers to our kit in the vein hope it might be relocated to the right desks when we get moved over the weekend....
# posted by cre8 @ 1:30 AM 
